EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PLAYSTATION PORTAL

PlayStation has been a leading company in the console market for the longest period of time but when it comes to the handheld console market, they haven’t had much luck. It seems they are looking to change that. The 2004 PlayStation Portable was an amazing device and way beyond its time but it ended up being overshadowed by the less powerful but more innovative Nintendo DS. Sony tried with handhelds again with the PlayStation Vita in 2011 with a simpler physical medium, PS3-level visuals and touchscreen and motion controls.

For the PlayStation Portal, Sony is taking a very different route to handheld gaming. This time they are looking more at Remote Play and it is designed strictly for streaming games from your PS5 console. It doesn’t matter if you’re at home or out of town. You’ll have access to the console from anywhere in the world as long as connection speeds are good enough.

The thing that actually sets the PS Portal apart from using Remote Play through a computer or mobile device is that it has a fully functional DualSense controller with the same advanced haptics and adaptive triggers. It has an 8-inch LCD touch screen that features a native 1080p resolution at a smooth 60Hz. As an extra touch, the PS Portal also features dual internal speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio and a microphone.

Priced at around $200, it’s definitely worth the money for those who live in a home with one television or are looking to play their favorite PS5 games in bed. When it comes to uses beyond the home, internet connection speeds will be the main thing to determine how good the PS Portal experience is (it requires at least 5Mbps Wi-Fi speeds, though 15Mbps is recommended).

Remote Play allows users to stream games from their PS5 and of course other devices have the remote play capabilities they can also be used with various controllers as well. But because the PS Portal is dedicated to Remote Play, it includes some pluses that makes it the ultimate way to use the feature.

The most obvious benefits are the inputs based around the PS5’s DualSense controller. Everything is there, including the traditional PS button layout. Sony promises around seven to nine hours per charge. charging up the PS Portal takes around two hours from when it’s empty, which is fairly standard for modern mobile devices.

The PS Portal can only stream as high as 1080p at 60 frames per second. PS5 games aren’t the only games users can play either it can also run the downloadable Playstation, PS2 and PS4 games that are available on Sony’s latest system.

Beyond the internal speakers and 3.5mm headphone jack for audio, Sony offers its own wireless earbuds for the PS Portal. Priced at around $200, the Pulse Explore earbuds deliver lossless, ultra-low-latency audio through the utilization of the company’s latest wireless protocol, PlayStation Link.

The Portal does not have Bluetooth so no other earbuds are compatible with the PS Portal at launch. This then makes users pay an extra $200 just to play games with wireless earbuds makes the Portal and Pulse Explore earbuds together more expensive than a Nintendo Switch.One of the most disadvantages of the PlayStation Portal is that users can’t stream games from PlayStation Premium. This means that a large amount of PS3 games aren’t playable on the device. It also can’t stream from video apps like YouTube and Netflix it is Android-based but doesn’t make the most of the operating system.

In Conclusion, the device’s portability mainly shines in environments with stable Wi-Fi connections and the more extended battery life and the ability to download games remotely makes the device great as well but the lack of Bluetooth restricts headphone options, forcing users into Sony’s expensive Pulse Explore earbuds. Put with the lack of support for streaming services and the inability to connect to Wi-Fi networks with web browser logins, it all limits the device’s versatility.

However, with Future updates looking at some of its limitations, such as expanding streaming support and enabling web browser functionality may make the device even better. So, if you’re a PS enthusiast go ahead and get it but if you’re willing to use its features right now but you’d rather wait for the updates then you should hold off for now then look at the updates as they come