PlayStation finally details Software Update 4.50; Official release March 9

Earlier this week PlayStation China detailed their version of the PlayStation 4's upcoming software update and suggested that the patch would release tomorrow. Now, both PlayStation Europe and PlayStation US have detailed the upcoming patch, including the PS4 Pro's new 'Beast Mode' feature and have officially set the release date for tomorrow, March 9th.

Software update 4.5 will be a number of features to PlayStation owners, mainly custom background images, external hard drive support, improved graphics for PSVR, Boost Mode for PS4 Pro and more.

Here are software update 4.5's details:

External Hard Drive:

External HDD Requirements:

• Minimum capacity of 250GB, the maximum capacity of 8TB
• USB 3.0 or above
• The shortcut menu is now easier to use. The party function, from the party to attend the party, have become more convenient.

Custom Background Image:

You can now use the screenshots to customize the background image of your main picture and function screen.

Previously undetailed update 4.5 features:

Improved 2D Images on PS VR

The resolution of the system screen displayed on your TV will be "significantly better" when out of VR mode.

This upgrade will also up the resolution of Cinematic Mode on PS VR. Specifically, if the PS VR screen size is set to Small or Medium, the frame rate in Cinematic Mode goes from 90Hz to 120Hz.

Voice Chat for Remote Play

Voice chat has been added to Remote Play on Windows PC, Mac or an Xperia device. You can switch your mic on and off via the microphone icon on the Tool Bar of the Remote Play app.

Off Console Availability

A smartphone shaped icon will indicate when a player is logged into PSN, but not at their system.

Boost Mode (for PlayStation 4 Pro only)

Boost Mode is intended to "provide better performance for select legacy titles that have not been patched to take advantage of the PS4 Pro’s faster CPU and its faster and double-sized GPU."

Sony has detailed that there will be a "noticeable" frame rate boost to some games and can provide frame rate stability for games that are programmed to run at 30 Hz or 60 Hz. Depending on the game, the increased CPU speed may also result in shorter load times. You can turn on Boost Mode by going to Settings > System.

Boost Mode is not guaranteed to work with all titles.

PS Messages and Communities app Updates

The following additions will be added to PS Messages and PS Communities:

• Quick replies. When you receive a Party invitation from your friends on PS Messages, now you can respond with a quick reply, “I’ll join later” or “Sorry, I can’t join."
• On the Communities app, you can now easily check the PSN service status under Settings > View Status of PSN Services.
• On the Communities app, iOS users can tell at a glance if there are any new posts in their community by checking the badge app icon (the number in a red circle at the top-right corner of the app’s icon).