I can’t believe this is $200 - Playstation Portal Review

[@dadi2450]

a friendly reminder that the PS Vita could do literally everything this thing could and also play it's own games, you could gamestream from a ps3 and a ps4 along with some games having support for using it like a wii u style controller, the vita also has an oled screen and bluetooth, as well as a much much longer battery life, still to this day, i cannot wrap my head around how sony managed to screw the pooch so hard on marketing the Vita, it took the steam deck for me to drop it as my main mobile gaming console, and even then i still prefer it for retro games, like gameboy and nes/snes titles.

[@GoToSleep1993]

Thank. You. Every single person hyping this up just forgets that Sony has already done this and so much MORE.... For the SAME price 10 YEARS ago...

[@Roofhack]

Yeah, I remember being very excited for the Vita... then the memory chips thing... and also the flop of the COD game didn't help. (though I'm not a COD gamer normally, a good shooter at launch would have been convincing).

[@dadi2450]

@@Roofhack the uncharted game was great imo, and then there was best and last game to ever grace the wipeout series, wipeout 2048, i have thousands of hours in it, in my opinion it's the magnus opus of the entire genre that is anti-grav racing, god that thing is good, if it ever released on PC or any of the "big" playstations, i'd buy a playstation just for it, if you have a vita, you must pick it up, besides, they are easy as cake to homebrew, psp games are practically hardware compatable once you homebrew it too, you can pretty much run the entire psp firmware within a vita homebrew app

[@Deja117]

The vita was probably Sony's best ever console to date. Not from a hardware perspective, it's extremely outdated... I'm talking from a customer experience point. I remember having one when I was younger, then seeing new consoles... I'm on PC now. It's just easier, even if I need to miss out on exclusives because of it. :D

[@LBenjamin]

@@GoToSleep1993 same price? 10 years ago? I guess someone forgot about something called inflation.

[@Syddy_]

people were definitely outraged about the dualsense edge's price, and the issue isn't that it's 200$ for a streaming only device, it's that it feels like it's a waste of the hardware, if it could stream ps+ games over the internet without a ps5 being required it would be fine but as is it feels like the portal could do more.

[@deeplaysgaming4754]

stick drift...........sticks arent replacable and it doesnt use hall effect sticks so once it does drift (and it will) it'll be useless anyways

[@Kenjionigod]

It is kinda baffling that they recently launched PS5 streaming, but you can't stream anything. If all the PS3, PS4 and PS5 games were streamable plus remote play I think it would be more well rounded.

[@Bruh_Moment..]

stick problem, having to own a ps5, price (good price if it had these features but its doesn't), not being able to stream games with ps plus, not working with bad internet, having an airplane mode 😂, no bluetooth support, and not being a vita 2. idk why anyone would buy this

[@Bruh_Moment..]

​@@Kenjionigodi agree

[@abdullahalmuhaisin8236]

Like why would i buy a 200$ device when I can just stream on my phone,I just don't get it.

[@Thorz74]

That the portal cannot connect to streaming services like Sony’s own PS+ takes out all the joy for me. I cannot understand how Sony couldn’t include this!

[@xFierceDeityx-wx5nh]

steam link is better i can even use it on my vr headset.

[@Aimero]

They didn't because Greedy Sony wants you to buy a overpriced 4 year old console with hardware from stone age

[@RuneMamba]

@@Aimero hardware from stone age? bruh its equivalent to a 3060~ which is the most popular GPU on PC. Which is $300 by itself, and the ps5 digital is only $400, so its not overpriced either.

[@proggz39]

@@Aimerothey already said they’re looking into it and want to add the feature

[@ALmaN11223344]

Sony has decided that they can make more money off of this concept by selling it as a console companion and forcing you into buying the games to go with it, which makes sense seeing as the hardware in the PS5 should also be manufacturable at profit now.

[@no2475]

The issue with this thing is not so much the price but how crazy limited it is. This makes its usecase super niche and feels like wasted potential. Remember the whole issue with the memory cards on the Vita? That one dumb decision held the device back quite a bit. The Portal's issues are like that, but multiple. Edit: As someone else mentioned, the Vita can already do everything this thing can and more. The Portal is basically the "remote play" feature turned into a standalone device.

[@MrSupersonic2012]

That's the thing. For the price this should have either been a full fledge console that can play it's own games or play your PS games from your account without having to connect ri your PS5. Or it should have been a lot cheaper in its current form. If this thing was $100 (realistically just a little bit more expensive than a Dualsense controller.) I think it'd be much easier to accept it for what it can do.

[@joemamr710]

The vita cost almost twice as much, in 2012 dollars, and it had no L2/R2, so it sucked at playing games, and it had no haptic feedback or adaptive triggers. And of course the stream was low bitrate 540p. It sucked and there was a reason it flopped. The portal is a much better device than the vita, even if it’s not perfect by today’s standards. All of like to see is an OLED screen and it’d be perfect.

[@MrSupersonic2012]

@@joemamr710 I'm not going to deny that the Vita was overpriced or that it's remote play features were not nearly as good as modern day devices. But saying that the Playstation Portal, a device that does not have its own library of games and can only be used as a gaming accessory to the PS5 , is a better device than the Vita is wild. The Vita had its own library of games. Sure it was lacking variety, but there were a lot of good games in there. Not to mention you could play a wide selection of digital PSP, PS1, and minis on it. You could browse the Internet, it has apps like KZbin, Netflix, ect. And could do remote play (which, yes it sucked but it could still do it, on top of everything else.) The portal can just stream your PS5 games. How in the hell is it a better device? If your PS5 dies you just have a $200 paper weight. You can't even hack or modify it to do anything else. Which, once you hack the Vita it can do even more than it already did.

[@joemamr710]

@@MrSupersonic2012 Streaming PS5 games is the only thing that people WANT to do, in the playstation handheld environment. That is why the vita failed. If the vita were a 1080p PS4 streaming device that cost half as much it would have probably sold more, just like the PS portal is selling out all over the place for months now. It's not 2006 anymore. Game companies can't develop for that many platforms. It's too expensive and time consuming to add all these platforms. Sony and Microsoft have one single API for their consoles, unless the portal was 100% fully compatible with PS5 games it was never going to get a good library, just like the vita never got one. There is no market for cut down playstation games, and the vita proved that. There is a market for very high quality streaming devices though.

[@trismania]

​@@joemamr710hit the nail in the coffin there. I bought the Portal and I couldnt be happier about it. The market doesnt want a ps portal with cut down Playstation games where most developers dont even bother developing Games for it, exactly like it was with the vita. I think the people who hate on the Portal are all Pc masterrace guys. The Portal is a cheap and good working Option to play Ps5 games in your bed or where ever you are comfortable. People like me for example , like it to just pick up the portal and play a few hours on it. Its a much easier barrier to entry to play just a few hours, often times I dont have the energy to sit on my chair at my desk and play on the monitor. I rather play in my bed for a few hours. I totally get that this is not for everyone, alot of people dont get it because they rather play on the monitor, and then it is obviously pointless to buy it. But to hate it because its not a device for them is dumb. The price imo is fair, it works very good for me, the delay is very playable and sony worked on the delay to make it better than on a Smartphone or tablet. The delay is much better than on the Ps Remote Play app. The criticism about no Bluetooth though is absolutely warranted, and the excuse of delay is dumb. Sony did what the Switch did for a long time, lock Bluetooth on the Software side. They just could of gave people the choice to use Bluetooth with delay.

[@shredenvain7]

A big problem with the portal is the potential it brings for parents buying it thinking that its a self contained game console.

[@Busterblade20]

This is exactly what I was thinking. There is going to be a non-zero quantity of low income parents who can't afford a PS5, so they'll buy this thing for their kids. Just in time for the Holidays.

[@Cyba_IT]

@@Busterblade20 A "non-zero quantity?" Bruh. Yeah, I bet this is going to happen a lot and it's rough but it isn't Sony's problem. Hopefully the kids and/or parents don't smash it in frustration and the stores have a good returns policy.

[@ObieCS2]

Very valid point. There should be a big red sticker on the packaging with "requires a PS5 console" in big block letters.

[@MobikSaysStuff]

Isn't that the parent's responsibility to do research before spending money on something though?

