The PlayStation Portal is the rare product that launched as a truly baffling device, but has evolved into something genuinely useful. At first, it could only stream games from your PlayStation 5, it lacked core features for a handheld like Bluetooth audio and it felt a bit overpriced at $200 for such a limited product. Add on the fact that home streaming can be notoriously unreliable, since it depends entirely on your ISP and home networking setup, and the Portal simply 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 games you own directly from the cloud. All of a sudden, the PlayStation Portal doesn’t seem so crazy after all.
It also helps that the Portal is still $200 (or less at Gamestop and other retailers), while the cheapest Digital Edition PlayStation 5 has jumped to $500 (up from $400 at launch). Sure, it’s still far from a perfect device, but at least it’s more functional and significantly less than the PS5 today. Just be aware you’ll need to subscribe to the $18 a month (or $160 a year) PlayStation Plus Premium plan to access the cloud streaming features.
Sony
The PlayStation Portal has become a lot more useful now that it has full access to Sony’s cloud gaming library.
$199 at Amazon
While my hardware frustrations with the PlayStation Portal remain (more on those later), I can’t deny that it’s a genuinely great handheld for streaming games from the cloud. Jumping into Ghost of Yotei typically takes between 15 to 30 seconds, and it often loads directly into the game world if I’m continuing from a recent session. The game also plays smoothly, with no noticeable stuttering or lag, and I can still choose between the graphics-heavy 30 fps modes or the smoother 60 fps performance option. It’s far from the ideal way to play Ghost of Yotei, which demands an enormous screen and capable speakers, but it’s fine in a pinch.
In comparison, using Remote Play to access my PlayStation 5 Pro remains as headache-inducing as it did when the PS Portal launched. The handheld can’t consistently wake up the PS5 Pro from standby mode, so I’m forced to turn on the console manually if I ever plan to use the Portal. If my PS5 Pro is on, the Portal can typically connect in around five seconds, and it takes another five to ten seconds to launch Ghost of Yotei. Gameplay is typically smooth via Remote Play, but there’s occasional stuttering that can interfere with intense combat sequences.
PlayStation Portal playing Ghost of Yotei. (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)
My main issue with the PlayStation Portal at launch was that I simply couldn’t trust it. Sometimes it would let me remotely connect to my console with no problems, and sometimes it would simply refuse. I’ve got a fairly robust Wi-Fi 6 networking setup and AT&T gigabit fiber, so my connectivity shouldn’t be much of an issue. But clearly something about my networking configuration doesn’t play well with the Portal for Remote Play, even if I connect my PS5 Pro via Ethernet.
Strangely enough, the PlayStation Portal is far more reliable at streaming games from servers thousands of miles away than it is remotely connecting to the console a few dozen feet away from me. That just goes to show how far cloud streaming has come — it practically feels like local gameplay now. I suppose that shouldn’t be too surprising for Sony, since it’s only pumping out 1080p streams. NVIDIA’s GeForce Now has proven it’s possible to stream PC games in 4K, so long as you have gobs of bandwidth to support it.
The best thing I can say about the PlayStation Portal now is that I can finally trust it — up to a point, anyway. I had no trouble signing onto its streaming servers to play Ghost of Yotei and Spider-Man 2 on my home network, and I was also able to stream games while tethering on my phone. But the Portal remains a useless device if you’re stuck somewhere without decent internet access. You can forget about using it on a plane, even with fast in-flight Wi-Fi, or at hotels with crummy internet and no cellular reception.
Spider-Man 2 on the PlayStation Portal (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)
Given its need for decent connectivity and its clunky design, the PlayStation Portal also remains a terrible gaming option on the go. You’ll need to find a large case to fit the Portal’s huge controller and delicate display, a combination that really does look like a tablet shoved between Sony’s DualSense gamepads. It’s simply smarter to travel with the slimmer Switch 2, and I’d argue even the massive Steam Deck is easier to stuff into a backpack. And it’s worth noting you can also use apps on the Steam Deck to Remote Play from your console, and you can install the PlayStation Plus Windows app to stream games from the cloud.
I’m also still annoyed that Sony didn’t include Bluetooth connectivity in the Portal. If you want wireless audio, you’ll either have to use Sony’s Pulse Explore earbuds or Pulse Elite headphones. You’ll have to plug in a separate Bluetooth receiver if you want to use AirPods or any other wireless headphones. You’ll definitely want to invest in some sort of audio solution if you plan to game on the Portal for long sessions, since its tinny speakers simply can’t do justice to Ghost of Yotei’s immersive soundscape.
Not surprisingly, cloud gaming didn’t change the Portal’s battery life much. I still saw between four and five hours of play time (broken into dad-friendly chunks, of course). And if you’re on some sort of marathon session, you can always plug in to charge. Since the Portal isn’t using any local hardware to power games — it’s really just decoding video and pushing data over its network connection — you can also expect more reliable battery life than other handhelds. The Switch 2, for example, could last between two to six hours, depending on what you’re playing.
While I still can’t wholeheartedly recommend the PlayStation Portal to every gamer, its latest updates make it a more viable option for PlayStation diehards. Maybe you’ll have better luck with Remote Play than me. 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 could also be the ideal way to game while you juggle the struggles of being a new parent. At the very least, the Portal is no longer truly baffling, but it’s also still not a Vita 2.
