PlayStation Portal Remote Player 5

The PS portal is a remote play device that connects to your PS5 allowing you to play games without use of the television. This is what it is advertised as doing, and it does this very well. There has been a recent update to the device that allows you to stream games from the PS Plus library of games if you are a PS Plus subscriber, completely bypassing your PS5. As of this review, the feature is still in beta, however, from my testing it works well. If you have a good connection from your PS5 to your router and have a good WiFi connection outside, you can even remote play your PS5 while you are not at home, such as in a hotel. I suggest using your phone's hot spot on a 5G connection to do this.For a more responsive and lag free experience make sure your PS5 is connected to your router with an Ethernet cable instead of connecting via WiFi. This will provide a stable experience on your PS Portal.Remember that this is not a stand alone console like a Switch or a Steam Deck allowing you to play games directly on the machine. The PS Portal connects to your PS5 or can stream games from the PS Plus library if you are a subscriber.The PS Portal itself has all the functions of the PS5 controller which is awesome. That means when you play a game that makes use of the adaptive triggers, the PS Portal will feel just like your PS5 controllers. For instance, pulling an arrow back on a bow in a game with the actually feels like there is bow string tension in the trigger. This is light years better than just getting a set of controllers that attaches to a phone for remote play. It also has all the buttons like the PS button, screen capture button, and options button. The only thing missing is the touch pad. In order to use the touch pad, you actually touch the screen on the PS Portal and a virtual touch pad pops up on the screen.My favorite feature is that the PS Portal allows you to wake up your PS5 from sleep mode. If someone in the house is using the TV, no problem. Just pick up your PS Portal, connect to your PS5, and starting playing your games!

I love the PS Portal. I didn't get it. I still don't. But I love it.Pros:- Can game anywhere in your home wifi network pretty well. Graphics look almost as good as the PS5. It has had a few drop outs while in the bathroom for some reason and it stutters. But generally only has happened a few times.- Works decently on phone hotspot. It's playable, granted it hiccups more than I'd like it too. And the graphics don't look as sharp as home network.- Feels like playing PS5 on the go, in bed, or lying on the couch. Almost the same graphical power and look- it doesn't look quite as good as tv but it's very close- especially coming from the antique switch.Cons:- No browser, so you have to use hotspot/wifi over connecting it directly while on restaurant/hotel wifi- No blu tooth audio, that's a big issue, but maybe due to latency? Wired headphones work great though.- No downloadable playable media. If it had this, this game system would be the king.- Hard to get (check out the app Hotstock. I found one in less than two days casually looking on the app).- Screen is quite reflective, so hard to play outside in the sun.- It sometimes drops wifi connection and it's laggy or slow during those moments, not great for multiplayer games where speed and accuracy is an asset.- It takes around 20-30 seconds to boot up. So if you're a grab and play for a few minute kind of person, huge disadvantage vs a switch, where I could pick it up and play immediately for 5-10 minutes. This is a bit more of a time commitment.- YOU HAVE TO keep your PS5 on rest mode or this won't function at all. If you have a home power outage while on a trip, you're carrying around a portal for nothing. Not only does it need to be on, but you need to be logged into your account on your machine.- My hands aren't quite as large so the controller is a little big in my hands compared to the smaller switch, so it's a little less comfortable, but doesn't bother me that much.- get a case, this thing is big and more delicate. The case makes it feel really solid. I got a clear case with a screen protector, it's nice.Reasons I got a Portal:I love handheld gaming - I've played my switch 90/10 to my ps5. My biggest drawback to using a switch or a steam deck, I like being able to play on the TV and on handheld- but the switch has huge graphical drawbacks, so I never hooked it up to the TV. It's really cool to have your games all be on one cohesive network of games and saves. The screen is really nice and looks about as nice as playing on my TV.Anyone that approaches this with an open-mind will love it. I'll probably keep my switch for trips and keep the portal at home for playing in bed or lying on the couch. I've enjoyed it- once they get a PS5 connected handheld that can download games and create a cloud saving- I'm completely in.

Bought this "like new" with a steep discount for prime day. This was my first time buying a known return/open box product from Amazon resale. Absolutely amazing in terms of condition - not only came in the original box with the accessories (charging cable), but even the factory sticker screen protector was on. It clearly had not been used as it prompted me to download and install 2 updates. As far as functionality, the thing is absolutely great. I would caution anyone that does not have a great wifi connection and spotty performance speeds. That being said, its wild that my PS5 is on another floor and I'm gaming without any noticeable lag, image quality degradation, or connection issues. PS5 needs to be in sleep mode to activate unless you want to manually turn it on each time. The only downside is that you will need wired headphones/buds unless you buy the proprietary wireless sony ones. If you have good wifi and decent speeds, want to play in another part of the house or have the tv being used, worth it.