Sony PlayStation Portal: price, availability, and how to preorder

Aug 01, 2023

By Sheena Vasani, a writer covering commerce, e-readers, and tech news. She previously wrote about everything from web development to AI at Inside.

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For months, rumors have been circulating about the release date for Sony’s upcoming handheld, the PlayStation Portal. Now Sony has finally given us an answer: the PlayStation Portal will launch on November 15th. The portable device, which will be able to stream PlayStation 5 games over Wi-Fi, will retail for $199.99.

There is a chance the PlayStation Portal will sell out as quickly as the PlayStation 5 did when it was first released, which is perhaps why Sony is currently limiting orders to one device per customer. We have yet to test the Portal, but if you’re someone who wants to secure a unit at launch, rest assured that Sony has already opened up preorders in the US and several other countries. Here’s what you need to know.

The PlayStation Portal is a handheld device that can connect remotely to your PS5 over Wi-Fi. As a result, you can stream preinstalled PS5 games to the Portal’s eight-inch LCD screen, which runs at up to 1080p resolution and 60fps. The device also sports controllers on either side, which are reminiscent of Sony’s DualSense Wireless Controller for the PS5 (they even support adaptive triggers and haptic feedback).

Sadly, the Portal doesn’t support Bluetooth, meaning it won’t be able to connect to your standard pair of wireless headphones. It does support Sony’s proprietary PlayStation Link wireless technology, however, allowing you to connect it to the forthcoming Pulse Explore earbuds and Pulse Elite headset. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack in case you prefer a wired headset or pair of wired headphones.

The PlayStation Portal is a handheld device that allows you to play PlayStation 5 games over Wi-Fi. You can connect it to PlayStation Link-supported devices like the Pulse Explore or a set of wired headphones.

At the moment, you can only preorder the PlayStation Portal ahead of its November 15th release date via Sony’s official PlayStation Direct storefront. According to an updated post on the PlayStation blog, other retailers will allow customers to place preorders starting September 29th, so stay tuned as we’ll update this post when we learn more.

Also, note that only those in select regions — such as the US, UK, France, and Belgium — are currently able to preorder the PlayStation Portal. That said, customers in other areas, including Canada and Japan, will be able to place preorders beginning September 29th.

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