[@ridderjaim3]

@@MobikSaysStuff Yes it is, but most people (not just parent) are very unsavvy with tech and even those that are can find it hard to keep up. Just a clear disclaimer that you need the full console to be able to use it should kind of be the minimum expectation here for Sony.

[@adam_roman]

The price justification angle starts to fall apart when you remember there are dozens of portable Android consoles like the Retroid Pocket 3+ that are able to do the whole PS5 remote play thing for $50 cheaper, and they include the ability to run games natively, stream other services like Steam Link or Moonlight, and they don't need proprietary wireless audio like the Portal.

[@gidelix]

besides, saying you already pay as much for just the controller is nothing but a major point *against* the *controller* . the whole price justification segment is a bit of a joke

[@MADCATMK3103]

What about stick drift? Modern controllers are not known for their quality. If it was built like the fancy controller with removable sticks the price would make more sense. @@gidelix

[@gidelix]

@@MADCATMK3103 just grab a hall effect controller instead, can get a good one for like 60

[@dafo446]

not a defend but if there's an 8-Inch screen handheld with rumble as good as the ps5 controller that's as portable as the ps portal is less than 200$? i would like to buy that.

[@mmstick]

That's laughable that you think a Retroid or even an Ayn Odin is comparable to a DualSense handheld with a high quality 8" 1080p display with official PS remote play support.

[@RemizZ]

150ms latency is kinda atrocious considering you're staying in your local network. Even Stadia over the internet had 150 or better, local as low as 80 iirc. With how sensitive Linus is to input lag, it seems a little too focused on trying to find the good points and being okay with issues they normally wouldn't be. Even a Steam Link running on a (wired) Raspberry Pi 3 is better than that.

[@mmstick]

That's an issue with his particular setup. It sounds like his Portal is connecting to a 2.4 GHz AP instead of 5 GHz. I'm getting around 16-32ms total for my Portal. Most of which is from hardware encode/decode than the actual WiFi connection (1-3ms WiFi latency). Or he may have the PS5 connected to a display via HDMI as this is commonly reported to be a major source of input delay.

[@SamWulfign]

I think Critical Linus went on honeymoon as optimistic Linus wants a cloud peripheral gaming device, I'm constantly asking where is critical Linus that's dunking on the obviously stupid hologram badge device thing, but that could have interesting potential features to showcase. Something some podcast people asked a while ago when it came to a similar device like this, who is this for? I honestly don't know who this kind of device is for, Most console peeps would much prefer the big screen couch experience rather then a small device like this. Only thing I could see is parents who want their kids off the big screen to play the Playstation on, but I also don't see those kinds of parents forking over 200 dollars for that kind of solution at that price they'd just buy a cheap TV. As it wouldn't be more accident breaking prone. Every time I look at this and see the specs for this I'm reminded of the WiiU, there's a reason that Nintendo abandoned that concept.

[@mmstick]

@@SamWulfignYou are really overthinking this far too hard. Isn't it obvious who this is for? It's exactly what they market it as on the box. It's for people who own a PS5, but want the best PlayStation Remote Play experience with a DualSense-based handheld. There is nothing out there that offers the same quality of experience for this. I'm not sure why you'd think to generalize an entire group of people as wanting to play games in one and only one location in their household on a single TV. Why do you think people like the Nintendo Switch so much? People want this for all the same reasons they like playing games on the Switch. Maybe the wife is watching TV and you want to sit with her while playing your games. Or vice versa, maybe you want to watch something while the wife plays a game on the handheld. Maybe you want to play PS5 games from the comfort of bed instead of sitting in the living room. Perhaps there are some genres of games that you prefer playing in handheld, and others that you prefer on the TV. Or perhaps you're more in the mood to play with a handheld. I'm sure a lot of people want to bring their PS5 games with them to the toilet. As far as children are concerned, I'm sure there are many children that'd enjoy the same kinds of perks to having the option of playing games in handheld mode. But this is likely going to be more appealing to working adults.

[@SamWulfign]

@@mmstick The reason people like the Nintendo switch so much is it's a portable console on the go... this isn't a Console. What people really wanted was the next Sony handheld, this isn't it.

[@mmstick]

@@SamWulfignYou've clearly missed the point entirely.

[@kristopherthompson1342]

My BIGGEST issue with the portal isn't the price. It's the wasted potential. If it could stream ps+ games over just the internet, that would be a massive improvement. Combine that with the lack of Bluetooth, wifi 6, display out, etc. It is not worth 200 bucks for something practically anything with a screen can already do.

[@rickybobby5153]

Same price as the dual sense edge though. Basically just another specialized controller. My only actual gripe is I can’t use media apps like Netflix on it and I don’t really like it’s charging port. It needs some kind of shield over it to protect the cable from wiggling and damaging the port. Some kind of magnetic cable would have been nice or wireless charging. Wifi 6 would have been nice too, I get most people don’t have it but it would help future proof it a bit. Lack of Bluetooth is what it is - can’t even do it with PS4/5.

[@kylespevak6781]

​@@rickybobby5153 Exactly, specialized controller are over priced garbage for fan boys

[@journeytree]

Streaming in any way is not a "massive improvement" Streaming is the bare minimum Sony could have done. Real hardware would be a massive improvement.

[@tbeerens123]

Exactly

[@T0ASTYC0ASTY]

Im fine with the idea of cloud gaming. My issue is that the point of cloud gaming is to create a cheaper alternative if you cant afford a device that can actually run the games. However for this device you have to already own the more expensive item in order to even run this thing which to me makes it pointless for what most people want it for. Especially considering that if you want to just remote play like linus said you can get a backbone and use the remote play app on your phone

[@ukmaxi]

I mean, this is not even cloud gaming. It's connecting to your PS5 and it's streaming from that rather than a server. So, you own local internet can be a bottleneck if it isn't a good connection.

[@Jayden-tp6nd]

Also the second it has stuck drift you more than likely have to throw the whole thing away, If it's out of warranty. There's to little people buy so there it will be hard or expensive for any shop to repair a more complex and niche device

[@CricketEngland]

I bet you were still one of those that poo pooed Google Stadia

[@MorrisseyMuse]

Backbone and the PS app aren't as stable as the Portal though in my experience with both

[@mtj3314]

The Portal’s not supposed to be for Cloud Gaming to begin with

[@FSAPOJake]

The Wii U, which launched in 2012, had basically latency-free remote play on the gamepad. The technology is there. Sony could have used bespoke hardware for this, but they just gave you a device to do the exact same remote play your phone can do.

[@williamss89]

But you can take the Wii U anywhere and hook it up to the WiFi and just play? No you can’t.

[@Exploringthemagic]

the Wii U only works within about 30 ft to and 720p

[@D3nn1s]

Not quite a fair comparison but not completely wrong either

[@Bond007er]

The switch is more portable than ps portal also don't need 2 entire systems to play if I. Wanted ps5 I'll just get that I'm not gonna spend 700 just to play ps5 games over what could be laggy to begin with

[@bilditup1]

They will have likely had to have engineered the PS5 hardware to support such a thing though, and this is pretty clearly something they’re tacking on. But given how limited this device is-and really, it’s not something that is going to deliver a decent experience over WAN; that is marketing nonsense-it should have been much cheaper.

[@DuncDog]

Wifi 6 isn't strictly better on speeds, as described. It is, however, on compliant environments significantly better than 5 in latency, which is massive for this use case. 6e is similar, but just adds 6GHz support.

[@pocketradzys]

Especially when that 150ms latency (which I assume is also on top of your internet latency) makes it unplayable for the games I like to play, Rocket League, online shooters etc.

[@MuhammadKharismawan]

its mostly for future proofing

[@davidmalkowski7850]

I can testify to latency. My use case was Quest 3 with a direct connection from my PC's wireless card (Intel AX1690). The latency added by encoding/decoding the Air Link from my machine? 3 milliseconds. I could not perceive the difference in VR, coming from the original Rift and Rift S, and boundary setup is simple as gazing around your room. Despite holding out hope for a SteamVR standalone headset, Meta knocked it out of the park.

[@jakub7244]

You expect LTT do know stuff? They are just marketing for companies at this point

[@danielkelsosmith]

@@jakub7244why would they market for a company that A. doesn’t sponsor them, and B. They literally criticise all disadvantages of the hardware and bad decisions.

