PlayStation Portal is a rare product that actually launched as a baffling tool, but has evolved into something actually useful. Firstly, it can be Only Stream games from your PlayStation 5 It lacked key features for a handheld like Bluetooth audio, and the $200 price tag felt a bit steep for such a limited product. Add in the fact that home streaming can be extremely unreliable, as it depends entirely on your ISP and home networking setup, and the portal didn’t make much sense. But in 2024 Sony finally added limited cloud streaming for PS Plus titles, and last week it went even further by letting you stream your games directly from the cloud. Suddenly, PlayStation Portal doesn’t seem so crazy.
It also helps that Portal is still $200 (or less at GameStop and other retailers), while the cheapest Digital Edition PlayStation 5 has reached $500 (up from $400 at launch). Sure, it’s still far from a perfect device, but at least it’s more functional and significantly cheaper than today’s PS5. Just be aware that you’ll need to subscribe to the PlayStation Plus Premium plan for $18 per month (or $160 per year) to access cloud streaming features.
Sony
The PlayStation Portal is even more useful now that it has full access to Sony’s cloud gaming library.
- solid control
- Excellent cloud connectivity
- Remote play is hit or miss
- strange shape
- no bluetooth
- No local gaming capability
$199 on Amazon
Although my hardware-related frustrations with PlayStation Portal remain (more on those later), I can’t deny that it really is a great handheld for streaming games from the cloud. jump into yotei’s ghost This usually takes 15 to 30 seconds, and often loads straight into the game world if I’m continuing from a recent session. The game runs smoothly, with no noticeable stutters or lag, and I can still choose between the graphics-heavy 30 fps mode or the smoother 60 fps performance option. This is far from the ideal way to play yotei’s ghostWhich demands a huge screen and capable speakers, but it gets by just fine in a pinch.
In comparison, using Remote Play to access my PlayStation 5 Pro is just as headache-inducing as it was when PS Portal launched. The handheld can’t consistently wake the PS5 Pro from standby mode, so I’m forced to manually turn on the console if I ever plan to use Portal. If my PS5 Pro is on, Portal can usually connect in about five seconds, and it takes five to ten seconds to launch. yotei’s ghostGameplay via remote control is generally smooth, but there is occasional stuttering that can interfere with intense battle sequences,
PlayStation Portal running Ghost of Yotei. (Devendra Hardawar for Engadget)
My main problem with PlayStation Portal at launch was that I couldn’t trust it. Sometimes it would let me connect to my console remotely without any problems, and sometimes it would outright refuse. I’ve got a fairly robust Wi-Fi 6 networking setup and AT&T Gigabit Fiber, so my connectivity shouldn’t be a major issue. But apparently something about my networking configuration doesn’t play well with Portal for Remote Play, even though I connect my PS5 Pro via Ethernet.
Strangely, the PlayStation Portal is far more reliable at streaming games from servers thousands of miles away than connecting to a console a few dozen feet away from me. This shows how far cloud streaming has come – it practically feels like local gameplay now. I believe this shouldn’t be too surprising for Sony, as it is only releasing 1080p streams. NVIDIA’s GeForce Now has proven that it’s possible to stream PC games in 4K, as long as you have enough bandwidth to support it.
The best thing I can say about PlayStation Portal now is that I can finally trust it – up to a point, anyway. I had no trouble signing in to its streaming servers to play yotei’s ghost And spider man 2 on my home network, and I was even able to stream games while tethered to my phone. But the portal remains a useless tool if you are stuck somewhere without good internet access. You may forget to use it on airplanes, even with fast Wi-Fi in-flight, or in hotels with poor internet and no cellular reception.
Spider-Man 2 on PlayStation Portal (Devendra Hardawar for Engadget)
Given the need for good connectivity and its clunky design, PlayStation Portal also remains a terrible gaming option on the go. You’ll have to find a case big enough to fit the Portal’s massive controller and delicate display, a combination that really looks like a tablet sandwiched between Sony’s DualSense gamepad. Traveling with the slimmer Switch 2 is smarter, and I’d argue the larger Steam Deck is easier to keep in a backpack, too. And it’s worth noting that you can also use apps on the Steam Deck for remote play from your console, and you can install the PlayStation Plus Windows app to stream games from the cloud.
I’m still upset that Sony didn’t include Bluetooth connectivity in the Portal. If you want wireless audio, you’ll have to use either Sony’s Pulse Explore earbuds or Pulse Elite headphones. If you want to use AirPods or any other wireless headphones you’ll need to plug in a separate Bluetooth receiver. If you plan on playing games on Portal for long sessions you’ll definitely want to invest in some kind of audio solution, as its smallish speakers just can’t do it justice. yotei’s ghost Immersive soundscape.
Not surprisingly, cloud gaming didn’t make much of a difference to Portal’s battery life. I still clocked in at between four and five hours of play time (divided into dad-friendly parts, of course). And if you’re on some kind of marathon session, you can always plug it in to charge. Since the Portal isn’t using any local hardware to power the game – it’s really just decoding video and pushing data over your network connection – you can also expect more reliable battery life than other handhelds. For example, the Switch 2 can last from two to six hours depending on what you’re playing.
Although I still can’t wholeheartedly recommend PlayStation Portal to every gamer, its latest updates make it a more viable option for PlayStation fanatics. Maybe you’ll have better luck than me in remote play. And if you’re already a PS Plus subscriber, it’s the easiest way to access Sony’s cloud infrastructure. Or, like Engadget’s Jeff Dunn, it might even be the ideal way to play the game when you’re dealing with the struggles of being a new parent. At least, Portal isn’t exactly shocking anymore, but it’s still no Vita 2.