Who is PlayStation Portal even for?
PlayStation Portal is such a weird little device that’s meant for the least amount of players
So on August 23rd of 2023, PlayStation officially announced and unveiled the PlayStation Portal to the world, along with the audio devices that are compatible with the device.
Back in May of this year, PlayStation gave a sneak peek into the device, which at the time was called by its codename, Project Q. When they first showed it during the PlayStation Showcase, it confused the heck out of me and everyone else because it was literally a DualSense controller split into two with a display in the middle. But now, we have a clearer idea of what the device actually does and what it is meant for. And it just made the PlayStation Portal more confusing in terms of who it is for.
A device that looks like it’s meant for better
The PlayStation Portal is a device that claims to offer a great gaming experience, but it has a major limitation: it does not run any games natively. The PlayStation Portal is solely meant for remote play from PS5 to the device.
This raises the question: why do you need to spend US$200 for a device that does only one thing and that is remote play? Especially when you can remote play from your phone, tablet, Windows PC, or Mac devices with various controllers. And what if you do not have a PS5 or a stable internet connection?
But wait, there is more! The PlayStation Portal has a 3.5mm headphone jack, but it does not support Bluetooth! It uses a new audio technology called PlayStation Link, which requires you to buy new headphones or earphones if you want a wireless experience. And guess what? The PlayStation Link devices are not cheap either.
PlayStation Link devices
The PlayStation Link devices are a new line of audio products that are designed to work with the PlayStation Portal. They have a similar design to the Pulse 3D headset and Sony earphones, but they have a unique feature: they can connect to two devices at the same time using Bluetooth and PlayStation Link.
The PlayStation Link technology is a proprietary audio system that allows the devices to communicate with the PlayStation Portal and create a 3D sound experience. You can also use these devices with the PS5, Windows PC, or Mac devices through a USB adapter that is provided with each device. This way, you can use the Bluetooth to connect to your phone and the PlayStation Link to connect to your gaming device simultaneously.
However, these devices are not cheap. The Pulse Elite headphones cost US$150 and the Pulse Explore earphones cost US$200. They also do not have some features that other wireless audio products have, such as noise cancelling, transparency mode, spatial audio, and more. For example, if you compare the Pulse Explore earphones with the AirPods Pro, which cost US$250, you will see that the AirPods Pro have more advantages in terms of audio quality and functionality.
The AirPods Pro have noise cancelling, transparency mode, spatial audio, dual microphone, and H2 chip that provides higher quality audio. The Pulse Explore earphones do not have any of these features, except for dual microphone with AI-enhanced noise rejection. The only benefit of the Pulse Explore earphones is that they can connect to a mobile phone and PS5 at the same time using Bluetooth and PlayStation Link.
Of course, this is not a fair comparison, since the AirPods Pro are not designed for gaming and the Pulse Explore earphones are not released yet. But as someone who considers the AirPods Pro as the highest quality of audio on a wireless earphone, I think that the Pulse Explore earphones need to offer more value for their price.
As for the charging cases, I do not know much about them either. I do not know if they have wireless charging like the AirPods Pro (Gen 2) have, or if they have any other features that make them stand out. I also do not care about engraving, since that is more of an Apple thing than a PlayStation thing.
Conclusion
The PlayStation Portal is a device that does not seem to have a clear purpose or appeal. It is a device that only allows remote play from PS5 to the device, which is something that you can already do with other devices and accessories for much cheaper.
For example, you can buy a Backbone for US$100 or a phone clip for US$30 and use them with your phone to remote play from your PS5. You do not need to spend US$200 for a device that does the same thing and nothing more.
The PlayStation Portal would have made more sense if it had games running natively on it or even cloud games that you could access through PlayStation+ Premium. But unfortunately, PlayStation has decided to limit the device to remote play only, which makes it redundant and unnecessary.
Maybe PlayStation will change this in the future, maybe before the release or maybe with a software update after the release. But as of right now, the PlayStation Portal is a waste of money for US$200.