[@Agent067]

I can't believe Nintendo and Sony did a collab and made a new Wii U. Always knew it was possible.

[@rorynolan2322]

The Wii u is a console though. How is this the same?

[@ssjmonstar]

Not for the first time either the psp could remote play to the ps3 The vita could remote play to the ps3 and the ps4

[@jayviolentmob8309]

@@rorynolan2322 Use your head... PS5 to Portal is like the WiiU to the Controller with the Screen. It's almost exactly the same product. So much so, I'm surprised Linus didn't mention it. "Sony's WiiU has landed."

[@markharry-williams39]

@@rorynolan2322 probably because it's similar to the Wii U controller which had a built in screen and did the same thing.

[@markharry-williams39]

@Agent067 you do know the controller wasn't the console right?. it just had a built in screen

[@AninoNiKugi]

I don't think the issue is the $200 pricetah. It's the very limited device that you get from it. I'm sure it'll be worth it for many people but for most, it'll be too limited.

[@Tigerhearty]

Yeap, a good entry level 200$ phone does much more then this

[@eddi3401]

It’s useless

[@josephzado2377]

This is how I felt after buying the PSVR2 when I learned its not compatible with any VR media. Don't get me wrong, it does what it's meant to do REALLY well, but considering I spent more money on it than the PS5 itself I don't see why Sony restricted so many features. I'm just left confused.. Like, if anyone made VR with native 3D Blu-ray compatibility you'd expect it to be Sony.

[@rausmusic4396]

a $200 phone has haptic feedback and dualsense triggers? @@Tigerhearty

[@giangallo]

The price is part of the problem. I can get behind a very limited product as long as it works fine and it's priced correctly. They are charging you $200 for what basically is a $70 DualSense with a screen and cheap SoC. The cost breakdown in this video is wrong on so many levels. $150 would've been a fair retail price.

[@jorgeporras9262]

None of the arguments in favor of the portal that Linus or other media outlets have presented sound convincing. They all boil down to "If you're willing to cough up an unreasonable amount of dough, and you're looking for something that fulfills this really niche and unusual case scenario, it's a great device". But that could be applied to every piece of unconventional hardware ever.

[@Jehty_]

What do you mean by "unusual case scenario"? Basically every single family fits that "niche" scenario. If the family owns only one PS5 and it's in the living room then this device is useful.

[@ToatsMcGoats534]

@@Jehty_ what he meant by "really niche and unusual case scenario" is "it wouldnt apply to me and saying it like this helps my argument".

[@Shadowninja1200]

@@Jehty_ The issue is why wouldn't you use the other devices that you already have to remote play? Also, if there is only one ps5 in a single family and you're talking about people fighting over the tv and the ps5 then you could.. just buy a tv for the price of the portal and just use that instead.. The only thing the portal really have going for it is the better controller and ergonomic which may be worth $200 for some people but I honestly don't see it for most. Then you got other cloud handheld that you could probably remote play from for a similar price that have way better battery life (and you can actually stream from the cloud on them). It gets really hard to justify this specific product if you just look at the options out there.

[@tronam]

@@Jehty_And that’s the only place it can be played. If you try to connect to a public WiFi hotspot out in the world you can’t even connect because there’s no web browser to display the interstitial page. Such a ridiculous oversight, just to prevent people from using it on competing game streaming services.

[@Jehty_]

@@Shadowninja1200 What other devices? Maybe if the kid has a laptop for school? But other than that? I wouldn't want to play on a smartphone. And many parents don't want their children to have a TV in their bedroom. So buying a second TV is not an option. A handheld console with a decent controller for $200? Can you name one?

[@KeyJayHD]

Cant say I agree with your value proposition at all for this sorry. The most fan boys will defend with this is the screen and the controller, which sure, I dont think anyone is arguing against those advantages. The Portal does have some positive aspects to it, but A BUNCH of negatives. For users who have already invested in a quality handheld, this is clearly not for them (Steam Deck + XREAL Glasses + Moonlight + Sunshine = Amazing. Add a self hosted Wireguard VPN with a shell script shortcut and you're good). But Id argue for PS5 owners, this isnt a good purchase either. I mean dude, - No Bluetooth so expect another $200 if you want to take this wireless audio - ACTIVE MIC BY DEFAULT?!?! - No PS Cloud Streaming native? (how the hell you botch that?!) - Smaller joysticks - No native gaming possible - No browser for public wifi sign in (I guess a workaround might be to use a travel router to make the connection to the public Wifi for you, then connect the Portal to your router, but man what a headache at that point) - The higher probability that it will be e-waste in the future - Low repairability The price could be cheaper (and no, retail price listing for those components we'd buy individually retail isnt good enough justification). But the thing is, even if you were spending more on an equivalent experience, you'd still be getting way more value than this is offering. 150ms is trash. You know it. We can see it in your face. TL;DR, Please just save your money and get ANYTHING else than a Portal since you can still stream your PS5 from any of those other devices and get way more value for your dollar; a Steam Deck + XREAL, Rog Ally, hell a PS Vita, any Cellphone, a 13" Tablet + PS5 controller. Yes again, more expensive, but at least in every one of the other scenarios, you be getting what you paid for and then some.

[@Fast5211]

I'm a big fan of game streaming as well, but I have to say that my biggest issue with something like the Portal is just that it's not that much cheaper than a standalone device (Steamdeck, Android Handheld, etc.) that can also run Steam/Android/Emulation locally on top of streaming, to say nothing of the fact you could stream from a PC or Xbox as well. Sure most of them don't have an 8" screen, but I'd trade 1-2" of screen space and ~$50-100 more for the ability to play way more games. I'm not sure how reasonable it would be to hit this price point, but if this was more like $100, maybe $150 I think it would be a lot more compelling but as it stands, I think it's just too close in price to full-fledged handhelds.

[@pedropau288]

At that point you might as well want to get other portable consoles or get retro emulation consoles which can also do cloud gaming.

[@faber3969]

When it's on clearance a year or two from now I'll definitely pick one up

[@NinjAsylum]

The thing is, $50-$100 might not be a lot of money to YOU, but to a LOT of people that is literally several months worth of income saved up.

[@jsl6155]

Lmao they’d be losing money at $100, to $150. Steam doesn’t sell via retailers, hence how it’s able to have lower price points but even so, it’s still significantly more expensive ($150 is definitely significant). If they were selling with retailers, it’d be even more expensive (think $75+ more expensive).

[@lumpyren]

This ... get a steamdeck and dont look back. if this would do the streaming PLUS be a modern PS Vita. they would have had a winner here. but yeah. steamdeck trounces this hard unless you only ever play PS5 games.

[@BiOS_F2]

My biggest issue with the portal is how single-functioned it is. If you don't want to play PlayStation games, it is absolutely useless. You can't even take advantage of the dualsense 2 on another platform. I think they should have allowed it to download basic streaming apps to give it a bit more function as a loungey media device. Also, the justification for the proprietary audio connection is absolute BS. Sony has proven in the past that they do not care about gouging their customers for money by locking them in with a single source for accessories.

[@PneumaticFrog]

If I could plug it into a pc or something as an external display I wouldn't mind being cabled down. But if you have shit internet and you use this, you're screwed. Literally unusable product here in australia where our internet is horse shit

[@kronostvx]

jesus youre slow LMAO

[@RyanRafi100]

@@kronostvx LMAO

[@killertruth186]

My thoughts exactly. And the controllers aren't removable like the non lite nintendo switch. It could've been more than that, even if it would mean to cost a bit more.

[@emikomina]

@@killertruth186 why tf does the controllers need to be removable genius. if someone wanted a portal they would already need a ps5 that already comes WITH a ps5 dualsense.

[@SEMIA123]

Thoroughly unconvinced that the delay is OK. The gap between Linus pressing the button and the jump at 1:56 is visually noticeable and I think I would feel it in game.

[@miko5789]

I dont agree with linus there. latency 150ms is quite allot. and you can clearly feel it even if you arent playing any competetive game

[@LinusTechTips]

Oh you'll feel it. But gotta be realistic

[@RobRoeder53]

For what it's worth I think Linus's LAN is probably the issue here and not the device.

