The official PlayStation App lets you connect with your friends on PlayStation Network, manage game information, and purchase games, movies, and TV shows through Sony Entertainment Online.
The release of Sony's PlayStation 4 promised connectivity with mobile devices using the PlayStation App. In these early stages, the core functions of the app are working, but additional features will be implemented as the PS4 is updated to support more features.
PSN on your mobile device
A PlayStation Network account is required to use the PlayStation App. It connects to your PlayStation Network account, as well as your other PlayStation devices.
New features include:
- What's New: recent actions from you and friends on PS3 and PS Vita
- Notifications: new messages, friend requests, and name requests
- Invitations: game and party chat invites
- Game Alerts: game-specific notifications
- Messages: unified PSN chat
- Friends list: a list of friends, friend/name requests, and blocked players
- Connect to PS4: connect to PS4 (second screen currently unsupported)
- Sony Entertainment Network: purchase games, movies, and TV content
- Links: links to different information hubs about PlayStation
A solid start that will improve with updates
Since the PlayStation App is connected to PSN, and a PS4 is required to use the full suite of features on the app, the app is currently missing some functionality features. In its current state, it's a great communication tool for friends. The chat options are much better than on the console, and the notifications contain useful information.
The 'Whats New' section could be useful in the PlayStation App, but it delivers slightly too much information. If you have a lot of friends, your feed will quickly become flooded with simple messages indicating that your friends have played a specific game. It seems that when they'll be live streaming games or asking for help in co-op, the feed will become much more content rich.
The PlayStation App is obviously unfinished, considering the lack of second screen support and the fact that online purchased games don't automatically download to your PS4 yet. Once Sony can update the PS4 to support these features, the PlayStation App will supply a better experience for PS users.
A good start with room for improvement
The PlayStation App will improve through updates and improvements to PS4. The amount of content that's displayed will improve as the console matures and more people start using it.
In its early form, the PlayStation App is a great tool that, at the very least, keeps you connected to friends. If you play certain games with friends worldwide, chatting through the PlayStation App might be even faster than email, and the notifications will become even more useful when you're invited to a multiplayer match online.
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