Unfortunately, the PlayStation Portal disappointed me a lot. Even though I have a 100 Mbps connection and the PlayStation 5 is connected via LAN cable, it seems that was not enough for me to use the console. The resolution was terrible most of the time and it lagged so much that I had to wait around 2 minutes each time hoping the connection would hold and at least let me turn off the PlayStation 5 through the Portal. Specifically, I noticed it requires 15 Mbps upload, which I believe you might need a 300 Mbps or higher connection to achieve. This means that if you want to go to a friend's house and take the console with you, they also need to have very good internet to connect without any problems. I was supposed to have gotten it for my vacation home, but if it doesn't work with a 100 Mbps connection, it might not work at all with a 25 Mbps one. To manage to play somewhat comfortably, I had to sit next to the router while simultaneously disconnecting the whole family from the internet; I should mention that while I did all this, the resolution improved from very bad to mediocre. Anyway, what I want to conclude is that this console in Greece needs a very good study before purchasing to have some substantial use, so you don't end up in unnecessary return processes later.

I bought it the day before yesterday, on the first day of release, the Black Edition, and it has the latest update purely for collection purposes because I have a Gaming PC/PS5/XBOX X/Switch and I was reading reviews mainly from dads (who don’t have the TV free at home) and I thought they were excited simply because maybe they hadn’t played since the Game Boy era, and at first I had no intention of using it. I should note that I have extensive experience with game streaming because I was among the first to try the beta version of NVIDIA GeForce Now 6 years ago (and I had a subscription last year) as well as other gaming streaming platforms like the well-known Shadow that few people know about. The only experience I had with PS5 Remote streaming was through an iPad (new model), which is ridiculous for a serious gamer because it has lots of stuttering, glitches, etc., it blocks the console, etc. In the end Sony pulled it off (based on the game streaming technology we have today, which generally has issues and limitations). The screen may not be OLED, but it is amazing (Sony has always been one of the top TV screen manufacturers in the past). Here I should emphasize that today’s handheld portable consoles have issues, e.g. they run on Windows (with the exception of the Steam Deck), their fans are at full blast, they need a ton of settings to work properly like wattage, etc., when running on battery performance drops, etc.; on the other hand, the Switch runs half its games at 30 fps and anything that runs at 60 fps is for kids, it can’t even handle NBA. Here on the Portal we have a steady 60 fps in all games (I’m not referring to very old ones, e.g. Redemption 2, which haven’t been upgraded anyway). The battery easily lasts 5 hours and the device DOES NOT LAG AT ALL. But for this to happen, the PS5 must be connected only via wired ethernet and you must have a home connection of at least 50 Mbps and the Wi‑Fi router must also be 5 GHz; also, if you use a Wi‑Fi extender, it must be connected either by ethernet cable or via powerline (and not wirelessly to the main router). For some magical reason I’ve also been hooked on the device for a week now, where you forget that it is a streaming device like all the dads, because the moment you turn it on, within 2 seconds you are in the console, something that does not happen with other devices that work on PS Remote Play, and of course the controller is amazing with all the features, adaptive triggers, vibration, and great speakers, which I have only at 50%.

Congratulations to Sony!!

The Playstation Portal is essentially designed as a PS5 controller with a built-in screen. The build quality is excellent and the ergonomics are at a high level. All the buttons are easily accessible during use, and the addition of lighting is a nice touch to the design.

The touchscreen is LCD technology with an 8″ diagonal. Since the device is intended solely for streaming use, it does not contain computing mechanisms inside, making it particularly lightweight.

Because we are talking about streaming, the smooth user experience depends on the network speed.

Remote Play:
To connect to the PS5, we need to have the device in standby mode so that as soon as we select the connection from the portal, it activates immediately. When I am on a shared network, the connection is smooth. Essentially, we have a mirroring of the PS5 screen on the portal screen, allowing us to play all the games stored on the PS5 directly on the portal. The gameplay progresses smoothly without lag or disconnections. Both the screen and the sound help ensure that we do not miss anything from the enjoyment of the game compared to the PS5. The haptic feedback of the portal is on the same level as that of the PS5 controller and immerses you into the game. This is what stands out for me about using the Playstation Portal. Before I got the portal, I had tried remote play on both mobile and tablet mainly to test if my network could support it. And since I played comfortably and particularly enjoyably, especially on the Tab S9 Ultra screen, what makes the portal worthwhile is that it immerses you in the game as if you were playing directly on the PS5. I connected to the PS5 from a different network and was positively impressed by both the connection speed and how smoothly I played, regardless of the game I tried. No lags, image distortions, or disconnections.

Cloud Gaming:
The addition of cloud gaming is what truly elevated the Playstation Portal to another level. Of course, a prerequisite is to have an active Playstation Plus subscription at the premium level, which is also the most expensive. It gives us access to a large catalog of games that is constantly updated. Thus, it is not mandatory to own a PS5 to play on the portal. Here, the user experience is excellent. Smooth gameplay, without distortions, with some slight lags that may appear but do not affect the experience. Another positive aspect of cloud gaming is that in games we play via the cloud but have stored on the PS5, progress transfers from one device to another.

Overall, using the Playstation Portal left me with very good impressions. Lightweight, it does not cause fatigue even after hours of use, with a bright screen, nice colors, and strong sound. With brightness and sound at medium and vibration and feedback at maximum, the battery comfortably lasts 6-7 hours.

The Playstation Portal is aimed at someone who doesn't find much space on their TV to play, so they can do it with the portal. However, now with cloud gaming, it also targets someone who wants to enter the world of Playstation without needing to spend the money required for the PS5 and wants to play both indoors and outdoors. Personally, I hesitated quite a bit before proceeding with the purchase, but when I used it outside the house, I was thrilled!

PROS
- Cloud Gaming
- Ergonomics

CONS
- Dependence on network speed

Check out the detailed presentation of the PlaystationPortal on my YouTube channel.

My opinion without any hesitation or hiding things about what the experience of the Ps Portal is really like is as follows: 1) If you don't have a good, mainly stable Wifi connection at home, don't even think about getting it, it's not worth it, it won't let you enjoy even a moment of gameplay without lagging, as the portal essentially mirrors your TV screen with the ps5. From there, if you have a decent connection at home and I repeat mainly stable, without fluctuations in the line, it's a good choice for in-house portable gaming, while someone might be watching TV and you want to play ps5. In my case, there are rooms where the connection is not so good or stable, resulting in lagging even though I have the portal connected to the main router the same as the ps5. As for gaming with the portal outside the house in places with different wifi or using the mobile hotspot solution, again regarding wifi, I will tell you the same: wherever you are, if you have a stable connection, you can easily enjoy a gaming session without interruptions or losing the connection. With the hotspot, I will say it depends on where you are; I have been in places where my mobile (5g) mb were perfect and stable, resulting in me connecting the portal and truly enjoying a gaming session without any problems, perhaps even better than at home. However, it has also happened the exact opposite... As a general summary, I will say that yes, generally the portal is a device worth 220 euros, as it offers you the ability for portable gaming even if it is essentially streaming, at a very affordable price compared to other portable consoles, standalone yes, but very expensive. It is clearly a matter of wifi and stable line whether it is fully utilized in the device and enjoyed by each user. We hope with cloud streaming, even though it's still in beta mode, to make an even bigger expansion, ultimately using the portal as a standalone console