[@zip3704]

Yeah idk how theyre caculating the entire chain, ik moonlight gets me a 8, 8, so 16 ms added to the regular pc latency. At 120fps, and that is very playable on a controller.

[@Blue-bf8lv]

absolutely, that would get annoying fast! and next to unplayable for anything slightly competitive

[@LolKinja]

Somebody is getting a sweet juicy check directly from Sony.

[@jacobschweiger5897]

Cloud gaming is disgusting. It puts all the power in the hands of the cloud streaming companies.

[@ihave7sacks]

Yet this device can't even do cloud streaming . . . It's worth even less than a cloud streaming device but Sony wants $200 for it?!

[@verakoo6187]

Odd to see that LTT would dislike the LG Cloud handheld, but like this thing. It's basically the same device without the cloud, requires and can only be used on a ps5. U can accomplish the same thing with ur phone and a controller clip. For 1/6th the price.

[@Reginald_Harrison]

Don’t forget you can also Remote Play to any laptop with your Dualsense. I can’t think of a scenario where the awkwardly shaped Portal is more convenient to lug around than a laptop + controller. You need a case or a backpack either way. It’s not like the Portal fits in your pocket.

[@vampula12]

They are bought by Sony. Just sold their arses for a pocket of green paper to convince that shoit is not shoit.

[@Driftwood420]

Exactly. Very true. It's just a further locked down version of the same thing. And the performance isn't even that great to make up for it. Laggy, blocky and 150ms despite being on the same network. Moonlight and Sunshine is substantially better. You'd think a first party product which has the sole purpose of streaming from one device on the network would be better than this.

[@ihave7sacks]

Sony must have paid big bucks for this level of shill.

[@Driftwood420]

Yeah UFDtechs coverage is largely the same here. Something fishy is going on. This product is just straight trash. Even the price justification. For a little more you can just buy a Steam Deck with a better screen and way more features and better battery life

[@cleyfaye]

Not being able to use Sony's own service to stream games on the Portal is the most baffling thing to me. Aside from having to handle a login phase and keeping account data on the device, how different could it be from streaming from your own PS5.

[@abdulkakar5964]

So I need to be near my ps5 to use this?

[@joemamr710]

The portal can only connect to a PS5. It’s too much lag to stream to a PS5 and then re-stream it to a portal. Also from a technical perspective the PS5 can’t play HEVC at 4k at the same time it encodes HEVC at 1080p. Now perhaps one day it can stream directly from the servers.

[@JuanSinMiedo441]

Servers cost would increase

[@cleyfaye]

@@JuanSinMiedo441 People pay for the streaming service already. If you have the capacity to stream to a console, you have the capacity to… stream to a console.

[@gamingboi_7730]

@@joemamr710 You're right. What people are talking about though is the ability to stream games from PS+ to the PS Portal directly.

[@ZombiAstral]

*ONE OF THE MOST COMFORTALBLE HANDHELD DEVICES WE HAVE EVER SEEN. 150MS DELAY IS ACCEPTABLE.* Linus Tech Shills 2023

[@brianmckay1594]

The problem with breaking down the cost by the included components is that you used the retail price *and then* said you have to add in Sony and the retailer's margin. The retail prices you used already contain those markups which, using the logic in the video, means you're double dipping on the margin. You have to add up the factory cost of all the components, then calculate the margins, to have an apples to apples comparison.

[@bigman8994]

Also have to remember that Sony pretty regularly puts the Dualsense on sale for $50 USD

[@robertt9825]

That is not at all how margin works. And misses the point being made. Each component supplier has to make their own margin, then the retail and distributers also need to make margin. It's not double dipping, these are separate companies along the supply chain.

[@giangallo]

@@robertt9825 Except Sony makes the controller, which has mostly the same components except the SOC and the screen. Linus used the retail price of the DualSense, plus retail prices for all those components, and still looked for margins. I agree with OP, the margins are there already.

[@robertt9825]

@@giangallo Sony doesn't make individual components. They buy them from from various vendors.

[@ILFforever]

@@robertt9825 But since Sony is buying in bulk in the ten to hundred thousands the cost for each components are much much lower than their retail price. The dual sense controllers for example probably cost them 30-40 bucks for manufacturing (excluding R&D) at most if they want to even make a profit.

[@UltravioletNomad]

In hindsight, it was really freaking cool that you could buy the Vita with a SIM card. The Vita in general was cool. When's the Vita 2 coming out?

[@Psevdonim123]

No vita 2, get this! *slaps portal* ©Sony

[@marcely1199]

Especially considering that the PSVita was equally priced at $199 soon after launch

[@steveman9668]

They should have made a new psp with backwards compatibility for the ps2 (if they were able to give the first one backwards compatibility with the ps1 I'm sure they could pull this off, hell they could probably do ps3 too) and psp and ps vita obviously. Let people download the old games for like 5-10 dollars, it's not like the devs need to do literally anything to them other than have an intern run through them once to make sure they function. Boom you now have a handheld with a massive library of good, popular and affordable games out of the gate. Do you know how many people would kill for a handheld that can do native ps2?

[@necroarcan]

well if the leaks about sony and qualcome "the makers of the snapdragon CPU for phones" to be believed. i think we should get one soon

[@TheUltimateBlooper]

When Sony pull their heads out of their read end...

[@ericbox2456]

The perfect mobile gaming device for people who never leave their house

[@tomaslacus8086]

Right :D why play on this when you have tv in front of you :D I bet playing in metro, or backseat of car on higway is really pleasure experience :D

[@tomc4311]

​@@tomaslacus8086not everyone has a TV Infront of them whenever they want it

[@gundamzerostrike]

@@akumakurosawa If what you want is to play video game while not annoying your kids or wife, for that price point, why not buy a Switch then?

[@Twocrudedudes]

@@gundamzerostrike I like the Switch, but you have to buy new games, new accessories, etc. And it can't play every game either.

[@Thabzzz]

@@akumakurosawaif your wife and kids are at home why wouldn’t you know chill with them? Do you really need to spend every second looking at a small screen?

[@kryzethx]

5:57 This is a pretty terrible argument on multiple fronts. For one, this is basically saying "The price is bad on THIS device, but it's even worse on THAT device" as if that makes anything better; two wrongs don't make a right lol. And who says people aren't outraged about the hundred dollar controllers? I'd argue we're still pretty mad about controllers costing as much (or more) than entire games at the 60-70 price point

[@dylswerb7492]

5:59 people were 100% outraged at the dualsense edge, it's battery life and build quality were absolutely awful and nowhere near worth it, especially when compared against the Xbox elite controller, coming in 20$ cheaper for the full fat version and significantly better

[@nathanaelniklaus2981]

I was interested recently in the Xbox elite controller. Is it really good? The reviews online are not good at all, mainly because everyone writes there are many defects coming up within a short period of time

[@jesusbarrera6916]

mind you the XBOX elite controller is also hot garbage that breaks every 2 weeks... but at least the battery life there lasts more than 2 hours they are both awful controllers tho

[@ltsmithneko]

​@@nathanaelniklaus2981 I'd recommend the Razor Wolverine 1 controller, you can get it pretty cheap these days n' personally the best controller I've used didn't care for the Official elite that broke when I took the wire out once.

[@Shadowninja1200]

@@nathanaelniklaus2981 The first generation of it had the grip peeling off for my friend (which sucked because I bought it for his birthday) but the second generation has served me and my friend well with no issue. That's an anecdote from 2 people so your mileage still vary. I really enjoy the controller and don't regret the purchase at all.

[@loadingforever1929]

​@@jesusbarrera6916 mine lasted four months before the left bumper stops functioning, I sent in twice to customer service and they only last a few days before going bad again, so I just self repaired, and it's been fine for the last five months now, so... Whatever the hell Microsoft is doing is worse than my self repair of putting some isopropyl alcohol into the button.

[@ZackMuffinMan]

4:51 The Switch OLED had a $349.99 MSRP not $449.99.

[@ZackMuffinMan]

@@Rowann1 it says USD right next to it

[@Rowann1]

@@ZackMuffinManYeah my bad, didnt get that far into the video yet. That price is the CAD price though so they must have just mixed up the two.

