Nintendo has dominated portable gaming with the Switch 2, but Sony finally offers a compelling alternative for PlayStation owners who want their games on the go. The company built an empire around the PS5 as a living room powerhouse and the PS Portal extends that experience beyond the couch and into your hands.
This device streams your entire PS5 library to a beautiful 8-inch screen, and lets you play God of War or Spider-Man anywhere in your home or via cloud gaming on the move. Amazon dropped it to $179 for Black Friday, down from $199. That’s a record low, one which already moved over 8,000 units and counting.
PS5 Games to Your Hands
The full HD 1080p display stretches across 8 inches of screen real estate, creating an immersive portable gaming experience. You see game details clearly with vibrant colors and sharp text, making even busy action sequences easy to keep track of. Screen brightness handles a wide range of lighting conditions, from dimly lit bedrooms to bright living rooms.
The 60fps capability ensures smooth gameplay that matches what you experience on your TV. Frame rates stay locked during intense action sequences, maintaining the responsive feel that PS5 games deliver on the console itself. The visual quality impresses given the streaming nature of the device, with minimal compression artifacts during stable WiFi connections.
Remote Play connects directly to your PS5 console over WiFi, and streams games installed on your system to the portable device. You play your whole digital and disc library without buying games a second time or waiting for separate downloads. The PS5 does all the processing while the Portal displays the video output and transmits your controller inputs back. The upside of this is that you get complete PS5 graphics instead of downgraded portable versions.
The cloud streaming through Playstation Plus Premium unlocks gaming without needing your PS5 powered on: you access hundreds of titles from the Game Catalog and Classics Catalog streamed directly to the device. Select PS5 games from your digital library stream sans downloads, affording instant access to big titles wherever decent internet is found.
The features of the DualSense controller integrate directly into the Portal’s design: haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are built into the grips. You feel immersive sensations, from terrain textures to weapon recoil, the same as the standard PS5 controller. A familiar button layout means PlayStation players don’t need an adjustment period. The ergonomic design spreads the weight comfortably during long play sessions.
Tempest 3D AudioTech provides for spatial sound through the headphone jack or wirelessly via Playstation Link compatible devices. You really hear enemies coming from specific directions and environmental audio placed precisely in three-dimensional space. This audio quality adds a layer of immersion that most portable gaming devices lack. The experience approaches what you’d get through a proper home theater setup, compressed into a personal audio bubble.
Battery life reaches several hours of continuous play and sees you through extended gaming sessions without the need for a charge. USB-C charging makes use of standard cables you already own, ensuring that topping up from portable batteries or wall chargers is a breeze. The device goes into sleep mode fast when you pause a game to conserve battery life for when you return.
At $179, you’re getting a premium portable streaming device with DualSense features and an 8-inch display for 10% off. The Switch 2 costs significantly more while running native games at lower graphical fidelity than streamed PS5 titles.
