Customer Ratings & Reviews

I wanted to love the PlayStation Portal. The concept is a dream come true for many of us: a dedicated handheld device that lets you play your PS5 games anywhere in the house while the TV is occupied. On paper, it sounds like the ultimate convenience. In reality, however, my experience with the device has been nothing short of a frustration-fueled nightmare. After weeks of trying to make this work, I can confidently say that this is one of the most disappointing pieces of hardware Sony has released in years. A Connection Nightmare The biggest problem with the Portal is that it relies entirely on your local Wi-Fi, and it seems to have absolutely no tolerance for anything less than laboratory-perfect conditions. Even with high-speed fiber internet and a router sitting in the same room, the experience is incredibly slow. From the moment you boot it up, the connection process feels sluggish. But the real issues start when you actually try to play a game. The input lag is unbearable. I tried playing Spider-Man 2, a game that relies on timing and fluidity, and it felt like my character was moving through molasses. You press a button, and there is a perceptible, jarring delay before anything happens on screen. In a shooter or an action RPG, this makes the game virtually unplayable. You aren't fighting the enemies; you are fighting the device itself. Visual Fidelity? Non-Existent. Sony touts the Portal’s 8-inch LCD screen as a selling point, promising 1080p visuals at 60fps. While the screen hardware itself might be decent, it doesn't matter because the streaming quality destroys the image. Far too often, the image becomes a muddy, pixelated mess. It looks less like a next-gen console experience and more like a 240p YouTube video from 2007 buffering on dial-up. The compression artifacts are distracting, washing out details and making text hard to read. Just when you get a moment of clarity, the bitrate drops again, and you are back to squinting at a blurry screen. Glitches and Stutters Beyond just the resolution drops, the performance is wildly inconsistent. The experience is incredibly glitchy. I constantly experienced micro-stutters and screen tears that ruin immersion. There were multiple instances where the audio would de-sync from the video, or the screen would freeze entirely for a few seconds while the game continued running in the background—usually resulting in a "Game Over" screen once the video caught up. It is baffling that a device built solely for Remote Play handles it worse than a smartphone or a tablet. I have had better stability using the Remote Play app on an iPad than on this dedicated $200 device. The Verdict The PlayStation Portal feels like a beta product sold at a premium price. It lacks Bluetooth support for wireless headphones (forcing you to buy Sony’s proprietary audio gear), it has no web browser to log into hotel Wi-Fi, and it serves no function other than streaming. When a device has only one job, it needs to do it perfectly. The Portal does not. It is slow, unresponsive, and unreliable. Between the lag that kills your reaction time and the pixelated visuals that ruin the graphics, there is very little reason to own this. Pros: The controller ergonomics are comfortable (DualSense features are nice). Cons: Severe input lag makes action games unplayable. Connection is glitchy even on strong Wi-Fi. Image quality frequently becomes pixelated and blurry. No Bluetooth support. Expensive for what is essentially a streaming screen. Bottom Line: Save your $200. Until Sony fixes the connectivity issues, this is just an expensive, glitchy paperweight.

I bought this item so when my girlfriend wanted to watch TV I could still play my PS5. It works great! Has an easy setup and graphics look amazing. So far I've only played two games on it. Connections are basically having your Ps5 on and then you can change your channel to something else. It's basically another controller with a screen in the middle. I wish it was more portable like the Asus rog ally x or one of the other handheld gaming systems. But this works for my situation. Hope this helps! Thanks.

I enjoy it for the most part. It gives me the opportunity to play while my wife can watch TV. I like the portability and another option of gaming that it provides. Nice to travel and still be able to play your games without having to pack up the whole system. Only downside is the lag or connectivity due to various internet speeds.

Every ps5 game I buy, I can play it away from my setup. I have my ps5 in my room. To hang out in the living room with my pets and family I use this thing. It’s great to get a few minutes of gaming when I want to. Plus JRPGs run great on this thing.

Squeezing in some PS5 Pro-ing away from the living room is great for any middle-aged gamer. Instead of feeling like I occasionally hog the TV, couch, and living room just to notch another hour of 120 hour or so on FF7: Rebirth. Or play my backlog of great indie hits like Dredge or Disco Elysium, I can just remote play anywhere in my home—like in the kitchen with my coffee while the eggs and bacon are on the skillet, or at night in bed with Powerwash Simulator or Sea of Stars and tea to wind down. Like many Sony fanboys and fan girls, I was pretty skeptical the device would work better than trying to stream PS4 games to your phone some years back (Backbone, anyone?). No it’s not the Vita 2, but as someone who’s only ever owned the Vita and Portable handhelds back in the day, there’s something far more intimate about PS5 Pro-ing on a device inches from your face instead of on a TV on the other side of a room. Yeah, no worries about somebody cutting back and forth in front of your game during pivotal cutscenes you’ve literally spent 100s of hours and the better part of the year reaching. It’s laughable but last I heard, there’s still no Bluetooth support and no—Sony’s upsell with those expensive earbuds won’t get a nibble out of me. You also can’t watch YouTube on it or your other streaming apps. No web browser either. Its sole function seems to be making sure that Last of Us Part 1 and Sony’s other first-party titles like Spider-Man 2 run as smooth as possible on the Portal. Portal isn’t for everyone, but if you’re someone who finds it harder and harder to put in gaming time as you get older, the device is totally worth owning. It feels very sturdy, but its awkward shape has caused me to drop it once or twice by the handle. If you decide to plunge into the Portalverse, do yourself a favor and buy a hard case for the handheld. I imagine accidentally sitting on a Portal is not quite the same as sitting on your phone.