[@YeloDoesStuff]

Where I live it's like 470 dollars 💀

[@wafu6058]

Rount trip 150ms is insanely laggy what is Linus on about? I gamestream with 20ms round-trip on Steam Link, and as low as 12ms on moonlight. This is round-trip too.

[@matheuswohl]

I think they were talking about end-to-end latency, not network alone

[@LinusTechTips]

This is the whole chain not a ping test. - LS

[@wafu6058]

​​@@LinusTechTipsyeah - that's still unusually high. Moonlight stats show 33ms (steam shows less but I don't think they're inclusive of everything) with all latencies added up together for me right now in a 1440p stream, albeit I'm next to the AP. Even accounting for decode times, display latency, input lag AND THEN network on top - that's still considerably high.

[@alistairblaire6001]

PS5 Remote Play feels very laggy to me too. I tried it on 4 different phones/tablets and the latency felt awful on all of them. Yet Steam Link feels reasonable by comparison so I don't think it's my router. Actually I tried playing Hollow Knight via PS Remote Play too and the lag was so bad that it was unplayable. I was really hoping the PS Portal would have some special hardware to connect to the PS5 directly like the Wii U.

[@marloyt7786]

Sony should make the PSP again.

[@Vonliktenstien]

Time was ripe for them to jump back into the handheld market and support all of these features with a stand-alone device at twice or even three times the price. All the competion from SteamDeck, PC handhelds, and the upcoming Switch 2 (not to mention the bluetooth debacle) make this a non-starter imo even at 200.

[@MorrisseyMuse]

The Deck has shown that pricey handhelds are way too niche to be profitable.

[@MeaningPlum1995]

@@MorrisseyMuse how so? have you seen the sales numbers for the deck? they were so bad that valve just released a new updated one, are you high on copium or what?

[@SWOTHDRA]

It would have been 600 or even more (prob 800) to do what exactly? To play ps5 games at 1080p??? Or lower? 60hz max? For 2 hours?

[@SWOTHDRA]

​@@MeaningPlum1995the deck hasnt even sold 5 million 😂, I swear everybody with a deck is on youtube 😂, the switch 2 will annihalete the deck

[@talkbirdy2me]

@@SWOTHDRA So you're saying the Steamdeck, which was estimated to sell 3 million units at ~400 dollars each (nearing half a billion in sales), which directly ties buyers into the Steam infrastructure just by buying it... is a failure, and Sony has no business doing something similar with Playstation and their streaming library at a lower price. Yet you laud the Switch which is literally the same thing but for Nintendo and runs much less powerful games natively.

[@spiderwars5501]

so $200 for a remote controller and screen? i havent finished the video yet dont flame me

[@GabrielCSousa]

Man, Sony is giving Apple feels, removing bluetooth and compatibility to sell proprietary bullcrap. That's a big no no

[@CentreMetre]

Yea. atleast when nintendo did it they didnt try to sell you something to solve the problem they created (atleast i dont think they did)

[@joemamr710]

Bluetooth does suck for gaming though. I've tried it many times and it's unbearable. I absolutely hate it. I have tried many adapters, many headphones, aptX protocol, everything. And the audio is always noticeably behind the video and sounds like crap. I have no problem with bluetooth for video or music, and use it multiple times a day every day, but I will not use bluetooth for gaming. It is unbearable.

[@YeloDoesStuff]

​@@CentreMetrethey did

[@dimitriosgkirgkiris9486]

Just because the cost of the technology in a product is good value, doesn't mean there's a reason for it to exist.

[@soapsoul8375]

I think Linus no longer knows what $200 are supposed to be worth. Is he drinking $20 coffees or...?

[@JacobPaul-ix7oc]

Linus has a net worth of $85 million. $200 is nothing to him.

[@darlokt51]

9:15 WiFi is about more than just speed. WiFi6 bring great improvements to latency, even more so to latency in loaded networks, just as a home network. It could have greatly improved latency (if I remember correctly from the spec, about 70%) and stability, as other reviewers pointed out its lackluster overall stability leading to stutters and chugging in some situations.

[@kraaitje]

Another big problem with this device (and the marketing) is most ordinary people's WiFi setups are bad. LTT tested this in pretty ideal conditions, close to the PS5, which was likely connected to ethernet, but they didnt even mention this... It's kind of a big miss in the review to not even test the streaming quality in different situations when the whole experience you have with the device is likely dependent on your Wi-Fi....

[@gormondprecursor3525]

It's about a 10ms improvement, in this situation it would made little difference.

[@ru2225]

@@kraaitje closeness to PS5 doesn't matter, its closeness to router

[@blubblurb]

@@kraaitje Yes this video was not very well. I would also have like to know how good the experience is if you use 4g or 5g mobile network via a hotspot with your phone.

[@xynthexia]

Also, Wifi 6 is better than Wifi 5 at range, it holds higher speeds at the same distance, very noticeable.

[@bentomo]

I want an internal LTT acting award for b-roll footage. But David might auotmatically win every time.

[@EViL3666]

You know something's a bargain.. when it's cheaper than the LTT back pack, I had to do a double take, rewind, and even check on the LTT website 😳

[@YDINO69]

Wait till he discovers cell phones

[@yajkotak]

🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓

[@YeloDoesStuff]

Bro talked about it 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@Dominus4776]

For $200 they messed up. They could have given it some other functionality. Because for the same price you could get a tablet and use the free app

[@Anastasia2048]

Wonder how many parents bought it finding out you need to have a PS5 to use it haha Oh and you can only use official Sony earbuds which are $100+.

[@YeloDoesStuff]

​@@Anastasia2048wait no headset?

[@hardrivethrutown]

I actually like the idea of this, when I get a steamdeck I'm definitely going to use it to remote play from my desktop

[@BurtMcNasty]

I played Stray on my steam deck and natively it would run at 40fps, but streaming from my PC it was a perfect 60fps with no noticeable lag

[@Dracossaint]

Chiaki4 deck is what ya want. It allows ya to use the steamdeck trrackpads in place of the dual senses track pad

[@redshirtwookiee]

Yeah you can use Chiaki to stream from your PS5 to your steam deck too.

[@ethearnos6397]

Parsec will help with this

[@gmoney1610]

Steamdeck is way too expensive though, this Portal is definitely a cheaper alternative for those that want to play anywhere in their house or at a friend's house.

[@thegrayghoul4638]

Seeing these videos is what makes me happy I never got into L-inus's content. How much did Sony pay you for this?

[@brando3342]

This is very clearly a “please like me, Sony” video. It’s disgustingly obvious 🤦‍♂️

[@YeloDoesStuff]

He likes the product, not everyone likes it

[@davidmalkowski7850]

Personally, I might like the idea of the Portal more if it had more games integration or acted as a buddy to the main experience. I would like to see games looking more cinematic on the TV by segregating non-key HUD elements to the Portal screen. Even without that, being a P1 super controller for party games or even playing a KZbin video or guide alongside your actual content. The lack of WiFi Direct is a huge miss. Direct device streaming in lieu of a subpar WiFi network or congested signal environment means the experience will struggle when it's busy.

[@elEd0]

That sounds like a Sony Wii U. Never was a big fan of segregated HUD elements or a-like between the 2 displays and i kinda understand why it has not made a comeback. Changing between looking at the TV and looking at the controller which is on your hands really takes away from the gaming experience IMO. It worked on the DS cause the two screens where 1cm apart, it was more like a long screen with a big bezzle in the middle.

[@Jrock420blam]

those were the best wii u games, ones that properly used the function of the controller screen as an extension of the ui like inventory and menus

[@kylespevak6781]

It's almost like.....the Wii U 😂

[@TrueCrouton]

The biggest issue I have with this is that you need a PS5 to do anything with it, so it comes out to a whopping $700.

[@Xyler94]

Now imagine you're Canadian, where the cost of the Portal and PS5 is nearing 1000$.

[@D3nn1s]

​@@Xyler94canadian dollar? So 700 usd? You realize its not more expenive just because more number? :D

[@bullet996]

​@@D3nn1s i mean the purchasing power of the Canadian dollar is ass; 1 CAD is equal to 0.75 USD so we're basically earning less

[@Enclave.]

