PlayStation Portal restock tracker
I’ve spent the last month with PlayStation Portal, and over those 30 days, I’ve been consistently impressed with this PS5 accessory. I didn’t expect to have such a fondness for this remote before its release, but now that I have one, I’m so glad Sony took a bet on the gate.
It’s not just me who shined on PlayStation Portal either. Right now, there’s a lot of interest in the handheld device. Ahead of the holiday season, a gaming gadget is among the most in-demand tech items in the world, and tracking PlayStation Portal restocks has become a daily necessity for those eager to get their hands on one.
If you’re currently searching for where to buy PlayStation Portal, or trying to decide if a dedicated remote play machine is worth its hefty $199 price tag, allow me to walk you through the highs (and lows) of my first month with PS Portal.
Well designed and cheerful
What’s most immediately noticeable about PlayStation Portal is its design. In short, it’s a PS5 DualSense controller cut into two parts with a 7-inch display sandwiched between each half. As strange as it may seem to some, its biggest strength over competitors like the BackBone One is that Feel Premium to play on.
Going from playing on your PS5 console to PlayStation Portal doesn’t require wrapping your mind (and fingers) around a reworked control scheme. Instead, you’ll find all the buttons in the same place you expect to find them. This makes switching between playing on your console and the portal completely seamless. Your muscle memory will be transferred, and all the next-gen DualSense technology is here as well as adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.
It also helps that the Portal’s 7-inch LCD screen is decidedly larger than your smartphone’s screen — which is what the BackBone One or Razer Kishi V2 use. As much as I love the PlayStation Portal OLED, I’m still impressed by the crispness of the Portal’s LCD screen, and visually stunning PS5 games like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Alan Wake 2 still look great when played on the Portal.
The Portal’s chunky design means you lose some of the flexibility that comes with one of the best phone controllers, but the superior gaming experience is worth carrying a larger device. Plus, as I’ll discuss later, the Portal isn’t a travel device, so its reduced portability compared to some alternatives isn’t a deal-breaker.
Playing in new places
Of course, PlayStation Portal offers complete freedom to play the best PS5 games almost anywhere inside your home. You’ll need a home Internet connection that extends to every room except one Best wifi extenders It can help you eliminate any dead areas.
My PS5 is connected to a TV in my home office, which works fine for me most of the time, but now I can have my gaming sessions anywhere inside my small apartment. If I want to play some Elden Ring games in bed, I can, or if I feel like playing some EA Sports FC 24 in the kitchen, that’s no problem either.
I recently started a second playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077 to check out the new expansion pack Phantom Liberty, and it’s been a real relationship saver to be able to explore Night City from the sofa while my partner watches her favorite Netflix series straight afterwards. to me.
On my 260MB/s home Wi-Fi network, I barely experienced frame rate drops when playing single-player games. I’ve experienced instances where image quality dropped noticeably, but these instances tend to only last a few seconds and are rare enough that they don’t impact my ability to enjoy games on Portal.
I had a bit of a hard time trying to play multiplayer, but that’s a limitation I can tolerate. I save my online sessions for gaming on the PS5 and mainly use the portal to get rid of larger RPGs and open world games.
It’s not for everyone
As much as I praised the PlayStation Portal above, I feel like the device comes with a fairly important caveat. There’s no getting away from the fact that your mileage will vary. My experience has been relatively smooth all things considered, but I’ve heard stories from colleagues who have experienced the opposite and found the device almost unusable.
It’s impossible to know how the PlayStation Portal will react to a particular network environment unless you have it in your hands and can test it yourself. That’s why I suggest, if possible, trying out a friend’s portal before committing to purchasing one. Even if your internet speeds are well above Sony’s recommendations (5MB/s minimum, 15MB/s recommended) you can still run into issues as my colleague Nick Pino did when reviewing PlayStation Portal.
It’s also worth noting that the PlayStation Portal is not a travel device. Last month, I took it on a trip to see how hotel Wi-Fi would perform, and the results were very poor. To Sony’s credit, the Portal’s marketing materials clearly explain that it requires a “home Wi-Fi network” to function, and it’s never been labeled as a Nintendo Switch killer. So, if you want a gaming gadget to play on the go, Portal isn’t what you’re looking for, maybe you should consider the Steam Deck OLED instead?
Should you buy the PlayStation Portal?
If you want the flexibility to play your PS5 anywhere within your home, PlayStation Portal is a smart buy. It offers a better gaming experience than its competitors like the BackBone One, and in my experience, it plays games smoothly with only a few minor visual hiccups at times.
However, if you have complete control over the TV your console is connected to, and have no real interest in playing PS5 games anywhere else in your home, you can easily live without PlayStation Portal. The portable gadget doesn’t play games locally, and its travel suitability is highly questionable.
However, if you have a strong home Wi-Fi network, and know what you’re buying, the PlayStation Portal is a very useful, if luxury, device. Which I’ve found myself turning on surprisingly often over the past four weeks.
Of course, purchasing a PlayStation Portal is easier said than done nowadays. Most major retailers have been out of stock since mid-November. That’s why we track PlayStation Portal restocks every day, so be sure to check out our full guide where we’ll alert you when the console is available so you don’t have to pay an inflated price on the resale market.
More from Tom’s guide
After using PlayStation Portal for the past month, I have had the chance to fully explore its features and capabilities. As someone who loves gaming, I was excited to see what this platform had to offer and how it compared to other gaming consoles. Throughout my time using it, I have formed my own opinions and have come to a verdict on its overall performance and user experience. In this review, I will share my thoughts and experiences with PlayStation Portal, and offer my final verdict on whether or not it lives up to the hype.