The PlayStation Portal, love it or loathe it, is undeniably a runaway success story for Sony. It isn't for everyone, but the ability to remote-play PS5 games or cloud-stream PS Plus titles is a boon for PlayStation loyalists. Nearly three years later, an updated version of the handheld is reportedly on the way, as a PS Portal OLED version could land in stores later this year. However, it's the rumors of a portable PS6 that are definitely more exciting.
In a recent NeoGAF thread from leaker 'KeplerL2', they claim that the PS Portal's strong sales are enough to justify an upgraded model release in the future. The scooper says that the "[PlayStation] Portal seems to be a success. They're even doing another version this year." While details of the portable handheld's specifications are unknown, KeplerL2 simply expresses that the forthcoming refresh would be an "OLED version."
If that's true, it's the first time since the PlayStation Vita's PCH-1000 model that we've had an OLED Sony handheld hit the market in years. The PS Vita launched in Japan initially in December 2011, before finding its way to North America and Europe in February 2012. It'd later be discontinued in March 2019. I'm curious to see how well an OLED PS Portal performs sales-wise. According to recent statistics from Circana's retail tracking service, around 7% of players in the United States own the device.
For the price point, the PS Portal is certainly inoffensive, but I still struggle to see the point of it. Aside from using cloud streaming for an expanding library of games, I can easily replicate its remote play capabilities with my ROG Ally Z1e. I already do that with open-source applications such as Chiaki.
Not only does it function the same, but the streaming bitrates are far better. It's good enough to support me playing through the last hours of Death Stranding 2 without a hitch, with the visual clarity looking so good you could say it's native.
Of course, that experience, be it using the PS Portal or Chiaki on a Steam Deck or ROG Ally, is going to depend on your internet connection. Either way, I'm still curious to see what Sony is planning. Alongside their PS Portal claims, KeplerL2 also suggests that the PlayStation 6 isn't just a standard console follow-up, but it could be portable. Speaking on the hardware it'll include, the leaker says it would feature AMD's RDNA 5 GPU and Zen 6 CPU cores.
Notably, the RDNA 5 GPU may ship with 16 computer units, which eclipse rival handhelds such as the Steam Deck and ROG Xbox Ally. However, it does match the ROG Xbox Ally X on this front, as it features an RDNA 3.5 architecture. KeplerL2 also states that the PS5 follow-up would run at 15W. This follows on from the PS5's low-power mode that was introduced last year, with leakers like 'Moore's Law is Dead' suspecting it's a testing ground for Sony's next dedicated handheld.
Could Sony be following in Nintendo's steps with a hybrid console? I'm keen to see it. What do you think? Sound off over in the Pocket Tactics Discord server.