This logic only works if the only reason you bought a PS5 is specifically for use with the Portal which I imagine applies to nearly nobody. Just sounds like some pretty dumb Gamer Math.

[@SIPEROTH]

That is false logic. This is a PS5 accessory. It is something for those invested on PS5. You don't buy a PS5 just to buy this. It is like saying that a $150 fast keyboard is actually $2150 Because you need a powerful gaming PC to make good use of it.

[@TheRealPaull]

This wouldve been a banger of a handheld if it was 120fps and moonlight/sunshine enabled

[@BUSHNAK529]

Nice to see that Sony has healthy partnerships with youtubers willing to work with them.

[@army103]

I see it as a dedicated device that is only capable of doing one of the many, many things my phone has been able to do for years. By most accounts, it does that one and only thing it can do decently well...but only under ideal circumstances. It seems like the kind of thing you buy when you already own so much that you're running out of ideas for new things to throw money at.

[@aaronlandry3947]

While true... How many of us have an 8-in screen on our phones?v I've been contemplating getting an 8-in eink tablet for reading books and taking notes because I want something with a bigger screen than my phone has.

[@army103]

@@aaronlandry3947 I'm sure there are a few scenarios where a Portal would perfectly fit someone's needs, but there are so many other devices out there that can do so much more, like tablets, android retro handhelds, and PC handhelds (some of which have screens that are just as big or even bigger) that it's hard to see many use cases where a Portal wouldn't be more frivolous than practical.

[@alphenhousplaysgames4565]

@@aaronlandry3947 i don't know about 8 inches, but most phones are 6 inches or larger now. and given that those 2 inches aren't doing a ton, which you shouldn't care about anyway because nobody should need to pay for a whole device for 2 inches of display.

[@Kani_ne]

​​@@aaronlandry3947then someone could get a tablet and a controller and be better off..sure might be a lil bit more expensive but u get to stream and everything else...or just get a steamdeck that can do it too

[@Akuma_Z]

​@@aaronlandry3947buy tablet and use your dualsense from ps5

[@cyprusmiraque]

I'm shocked to say that there's finally a handheld that makes the Switch Lite a good value

[@YeloDoesStuff]

It's Nintendo so it's still shit value

[@delecti]

I think the product idea and price are fine, not great, but fine. No Bluetooth is unacceptable, and being so locked down seems ridiculous to me though. Chiaki from my Steam Deck remains a much more efficient option, though admittedly costs way more to get in the door.

[@Bruh_Moment..]

the price of admission linus talks about is way more worth it for a steam deck. and if you dont have a ps5 its cheaper depending on the model you get

[@TAMAMO-VIRUS]

While more expensive, the Steam Deck can natively not just games, but also other productivity apps. Plus you can use the Steam Deck as an extra monitor or even its own standalone pc.

[@Jet-ij9zc]

Just adding Bluetooth and a web browser (so you could connect to public wifi) would already help a ton. It wouldn't make it great, but at least it wouldn't be insultingly bad

[@awmuse6228]

He holds the device how I'd expect a game journalist to hold it.

[@R3AL-AIM]

I just got a barely used Razer Kishi for $25 and am getting infinitely more use out of that than I ever would this thing.

[@ShotDownChoppa]

That's exactly what I was thinking

[@diamant.]

4:51 449 US$ for a switch oled ??? Isn't 349 US$

[@blstrmanx]

For the longest time, i've wanted to be a fan of in home streaming, but most solutions have absolutely unreasonably delay, this being one of them. 9 frames (at 60fps) of delay is insane, and really is the dealbreaker even if it was otherwise a perfect device, which it seems it isnt.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

I agree. My happiness with latency starts to suffer around 30 ms latency so 150 ms latency would appear acceptable for playing Chess or card games.

[@thethingthatshouldnotbe3035]

Thats almost a full roll worth of iFrames in dark souls…

[@DaniPooo]

I hope the Portal can be updated over time and that it will eventually allow streaming games from the PS+ streaming service.

[@jeuvideoiihizq]

One of the head employees mentioned they want to get it right before launching on the Portal. The Beta for PS5 Cloud Streaming to it's launch wasn't that long. I think it will be added mid next year or so.

[@blinkachu5275]

150 ms is insane lag, wtf? That is the lag you get if you connect from Europe to the US in an online shooter and leaves you with a massive disadvantage Maybe not an issue for a farming sim but if you play any action game it'll be really annoying Also, what is its purpose? Your PS5 has to be on to use it. So then... just use the PS5? You can now game on your PS5 on a smaller screen that's flimsier (like jfc did they have to make it that slim?) and will have the same stick drift as a regular PS5 controller meaning you'll have to replace it eventually! Amazing! Just for 200$! Seriously anyone that buys into this has too much money on their hands.

[@F0000-g2d]

Linus tryna make SONY Increase the price cos he is too rich ... yeah, we get it linus u have all the money in the world

[@assassinfan1000]

Its a good product if you completely ignore the price and the cheaper alternative with your phone that can do the exact same thing

[@L_Zant]

How is a 1000 dollar phone and 60 dollar controller a cheaper alternative lol

[@assassinfan1000]

@@L_Zant cause you already have you phone, whether or not you have a ps5

[@YeloDoesStuff]

​@@assassinfan1000what if I don't have a phone but have a playstation

[@bobu6966]

​@@YeloDoesStuffget better priorities

[@YeloDoesStuff]

@@bobu6966 uh what if i want a portal because portal.

[@Spartan_83]

You could get a cheap phone with a nice AMOLED screen and just use a 15$ clip with your PS5 controller and you would get better performance and have a nicer screen.

[@akuma2124]

You guys did a two second mention about using remote play from your phone (which is something I've done for several years now, on and off) but missed the opportunity to do a direct comparison to using the portal over your own device. I know there's a lot of extra factors thrown into the mix of hardware limitations based on the phone of the user, but just taking something that's currently in the market or a last gen phone could have worked. Controllers can be ignored... I know the PS5 ones are good, but people have their own preferences or are still okay with using something that may not be as good.

[@shaunkellison1761]

I don’t understand why the argument of throwing your phone into a backbone was dismissed. I have played both this thing and an iPhone 14 Pro Max and I can tell you that the iPhone, while smaller… Looks a whole lot better.

[@fantasytky28]

Bs. That tiny weird aspect ratio display......... As yourself already said, smaller, the text and ui on 8 inch full 16:9 portal is already almost the limit the see the text/ui. Heck playing hours on phone tiny display? Not everyone can stand it though

[@SAStarbucks]

I think something like the backbone is still the way forward, you have a powerful screen and computer wherever you go and adding a controller a sensible option. Game streaming support on mobile decent and some decent native games too

[@welcomehome777]

Agreed! I used a razer Kishi and a iPhone 11 before buying a rog ally. Very enjoyable and playable experience!

[@Tempo1337]

An 8-inch screen is way better for console games than a smaller phone screen. That is just the flat-out truth.

[@matd9816]

​@Tempo1337 A bigger screen is better, but it is cheap.

[@mmstick]

The backbone is absolutely not the way. Smartphones make for terrible displays for games. You only get ~4" of usable display area due to the unusual aspect ratio. It also drains your battery while constantly giving you annoying popup notifications. Don't mix games with your personal phone. The Backbone by itself is upwards to $120, and to get an 8" 16:9 screen you'd need to invest in a $200-300 Android tablet. You also instantly lose support for the official Playstation Remote Play app since it requires a DualSense pad. So you have to pay for an unofficial third party app to emulate the DualSense support poorly. At that point, you've just committed to wasting a lot of cash for a sub-par experience.

[@traestephen7276]

@@Tempo1337 so buy a tablet then

[@grape1383]

The playstation portal is $200 plus a $500 console plus $70 for each game you want to play, and you have to play with input latency. A used new 3ds xl is ≤$100 plus $15 for a 256gb micro sd card plus a nonexistent moral cost for the entire console's library and more, all with better battery life - especially if you spend $15 to replace the battery with a higher capacity one. It is a better deal even if you already own a ps5. I can't believe it's $200 either.

