PlayStation Portal is as comfortable to hold and use as the DualSense controller, and has the same haptic feedback and adaptive triggers of that controller. The lightweight design, ergonomics, and full DualSense experience are definitely highlights of the Portal.

The 8" LCD screen is bright and vivid, and looks great for playing games. Though, many games seem to have at least some text that's a bit too small for that screen size, which might cause some eye fatigue (e.g. Disco Elysium's non-dialogue text). As a result, I found it more comfortable to play such games on the TV.

Connection to PS5 (including waking it up from rest mode) felt seamless and sufficiently quick. I did not have any disconnection issues.

One downside of the Portal is the extra latency it adds to controller inputs (measured as the time difference between changes on the TV screen and the Portal screen, using a 60 fps camera recording of both screens at once), which seems to be usually around 67 milliseconds (4 frames in 60 fps video), occasionally going down to 50 ms or so (3 frames). This is with a TP-Link Deco XE75 AXE5400 WiFi router with "optimized" channels, both PS5 and Portal "prioritized" on the router, PS5 wired to the router, and Portal connected to 5 GHz frequency WiFi network at 6 feet distance from the router. While the extra latency did not feel terrible, it was still noticeable for me in most games I've tried, especially when compared with playing directly on the TV. So, the latency might hinder players' performance in games that would benefit greatly from having quick reaction times or precise timing, like Returnal, rhythm games, and online competitive shooters, but it's probably fine for casual players, especially in slower-paced games.

Another downside (at least with the current system software version, 2.0.6) seems to be the consistent and periodic micro-stutters or dropped frames (which last 2-3 seconds and happen every 10 seconds or so), to which some people are apparently less sensitive and therefore may not notice. Between those micro-stutters, updating of the screen actually felt as smooth as the TV screen and smoother than using Remote Play on some other devices (MacBook, iPhone, iPad). Hopefully, Sony can find a way to eliminate those micro-stutters in a future software update to further improve the Portal experience.

The speakers sound OK for a handheld device. Though, they would sound even louder if they were directed toward the user (perpendicular to the screen) instead of upward (parallel to the screen) like they are now. The Pulse Explore earbuds do work well with the Portal.

Charging the Portal using PS5's USB-A port has been somewhat slow (at a speed that would take around 3 hours to fully charge, though I never charged it from 0 to 100%). Also, the placement of Portal's charging port (behind its screen) makes it a bit hard to find and plug in the cable. It would be better if Sony at least made that USB-C port easier to see, e.g. by making its border a lighter color.

The lack of support for PS+ Premium streaming or captive WiFi portal pages (for public networks) seem like weird omissions, as they would significantly increase the use cases for this device. Sony should really add those features in future software updates. And if they ever make a successor to this device, I hope they also add a couple of buttons on the back, which I missed when playing certain games (with jumping and dashing actions) after getting used to such buttons on the DualSense Edge controller. A larger-capacity battery with faster charging would also be a useful improvement.

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.

So i have now had this handheld for a total of 24hrs so this will be more or less a first impression review.

This handheld/accessory is awesome. The controller is very ergonomical, its a perfect replica of the ps5 duelsense controller. The thumbsticks are a hair smaller but honestly i dont think youll even notice during gameplay. Has haptic triggers, and a nice light bar between the screen and the controller. The screen is a perfect size in my opinion, some may perfer a little bigger but for my consumption i think this screen is perfect. The speakers in this are pretty good. They arent great but they do more than just get the just get the job do so id say above average. The USB-C port is in the perfect position so you can play and charge at the same time.

The gameplay of this handheld is awesome. Connects to my ps5 quickly, no issues as long as its put in rest mode. Have had very little, and i mean very little frameskips or lag. Button input latency, for me, has almost been non-existent.
As of 11/19/2024 Sony has put a update on this handheld to allow you to stream ps5 games without the need of a ps5 console. I have got a couple hours of gameplay using this feature and the gameplay is not bad at all. Honestly with it being in beta i didnt think it would be that great, but let me tell you it has exceeded my expectations. Its not perfect by any means, your are only limited to ps5 games only, and you have to play the ps5 catalogue thats provided with this feature, and to get the feature you ahbe to subscribe to PlayStations Priemum tier. But its a beta so its going to be worked on as time continues, but once the beta is over, i can almost see this, handheld no longer being just an accessory to the ps5, but also seeing it become a handheld streaming device for playing PS5/PS4 games and maybe even the classic Playstation systems.

Let's be honest. Version 4.0 is a game changer. It is what should have been available at launch. Now that we have it, how does it exactly change things? Well for starters, you can cloud stream whatever is on the premium plus membership that you have to pay for. Not all games are available, you still can't use YouTube or Netflix, and you can really only still play this wherever there is wifi or a hotspot. Sony really missed the mark on not being able to have a sd card to have games saved on the system like the Nintendo switch, because this limits to where you can get the best connection when streaming a game. If you want to sit outside in a rocking chair in your back yard, forget about it. Now, let's say you don't have a ps5. I do, but let's say you don't. If you want to play the newest CODBO6, and you think you can just buy the game on the portal, or via your phone app to your ps5 account and get right into the action, think again. If you have the ps5 and download the game on the console, then stream it to your ps portal, then it will work. If they implemented a store where you could purchase games directly on the portal, then I would recommend this in a heartbeat, because right now, you're really only getting a beta handheld that can play only the games Sony wants to release, and you could hate all of them, and have no games to play and pay for a monthly service. It is a nice step forward, given the system only has 3 updates since release, but given I have done my through test on this device, it is no where near being complete. Personally I don't use my ps5 anymore, but having it for just exclusive games, is worth every penny over the portal. Why? Because you are getting better quality of picture, better ethernet connection, zero lag, and a powerhouse of a system. The portal still has so much potential, but with what is does now in 4.0, some may find it to be useful, but long story short, no store, no cod, no sd card, has to be played in wifi, have to pay for premium remote play, there are more cons that weigh the system down than positives. I personally would advise to wait until the newer handhelds come out. Sony has confirmed a newer handheld will be releasing in the next year or two, xbox is working on one, Nintendo as well, so I would really advise waiting, then jumping the gun on a beta product, that is not fully complete.