PlayStation Portable
Handheld gaming devices have made a massive return over the past few years and nearly every company has gotten in on the action. Gaming on-the-go has always had a place, and the return of dedicated devices is welcome. Sony’s entry into this front is a little different from others in the sense that it is not a device that is not designed to play games natively and instead serves as more of a streaming device. This has its benefits and of course detriments. Still, it makes a great compliment if you own a PlayStation 5 already.
Let’s kick it off with the design of the system. They aren’t kidding when they say this thing feels like someone took a Dual Sense controller, split it in half and added a screen in the middle. The grips on each side are basically Sony’s new controller, and it feels good in the hands. The screen in the middle is gorgeous. It spans the entire space between the controls, though it is very thin. I felt like I could snap it right in half at any time. I would have preferred a little more thickness to the design.
MSRP: $199.99
Price I’d Pay: $199.99
Button placement is fine for the most part, though I am not a fan of the PS Button placement. It doesn’t stick out far enough to regularly press without looking. The analog sticks are a little smaller than the ones on the Dual Sense but feel good. When comparing this to my other handheld devices it is one of the more comfortable ones to hold for extended periods of time, which is a huge bonus.
The screen as I mentioned is gorgeous. It is an 8-inch LCD running at 1080p and maxes out at 60fps, which is fine for a handheld. While not as clean as an OLED as far as the black levels are concerned, it does look great when playing games. The colors really pop off the screen, and every game looks crisp and smooth. It is worth noting that it does not support HDR or VRR, this is a streaming device so that makes sense. I did notice some tiny micro stutter at times when streaming from my PS5, but that could certainly be attributed to WiFi interference.
Speaking of performance, it is fine. I tried both streaming from the cloud as well as from my PS5, and console streaming was the better of the two. Cloud streaming over PSN is hit and miss most of the time. The artifacting at times can be a little aggressive. When streaming from my console things definitely feel better, but I could tell it was not running at full speed. The framerate was sporadic most of the time regardless of what I was playing. I tried everything from indie titles like Old School Rally to first-party staples like Ghost of Yotei.
For most games this is fine, but for more precision-based titles like fighting games or shooters it is definitely noticeable. I would not recommend doing anything competitive on this device, of course that is not something most people would buy one of these for. I was able to adjust to most games within minutes and again this will all depend on the network and anything fluctuating on your network. My PS5 is hard-wired so I was working within the best possible scenario.
The battery life is decent, ranging anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on the usual caveats. Brightness, haptics on the controls, and using headphones instead of the speakers can all improve this. It takes around two hours to get a full charge, which isn’t hateful. It uses a standard USB c connection. One gripe is that you cannot just connect any Bluetooth headset to the device, you have to use either a wired set or one of Sony’s PlayStation Link tech. This is a huge downside considering most people own a Bluetooth headset. I recommend a cheap pair of wireless earbuds, but sound quality there takes a hit.
The UI is a simplified version of the PS5 dashboard. There are two sections, one for remote play and one for streaming. Connecting to a PS5 is simple and you have access to all of it within the device. There is a setting section with things such as network setup, controller vibration, and so on. It is very basic and just works, which is nice. The touchpad is accessed by tapping the screen itself which pops up near the edges so you can reach them while holding the controller. Overall, the experience is really well done.
The PS Portal is a nice complimentary device to owning a PS5. It would be great for travelling or playing when the TV is occupied. The lag issues are what I had the biggest issue with. I am very sensitive to frame rate and controller lag, and I noticed it every single time, but I was still able to adapt and it works well enough that I could enjoy any game outside of my console. This is not something I would buy if I didn’t own a PS5, but as a complimentary device the price is just right.
Review hardware provided by publisher.