[@theReaper405]

Man playstation sure is forking out the cash to get content creators to talk up this trash item

[@RolandHazoto]

The biggest problem I forsee is the sticks. I had 2 Dualsense drift on me in less than 2 years and it caused me to stop using them as PC controllers until I can get a Hall Effect one. (using a Gulikit KKP2 for now; I miss my touchpads) Can you guys imagine buying one of these every 8 months because of stick drift? lol

[@BoredInTheComments]

I get the warranty at gamestop and switch mine out every year before it expires lol.

[@mmstick]

They use PSVR2 sticks, which are less prone to drift than the ones in the regular DualSense controller.

[@scrub_jay]

Why do I feel like the only person on the internet who doesn't get stick drift problems? I have 2 dualsense, a steam deck, a switch and a switch lite. The only problem I have across all those sticks is the switch lite's feel mushy and don't spring back as well as they used to. But they do not drift at rest. Not trying to say people aren't having real problems but it sounds insane to me that people out there are changing sticks every 8 months.

[@mmstick]

@@scrub_jayYou're not. I still have a launch day PS5 controller that's just fine. Own three DualSense pads now and none of them have drift. Never had issue with drift on the Switch either.

[@RolandHazoto]

@@scrub_jay My shortest record was 5 months for one of my old Dualshock 4's. I went through 7 of those over the course of 4 years.

[@mydigitalanalog]

I think the lack of direct streaming from PS+ premium is probably due to not wanting to undercut PS5 console sales. Why buy a PS5 for $500 when you can buy a portal for $200? They may come out with a way around this in the future (verifying that there’s a PS5 active on the account, then stream direct from servers, for example)

[@ginatails]

The thing is, the Portal is $200, but PS+ premium is $160 a year, and adding up both of those things gets you to $360 which is nearly the price of a PS5 digital. And you'd also need a pretty decent internet connection for cloud streaming. So, I don't think cloud streaming on the Portal would undercut console sales. The main reason is probably due to the fact that the PS Portal runs some version of Android, and there is currently no Android app for PS+ cloud streaming. So, they could be developing an Android app right now. Sony did just release cloud streaming for PS5 games, but only on PS5, so I guess they're working towards an Android app.

[@Maggashi]

@@ginatailsthat’s true. And they probably is hesitant to develop the app, because if someone manages to mod their portal. They could probably extract the app. And mod it. And they don’t want this in every android phone users hand.

[@Gwarzonicus]

thats why the pc app remains shitty... lmao you cant even search for a game, in 2023. you have scroll through alphabetically

[@DeanGl]

Because you'd have to Stream.... That's why.

[@Dreddy72]

it dosent look like the portal is really usable without a ps5 in the first place though. so you need a ps5 and a portal anyway.

[@Zinkolo]

Why he's defending it is literally beyond me... Why are his standards for the device so low?... You can use literally any device to stream your PS5 with equal quality and use any third-party control you want with chiaki. 200$ is a straight up rip off for what you could do with a hundred dollar phone or even your own phone with a telescopic controller. The system is so limited that you can't even use public Wi-Fi because it doesn't have a built-in browser. Not even support for cloud gaming... Is objectively a rip off. We need to call Sony out on this instead of pretending that there's any semblance of value

[@_DewGaming]

I'd be curious to see a comparison of remote play on the PS Portal and the Steam Deck via Chiaki. It'd be nice to see how well it works compared to the Steam Deck, for those that already have a Steam Deck and may be interested in the Portal.

[@verakoo6187]

I mean it's going to be a few ms of a difference. Can't really see any scenario where that's worth an extra $200 if u have a steam deck lol

[@voidmain7902]

Other than no adaptive trigger and weaker rumble probably comparable, and Deck would probably last longer battery-wise. That is until $ony bans Chiaki as a desperate push for Project Q(uit).

[@_DewGaming]

@voidmain7902 There'd also be the fact you'd need to port forward in order to use it outside of your internet.

[@mda187]

Yeah, I'm a little irritated that they don't bring up Chiaki at all. It turns any PC, including handheld PCs like the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Lenovo Go, etc., into a Portal that can do more. And they can do this without any of the limitations. You can use your own Bluetooth headphones, a browser for public wifi sign-ins, other controllers and dongles, VPNs, and do stand-alone things like run other games. So spend 200 bucks to only play PS5 games remotely and nothing else, or pay a little bit more for something that does the same and much more.

[@theunknown7441]

​@@mda187the reason why it doesn't get mentioned because its a hassle to setup

[@goatsiahthelegend]

My big problem with this thing is that you can also get a Switch Lite for $200 and that’s a fully fledged handheld console. Second hand market lower for sure. Yes you have to buy games for it, but it fills that niche quite well.

[@kristopherthompson1342]

Even better, you can mod a switch lite and get ps remote play on it AS WELL AS PS+ streaming, game pass, and still ply switch games. Lol

[@awii.neocities]

​@@kristopherthompson1342switch lite modding is a pain in the ass.

[@kylespevak6781]

Technically you still have to buy games for PS5, so your point is valid

[@jazzhandsdan207]

@@kristopherthompson1342true but then you have to game at 720p on a smaller screen.

[@joemamr710]

The people that this device targets already have switches, most likely switch OLEDs even. If you own a PS5 and are interested in a PS Portal, you want a PS Portal specifically to play PS5 games off TV.

[@myth0genesis]

As someone who doesn't live close to any major data centers, the latency of cloud gaming still isn't where I want it to be.

[@derekfurst6233]

I think local streaming is going to be way more significant than streaming from a data center

[@joemamr710]

Yeah just like local movie streaming is way bigger than cloud movie streaming!

[@timheptinstall9537]

The Bluetooth thing is what kills me. I'm deaf and whilst my hearing ability is fine with my hearing aids on - I use a Bluetooth connection to send audio directly to the hearing aids for stuff like listening to music. Sony not having Bluetooth is borderline able-ist as far as deaf people are concerned.

[@sandorbence2067]

If it had working BT, a browser and a few standalone apps like KZbin (the 662 is old but still usable for light stuff), this could be a great little tablet too when you are not playing games. Also a kickstand and detachable controllers would be nince but at that point the price would most likely increase.

[@luffytaro689]

So basically a switch made by Sony 🤣

[@SkyTreeStudio]

exactly@@luffytaro689

[@MandrakeRoomba]

@@luffytaro689except switch can play its own games

[@AndersonClips]

i love when a multi millionaire tells me not to worry about the price of something.

[@Max-hy6uy]

Love it when I see people who don’t understand how the world works.

[@gucky4717]

2:00 150ms very useable? I get less when I stream (1080p 60FPS) with Parsec to another PC in the same city... :D

[@YeloDoesStuff]

I have games with 300 ms lag on my computer because of my crap WiFi, it's not THAT bad with 150

[@ShaneRounce]

I commented saying the Vita can do all this and more. That comment now seems to have been deleted despite me getting notified as several responses. Why even remove that statement? It's a valid thing to say in response to the release of this hardware.

[@JallanLangton]

If only we all had buisiness tier internet like you so game streaming worked this well.

[@lmperioz]

They live in one of the richest cities in the world so it's expected that they're completely out of touch with things like pricing and internet speeds. I've got 5mb download here in UK, and my family with "high speed fibre optic" in the city get 30mb down which STILL isn't enough for this device. 😂

[@BlazeAlien]

@@lmperiozyou gotta find a better provider. I’m with community fibre and get 1gbps, first year is free and then it’s £30 a month after that.

[@tomaslacus8086]

they never leave office when they test usefulness of this :D

[@MrBaller4Life14]

Even with the best Wifi network he still getting 150ms lag which is horrible, watching the lag in real time and calling it playable was a joke.

[@hippidyhip]

​@@lmperioz over 50% of UK homes have access to gigabit broadband, going up to 85% by 2025.

[@MnDogman]

2 Linus uploads in 1 day ITS A MIRACLE

[@venzoah]

The Nintendo Switch Lite is also $199 and has a much more powerful GPU and double the memory bandwidth compared to the SD662 in the Portal.

[@0106johnny]

Though it comes with a tiny 720p LCD

[@jrchannel7405]

sony needed to make this thing a portable console on its own with the added bonus of streaming ps5 games

[@fairplayer916]

I don't think game streaming is the future. I think handheld pcs/consoles are it. Things like the steam deck, the Rog ally, along with the plethora of stuff from ayaneo and others. That's where it's at. Imo anyway

[@gsoma4022]

Braindance gaming is the future

[@fucktheidcollectors]

I appreciate David's b-rolls. Really adds a lot to Linus talking points.

