PlayStation Portal Deserves a Spot in Your Black Friday Cart Because of Cloud Streaming Alone

Sony’s handheld remote player has been promising portability since its debut two years ago, as a way to beam PS5 games onto a screen you could hold in your hand. Now that Cloud Streaming is fully operational, the promise has become even clearer. Dropping to a new price point of $179 from $199 ahead of Black Friday, the PlayStation Portal is now firmly within reach of anyone looking to pick up their favorite games and head out the door.

Cloud Streaming (in some regions) finally debuted three weeks ago, giving the Portal direct access to thousands of PS5 titles without requiring you to connect it to your console at home. So you may continue up where you left off with Resident Evil 4 months ago, or simply dive into the pure pleasure of Astro Bot’s turmoil, which is supplied directly from Sony’s servers. The home screen is neatly divided into three tabs: remote play, cloud access, and a rapid search that finds games simply by scanning a QR code if you need one right away. Load times are roughly 30-60 seconds, similar to launching the same titles on your PS5, and the stream remains stable at 1080p and 60 frames per second as long as your Wi-Fi is up to par. When the connection stutters, you can reduce the resolution to 720p and continue playing without coming to a complete halt.

The experience is similar to using a DualSense controller, with customizable triggers and haptic feedback in games like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Ghost of Yōtei. The eight-inch display simply grabs you in with its vibrant colors and sharpness, which holds up even in bad hotel rooms or crowded cafes. With a pair of Pulse Explore earphones, you’ll have 3D audio all around you, making footsteps in The Last of Us Part II Remastered feel like something you should avoid.


Your entire digital library opens doors that were previously closed. Hundreds of titles from the PlayStation Plus Premium library join those you’ve purchased outright, such as Borderlands 4 or Cyberpunk 2077, and are available to stream without downloads or disc swaps. No more rotating selections that leave your favorites out in the cold; your collection will accompany you. Multiplayer invites appear in the fast menu, allowing you to join a Fortnite group while streaming and make in-game purchases without being kicked out. If you have a stack of unplayed downloads gathering dust, this arrangement changes the rules about when and when you can play them.


The Portal is completely portable, fitting into a bag or resting on a plane tray table, and its battery lasts for hours of continuous play before needing to be recharged. Recent improvements improve public Wi-Fi, making it less risky to use in coffee shops or airports. Set a passcode to secure it, check your network metrics on the fly, and customize accessibility options such as font size or screen readers to match your needs. Slower-paced games flourish here, from wandering Hogwarts Legacy’s halls to deciphering Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s intrigues, where tiny delays in controls become background noise.