PlayStation Portal has been officially announced as the remote player for the PS5. Notably, PlayStation Portal is the official name of the much-rumoured and anticipated Project Q that has been grabbing headlines for quite some time. The PlayStation Portal is a remote player, which means it can connect to the PS5 over the same Wi-Fi network to stream the games downloaded on the console remotely. Apart from the PlayStation Portal, Sony also announced the Pulse Elite headset and new details, including the price of the Pulse Explore earbuds. Let’s take a look at everything announced by Sony.
PlayStation Portal Will Launch Later This Year: Price, Specifications
The PlayStation Portal remote player is meant for those who want to avoid being glued to their console and want to game from anywhere in their homes. Unfortunately, the handheld console doesn’t support Bluetooth. It uses PS Remote Play to connect to the PS5 over a Wi-Fi network to stream popular titles from the PS5, provided they are downloaded on the console. Sony has announced that the handheld remote player will launch later this year, priced at $199.99 (~Rs 16,500).
Sony says the PS Portal requires at least 5Mbps Wi-Fi and 15Mbps internet speeds for optimal gaming performance. It can only play the games downloaded on the connected PS5 console. Users cannot play games from their PS Plus cloud streaming account or local games on the console. It’s meant purely as a remote-play accessory for the PS5 console.
Hardware-wise, the PS Portal has an 8-inch LCD display panel with 1080p screen resolution and a standard 60Hz refresh rate. The screen is flanked by grips, controller, and adaptive triggers with the same layout as the DualSense wireless controller. For sound, there is a 3.5mm audio jack for wired earphones.
PlayStation Elite and Pulse Explore Announced: Price, Specifications
Sony also announced its PlayStation Elite wireless over-the-head headphones. It also officially announced the Pulse Explore TWS earbuds, showcased at the PlayStation Showcase Event in May. Sony says, “Pulse Elite and Pulse Explore are the first PlayStation audio devices to use custom-designed planar magnetic drivers for an audiophile-level listening experience normally found in premium headphones for professional sound engineers.”
Sony has priced the Pulse Explore at $199.99 (~Rs 16,500), as much as the PS Portal. The Pulse Elite, on the other hand, is priced at $149.99 (~Rs 12,500). Sony has not announced these accessories’ launch date or pre-order date yet. The company is positioning these audio accessories as a premium offering because of the combination of lossless audio and low latency.
The company has announced that the Pulse Elite and Pulse Explore use a new proprietary technology called PlayStation Link to connect with PS5 and the newly launched PlayStation Portal. While Portal has PlayStation Link built-in, the PS5 will require a dongle. Sony says the PlayStation Link has been designed to offer low latency, lossless audio, and seamless switching between various PlayStation Link devices.
The company will bundle the USB adapter with each headset, and they can also be used on PC and Mac. Sony will also sell it separately for users to connect multiple devices to their PS5, including PS5 Portal and laptops. The Pulse Elite and Explore can also connect to Bluetooth-supported devices like smartphones and multiple devices simultaneously. It means users can answer a phone call instantly while gaming on the PS5 and listen to audio via Pulse Explore.