[@bigounce5700]

This device is a one-trick pony, which will just be future e-waste. For $100 more you could buy a steamdeck or you could buy a Samsung s10 and a dual sense controller for $220, which both can use remote play and do many other things.

[@rushernate2601]

Sony said in an interview that cloud gaming might be enabled in the future. They were concentrating on remote play first.

[@gamechaser002]

I had a Shield Portable for 2 years. Loved it. Screen blew out. I still have the carbon fibre backplate that I bought with it :)

[@ChiralWolf]

Could be that it's just me misunderstanding how the technology works (or the limitations presented that a dedicated device solves) but I was under the impression that this sort of game streaming was a prime position for the steamdeck (and other wireless gaming handhelds) already. For what the portal is $200 definitely seems to hold up to what you get out of the box but does it beat a $399 steamdeck that could also just be used for fully gaming on the go? Or even $279 if those refurbished ones ever come back in stock? Maybe this is just the type of product that's targeted at the kind of person that has the sort of wealth that having a PS5 and a steamdeck and a PlayStation portal is no big deal but coming from me (admittedly, someone that could never see themselves having the use case for a device like anyways) it just doesn't add up compared to the alternatives.

[@MorrisseyMuse]

Nobody wants to spend the inevitable time tinkering and optimising to get a program to work on the Deck with its awful Proton setup, so streaming on Deck is always going to be a niche, just like the device itself

[@PresidentJackBauer]

I don't want a stream deck but I want this. They also don't serve the same purpose. There isn't even much crossover in the libraries of games.

[@emberguard5009]

I would say no, it doesn't beat the steamdeck for the price. Primarily because the steamdeck is a standalone console, the portal is just a screen your Ps5 connects to. I'm not spending US$700 + the price of a portable router just to get the Portal to function outside the house. A steamdeck would be cheaper and more functional to set up if we're comparing the Portal to actual consoles, and not thinking of it in the same light as just another TV screen As a screen and nothing else, ok. Go for it if you already have a Ps5 and are confident your WiFi isn't going to have issues streaming. If you're looking for it to be a console though.... it's not a console and would be way too expensive setting it up to be an appealing option over anything that is a proper handheld console.

[@Jehty_]

I think that's the same argument as used in PC vs console gaming. I would never buy a console again because PC master race. But people still buy consoles. Even though of the limitations of them. Other people prefer consoles over PCs for various reasons. So I guess if you are a PC gamer than the Steamdeck is the obvious choice. But for console gamers? For starters a steamdeck can't play PS5 exclusives.

[@Shadowninja1200]

@@MorrisseyMuse It's just as easy to stream on a smartphone with backbone. Logitech cloud handheld seems to have no issue doing it either, Neither does a laptop, and so on. All these options I mentioned also do actual cloud streaming too so you're not just limited to the play-station library.

[@Icon1306]

Wii U did it first... What a pioneer

[@Icon1306]

But those didn't have the added first party device, that's my point. At least it ain't a new console at full price.

[@DovahVokuna]

This has to be the worst review of you guys to date. I returned the portal. People be aware what you are buying. These guys must of had a different kind of PS portal then me. It can do almost nothing. Sometimes i wonder who sponsors you guys. I someone wants to buy it. Check a couple more reviewers. Know what your getting

[@kyledavis2873]

The funniest part about the portal is the aeroplane mode XD wtf

[@Bruh_Moment..]

stupid feature for a stupid device 😂

[@kyledavis2873]

@Bruh_Moment.. i guess the off button just doesnt cut it when its literally the same thing for this device lol.

[@Bruh_Moment..]

@@kyledavis2873 fr playstation has been making the worst decisions 🙄

[@Dryde85]

I think its to meet regulation requirements for when it comes to a device that includes a wifi antenna. im guessing.

[@kcbnnews]

I swear, Linus Tech Tips is never failing to dissapoint

[@Natsukashii1111]

I sear youtube comment never fail to disappoint. - not gonna say why? Nah that's enough.

[@wolfspiderzx]

​@@qazhr This is just another generic comment every like baiter uses because they aren't capable of typing anything with any meaning or creativity.

[@kcbnnews]

I'm sorry all community, my roommate hates LTT, and logged in to say that garbage, im so sorry Linus, if you read that comment

[@JusticeJanitor]

If you're willing to tinker a bit, (and if you're subscribed to this channel, you probably are) a Steam Deck with Chiaki (open source client for Playstation Remote Play for Linux) installed sounds like a much better deal. My most used applications on my Steam Deck are probably (in this order) 1. Moonlight (PC Game Streaming) 2. EmuDeck 3. Chiaki.

[@Yodagamer1]

I think my biggest problem with this product is how locked down it is considering it seems to be locked down android hardware. I would love to have a tablet with these controls that I could watch netflix/YT/Etc, emulate other consoles, and access to the play store if I want to. They probably wanted to make sure every ounce of entertainment you get out of this product is from the product they make the most money out of. The second it gets hacked it will be far more compelling imo.

[@Tyreker]

Thing is if you have an android tablet then you can just buy a clip to clip onto your tablet and PS5 controller and then you got a PS portal that can do all the things you want it to do

[@Yodagamer1]

@@Tyreker Honestly though I dislike the weight distribution of a phone on the top of one of those clips. So i'd hate having a tablet attached like that. I'd rather have the weight in the center like a backbone, but with a way bigger screen.

[@ripem1417]

@@Yodagamer1it’d be cool if Sony sold this but without the center screen portion, basically the controller cut in half with an adjustable center piece to fit a tablet

[@joemamr710]

Just buy a smartphone, they are really popular these days.

[@Yodagamer1]

@r710 I really dislike gaming on phones tbh, I'd rather have a dedicated device for it so i'd rather not.

[@w_illj]

i just wish these products were standalone because psvr2 is like the best vr headset rn but i dont have a playstation

[@Mr.plv767]

No one cares

[@shanksisnoteventhatstrongbruh]

so, get the alternative that is made for PC, why can't PS5 owners get good 1st party accesories?

[@zhon5311]

You count the retail price of the PS5 controller when they make them at a fraction of the price lol

[@kyledavis2873]

If you could use it as a controller then it would make sense.

[@dcableguy48]

he also forgot the price of the ps5! no ps5 and the portal does nothing

[@newhappiness4410]

I’m surprised Sony didn’t collaborate w Marvel with Dr Strange for the portal.

[@foolinc_]

I'm a little surprised that you didn't compare it to the AYN Odin 1 and/or the Odin Lite are both currently on sale for $199. Those devices can stream and emulate, though you give up a bit with the controls.

[@IamDanLP]

Because this is a Sony shill Video. Like they often do.

[@blubblurb]

Thanks for mentioning the odin. Would buy it right away if it had an OLED Screen.

[@ihave7sacks]

Linus Shilled especially hard in this one. Must have been big bucks, cause this device is worse than a Nokia N-Gage

[@donotwatchmr475]

People: "we want a proper handheld" Sony fanboys: "those people hate sony"

[@Arunnn241]

Streaming games is only good for single player games, and even then it doesn't feel exactly right. The latency is just way too high. You might have 150ms but at my house, it's more like 100ms 10% of the time, 200ms 50% of the time, and somewhere in between 100-200 for the rest. The spikes feel bad, and the general playability is limited. It's only decent because most of PS5 exclusives are single player games (spiderman, GoW, horizon).

[@guiltynessness8926]

I've actually been playing MW3 Zombies online with it and Elden Ring. It works shockingly good although depending on someones network, they may have a different experience. Granted I would not play a competitive game online with it such as team deathmatch or fighters like SF6 and MK1.

[@MorrisseyMuse]

It works fine online. Yes there's delay, but only twitch shooters like COD would be affected and no adult cares about those lol

[@chadisnotachad]

Thank you for letting me know that you're not a good resource when I'm looking up tech I'm unfamiliar with.

[@Bi9Clapper]

Very disappointed you're pushing/shilling this Linus. Thing is crap and will be E-waste soon.