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PS5 will have Apple TV, Netflix, Spotify, Twitch and more on release date – but not Amazon, HBO, Hulu or others

Andrew Griffin
Thursday 22 October 2020 17:44 BST
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(Sony)

Sony has revealed the apps and streaming services that will be available on the PlayStation 5 when it launches next month.

Noting that consoles are no longer just gaming platforms but that “movies, TV shows, music, and gaming livestreams only add to the PlayStation experience”, it confirmed that a range of different apps will be ready for the new console.

The PS5 arrives on 12 November in a limited number of countries including the US. It will then launch everywhere else a week later on 19 November.

When it does arrive, it will have Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix, Spotify, Twitch and YouTube.

As with the PS4, Spotify will work differently to the other streaming platforms, allowing it to be used as background music while playing through games.

Apple TV+ is not yet available on the PlayStation 4, but it will be coming to that console too.

Sony revealed the PS5’s menus in a video posted last week. That revealed that there will be a devoted section for entertainment apps, which Sony said had been done to make it “and easy to switch between gaming and entertainment content whenever you want”.

It also said that the PS5 will have “a new Control Center that makes controlling your music easier than ever before, so you can quickly switch between channels, skip, and pause your music”.

Sony confirmed that more apps would come eventually. They included “Amazon Prime Video, MyCanal, Hulu, Peacock, and more”, it said, but it did not give a timeframe for their release.

As part of the same announcement, Sony confirmed that the four buttons on the bottom of the media remote will be reserved for quick access to streaming services: Disney+, Netflix, Spotify and YouTube. Though the remote had already been revealed, official pictures left those four lower buttons blank.

As well as allowing people to control their consoles while watching videos or other entertainment, the console will be able to control compatible TVs, Sony said.

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