I saw a bunch of reviews talking about the wifi connectivity, but i have not had an issue. I run a google mesh system and as long as i am not actively walking around the house, i haven’t had the issues i was warned about. Battery life is great, about three hours of continuous play on Gran Turismo. The only issue that I’ve encountered is that you cant run two of these from one system (the PlayStation it is attached to has to be on the wifi network). But the kid can play xbox while im playing PlayStation. No worries.

I love my PS portal, but just know what it’s uses and limits are before purchasing. When my main tv is in use being able to lay on the couch and play my PS5 is priceless. Also the quality of build is excellent and the screen is immaculate. If you’re on the fence go for it!

The PS Portal plays and feels just like I wanted it to. The controllers feel great to hold and use, and I can use it for hours without fatigue. The screen does better without direct sunlight on it, but the screen not being OLED isn’t a deal breaker, as I believe it does contribute to the great battery life. I don’t play games that requiere absolutely zero lag or live service games so I can’t speak on that front, but for my singe player life, it works exceedingly well. Four stars due to the lack of Bluetooth connectivity and minor network issues.

It works great and easy to travel with. I enjoy using it, and it stays charge for a long time. Love it

Bought the Portal to actually be in the living room and the family while gaming. It's great to relax lying down on the couch. It works great for that function and I can play all my favorite PS5 games (Stellar Blade, Helldivers) seamlessly. The UI animation for connecting to the PS5 is super cool. Small thing but it adds to the premium feeling. No connection issues, including with the Pulse Elite headset. There's stutters here and there but I hardly notice it. Input lag is minimal, and I can perform well in the above mentioned action games. This is definitely one of my best gaming purchases. At $200, it feels like a steal.

The handheld that is surprising easy to use, inexpensive yet pleasantly well made. Sony has made a really user friendly product.

Let’s talk about what this thing ISNT to clear confusion. It’s not a standalone game player, and it’s not even the type of device you take with you to play on the train, plane, or even on crappy hotel WiFi. If you want to buy for those reasons, you’ll be disappointed. IF you’re a parent who doesn’t have the TV available in your home network, you want to play while laying in bed, or want to have quick sessions while holding a baby in one arm, then this is the device for you. With a strong local WiFi connection and a wired ps5, you’ll get excellent performance, true controller functionally, and a high fidelity screen. It’s worth it if you’re a member of a relatively slim target market.

I recently purchased the PS Portal from Best Buy, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. From the moment I unboxed it, the design felt sleek, comfortable, and premium. The setup was quick and simple, and within minutes I was streaming my PlayStation games with smooth performance and beautiful visuals. The display is bright and crisp, making every detail in my games pop, and the controls feel just like a DualSense — responsive, comfortable, and immersive with the haptic feedback. I love the freedom it gives me to play my favorite games away from the TV, whether I’m relaxing on the couch, in bed, or even around the house. Best Buy made the whole process super easy — fast shipping, great packaging, and excellent service. Overall, I highly recommend the PS Portal to any PlayStation fan who wants the convenience of remote play without sacrificing quality.

A really good devise for relaxing in bed or if you share a TV with someone. Requires a strong wifi connection especially if you're on a different network. Even though the joysticks are supposed to feel like a Dual Sense they fell off to me. Just a little too tall.

This is a great accessory at great price. Perfect screen. Love the wifi principle of being able to play stream games on the go. Love taking it on trips

I like the portal and it is very convenient to use around the house. It may be my internet but more modern games are a bit blurry for me from the streaming.

Let me start with saying this, I do really like this new handheld by Sony but I can't say it's just yet perfect. There are still some flaws to it but for what it is and the cost it's great. This system does not have any internal memory nor any port to allow you to add a memory card to it, which is its major flaw, but it's not one that hinders play. The PS Portal plays streaming games and that's it. Depending on your internet signal and your PS Plus subscription plan, you can have a lot of fun with this handheld. To get the most out of the system, you will need a good/steady wireless signal for the internet and the stronger the better. For the games, if you have the premium plan then you will get access to both your Cloud games as well as a bunch of the streaming games. Though the premium is the most expensive plan at $160 but if you are comparing the costs of the other handhelds that are double to triple the cost of the PS Portal for just the system, then the cost of the Portal plus the premium about equals out to the cost of the other handheld systems. I'm hoping that since the streaming is a new thing for the PS Portal that Sony will be adding more to it in the coming year but right now it's great for causal play. The system is not too large, though after getting used to the grips, which seem larger than the PS5 controller, I would like a larger monitor. The quality is really sharp and clear, the audio is great, not too loud but loud enough to hear and not be disturbing. I would like an internal memory option so I could have that backup memory just in case there's no internet or poor signal. So far I haven't had any real problems playing the games. There's been a few times when the signal was weak but I was also inside a small closed off room that's used as a audio recording booth, so, the signal is weak. I think if Sony added some internal memory or a slot for a card, give the monitor a larger screen size, and offered a way to watch movies on it without needing to be logged into you PS5, then the PS Portal would be the best handheld in my opinion. Right now, it's been a lot of fun for me, I've played more new games on the Portal than I have on my PS5.

The game system came in a timely fashion. It works extremely well. Great quality handheld game system.

surprisingly good battery life. screen is vibrant, and the lag time is minimal. i have the ps5 on wired connection, and the Portal on the 5Ghz home wifi, and COD Campaign was very playable.

its a great device feels good in the hands and the screen quality is great, the battery life lasted longer than i thought it would, overall a great purchase