How to buy PlayStation Portal: more US stock in February
Release date and pre-order details for Sony's new handheld console
PlayStation Portal is Sony’s new handheld gaming console that enables you to stream PlayStation 5 games to a portable screen. It’s now available to buy for $200/£200.
- Check out our PlayStation Portal review
The problem is the same that plagued the initial sales of the PS5 – stocks are very limited and you’ve got to be mega quick to bag the new device. We don’t yet know how long this situation will last, but it was months before the PS5 stock levels improved. Naturally, scalpers have taken advantage of the situation and have been selling units for high prices.
A notice on the Sony PlayStation Direct US site now says: “Please check back early February for more details on stock availability.”
Your best option is to keep an eye on PlayStation Direct in the US and we’ll be updating this article when we hear more about stock.
There’s no such message on the UK store.
Stock seems as limited from retailers. After all, if PlayStation’s own store can’t get units, then it’s unlikely others will.
PlayStation Portal was launched in the United States, Europe, and Japan on 15 November – but there’s no word on other regions just yet. Customers are limited to purchasing one console per order due to high demand, similar to when the PS5 first launched.
PlayStation Portal US order pages
PlayStation Portal UK order pages
What is PlayStation Portal?
Portal means you can play PS5 games on the go. Games need to be installed on your PlayStation 5 (with a 15Mbps Wi-Fi connection), and then are streamed to the handheld device. Games will be able to run at up to 60fps. Check out our full PlayStation Portal review.
The device features an 8-inch LCD display at Full-HD resolution, a built-in DualSense controller either side of the screen with all the same buttons including the adaptive triggers (plus haptic feedback), and a “long-lasting” battery – we still don’t know just how long-lasting that will be at present.
What else is happening in the world of PlayStation at the moment?
As well as the new PS5 Slim, Sony is also launching even more products soon in the form of the PlayStation Pulse Elite and Pulse Explore – a wireless headset and earbuds.
They’re able to offer lossless audio, says Sony, thanks to PlayStation Link, a low latency, lossless audio tech that is able to easily switch between multiple PlayStation Link hosts such as a PS5 with the USB adapter and PlayStation Portal. If you want to use earbuds with the Portal they will need to support PS Link – there’s no Bluetooth support for other wireless headphones in the device.
The wireless earbuds are called PlayStation Pulse Explore. They come with a charging case and cost $200/£200. Pulse Elite comes with a charging stand, retractable boom mic and AI-enhanced noise-filtering of background sounds – note there’s no active noise cancellation (ANC). They’ll cost $150/£130. We don’t have release dates for either of these products as yet. And not before time, as they’re the only way to get wireless audio on the PlayStation Portal.
Connor Jewiss