The upcoming PS4 system update sounds rather exciting, bringing with it features that multiple PlayStation users have wanted for a while. The big one, of course, is external HDD support, since users will now finally and at last be able to run data directly off of an external HDD. External HDD support is limited only to USB 3.0 drives (so some of your older HDDs that you may have might not work), but will support HDDs as large as 8TB- I’m actually not even sure that 8TB HDDs exist right now.
External HDDs can also be managed directly from the Data Management screen, and contents on it can be launched and run normally, with no difference between running something off of external storage, or off of the internal one.
That apart, this update also brings the addition of custom wallpapers with it, as well as a list of improvements and streamlining for the notifications list and Quick Menu. It sounds like a solid update all around, bringing a whole host of improvements and features fans have wanted for a while with it to the table.
The beta for the update started today- the final update should release some time later, presumably early next month.