Sony’s PlayStation Portal just got a rare discount for Black Friday

2 hours ago 5

Brandon Russell

is a commerce writer covering deals and buying guides. Previously, he was a freelance writer for Popular Mechanics, Men’s Health, and Esquire.

Deals on Sony’s PlayStation 5 are much more common than those on its PlayStation Portal, the handheld that can remotely stream games from the console via Wi-Fi. But for Black Friday, the Portal just got its first major discount to around $178.99 ($21 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. Additionally, you can save up to $100 on every configuration of the PlayStation 5, including the more powerful PlayStation 5 Pro.

The PlayStation Portal launched to relatively tepid reviews back in 2023, with The Verge’s Antonio G. Di Benedetto ultimately concluding the device is flawed, but fun if you have fast internet. However, Sony has made strides to improve the experience over recent months, highlighted by a recent update that adds cloud streaming. The feature allows PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers to stream select PlayStation 5 games, including Astro Bot and Resident Evil 4, directly from the cloud instead of from their consoles over Wi-Fi. Additionally, PlayStation Portal users can stream select titles from their own library without needing to connect to their PS5 console.

In terms of hardware, the PlayStation Portal is essentially a standard DualSense controller split in half with a crisp eight-inch 1080p display in the middle. It supports DualSense haptics, too, so you get the full experience of the adaptive triggers and tilt controls in games that support the features. It’s great for playing PS5 games around the house; however, the overall experience is dependent on the quality of your Wi-Fi. If you plan to stream games from your PS5, we highly recommend connecting the console to ethernet.

While Sony has improved the overall experience of the PlayStation Portal, it still has some notable limitations. For instance, it only supports the wireless Pulse Explore earbuds and Pulse Elite headset. That means you can’t just connect any Bluetooth headphones you have lying around. It does, however, feature a 3.5mm headphone jack, allowing you to easily connect wired headphones.