Sony PlayStation Portal | Unboxing & Early Review

Unboxing Sony's PlayStation Portal, a PS5 Remote Play handheld console for streaming your game over WiFi, wherever you roam. Here's my early review of the PS Portal, which only works with the PlayStation 5, along with notes on setup, gameplay and battery life.

Unlike the Steam Deck, Razer Edge etc, the PlayStation Portal isn't a stand-alone gaming console. Rather, it needs to connect to your PS5 via WiFi to stream games, with no option to install locally. Here in the UK it costs £199, or you could use Sony's Remote Play app to get mobile with your favourite titles. Check out my video for a guide on playing PlayStation on your phone, tablet or laptop.

The PS Portal feels like a Dual Sense controller with an 8-inch screen wedged into the middle. Not a bad thing by any means, as it's comfortable to play on. Although I do wish you had an OLED display, so the visuals weren't a compromise.

Battery life has been okay so far, I'm hoping that'll improve the more I use the PlayStation Portal. And I do experience a few judders and crackles when I'm not close to my router, although that gameplay is still respectable even when I'm upstairs, tucked up in bed.

So let us know your thoughts on Sony's PS5 Portal down below!

Sony PlayStation Portal Unboxing & Early Review Chapters:
0:00 - It's a what?
0:48 - What's in the box?
1:03 - Design
2:39 - Setup
4:22 - Connection & gameplay
5:47 - PS Portal settings
6:58 - Display
8:02 - Audio
9:02 - Haptics
9:50 - Battery life
10:29 - Alternative Remote Play options

[AproposDare]

Such a cool looking handheld that does absolutely nothing 😮‍💨

[KamalTiwari]

Love the animation of going through a portal.

[faustianblur]

A dedicated Remote Play device that can't connect directly to the PS5 console for reduced latency or stream games from Sony's cloud gaming servers seems like such a missed opportunity.

[thebag-ltwv]

Sony basically looked at the now competitive handheld genre out there at the moment and basically deciced to give us the bare minimum and made this only playable over wifi only! I can see where theyre coming from if some households have only 1 tv, but they missed a big oppurtunity to have this a on the go handheld like the steamdeck etc

Hopefully in the future they will give an update to stream from their cloud streaming tech

[rebel.]

Was waiting for you to review this. Great video!

[michaelboys]

Great video, as always, Chris. I have one question about this thing. How do you use the touch pad functions?

[JCarterTV]

I like how u powered it on and showed it off unlike the others but I can’t wait til mine come

[lavayuki]

Why can’t Sony release a standalone portable gaming console. They are skirting around with these releases. I would rather play on my TV, as I only use handhelds when traveling and on the airplane

[Ghenjiro]

The backbone is $100 for Android/iPhone. What's $100 more for PS Portal? I get it. it's niche, but that doesn't mean pointless. I've tried remote play from my phone, and it's not a great experience, not because of my phone but because i need my phone to do other things, I cant arbitrarily kill battery life cause I want to game. I've tried remote play from my 12.9 Inch iPad, admittedly its better than a phone, but I would be forced to have my iPad on standby in the event my kids or my wife actually want TV access. Using the iPad is even worse because I use my iPad for other things like work. The Portal, on the other hand, is a standalone accessory with all the features of the dual sense, a big enough screen, and is dedicated to working seamlessly with the PS5. Y'all might say it's pointless, but y'all really just missing the point 🤷🏾‍♂️

[YuriKozukata]

Tell me 1 reason people should get this instead of steamdeck oled

[emeresbestres]

IMO the biggest advantage of using PS Portal vs. any other PS Remote play device is the feel of an actual dual sense controller. Other devices have weird positioning of joysticks or are just way to small on a screen size. I just want it to play in bed then turn it off when I'm done and hit the sack.

[TheDarksnail]

I still don't understand why they didn't make it like you can stream from any device like a pc they would sold so much more of this things !! Nobody is going to by a ps5 just to get this accessorie so why not make the accessorie more versatile...

[lehelzelenka]

For some reason many media outlets said it will only connect to your ps5 through your own wifi network which would mean it's only usable indoors or close to your router. Didn't know it can connect from any wifi network.

[TriniBarbie]

I’m gonna buy 2 of them for my brothers! Pretty cheap Christmas gifts! No effort needed!

[KayleighTheBacon]

They should have made the dual sense and the LCD screen seperate, like a detachable controller, like the razer edge, because if anything happens to the controller on the portal, stick drift ect its basically useless, buying a new detachable controller would obviously be cheaper than buying a whole new ps portal,

[MykeJD]

Seems like such a waste of money for me. Like you can get one of those controller clips for like 5 pound and clip it to your phone and you have the exact same thing.

Even downloading remote play on an iPad or tablet, like I feel paying nearly 200 pound just for a tablet that has the remote play app (basically) installed is a rip off.

If it had some memory to install a game, completely different story.

Just my opinion, seems a bit daft

[seapanther]

For 200, its a nice and welcomed accessory in my home, as gaming in bed has been my best option as a dad.

[BigBrotherMotown]

we used to be able to do this 20 years ago with the Playstation 3 and the PSP. I have fond memories of going on vacation and playing Abes Odyssey streaming from back home. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

[Savageer]

Mine is arrive tomorrow! Got the tracking today! 😎🤗 super stoked! Awesome review. Thanks for the heads up info.

[rawaz_ayub]

If this was a stand alone device it will be most selling console of all times