You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here
A slew of new hardware launches from Sony have got people asking the question: what is PlayStation Link. We’re going to be combing through everything we know about the wireless headphone technology and how it relates to the launches of the PlayStation Portal, Pulse Explore and Pulse Elite.
After being announced earlier on this year, the PlayStation Pulse Explore and Pulse Elite’s pre-orders have recently begun. While neither product is due for shipping until much later on, the announcement of them was paired with the official reveal of the PlayStation Portal which launches in mid-November. Despite Sony having once declaring it’s no longer interested in handhelds, the company have made a pretty bold come-back with a cloud streaming device for the PlayStation 5.
Yet, there’s a few strange hardware specifications that might be an issue for prospective buyers. Notably, the lack of Bluetooth. Anyone looking to connect their PS5 headset might face a little bit of a roadblock here, but PlayStation Link could look to solve that.
What is PlayStation Link?
PlayStation Link is Sony’s new wireless audio tech, poised to make Bluetooth redundant in Sony products.
The PlayStation Portal not featuring Bluetooth seemed like a strange move to begin with. It’s a portable, lightweight device built to be compatible with other hardware – how could Bluetooth be ignored? Well, it’s also a streaming device. As games won’t be played natively on its hardware, it’s going to rely on your PS5 for that instead. Gameplay will then be streamed from device-to-device across a network, which introduces a possibility for streaming issues and lag. If you then layer on the latency issues that Bluetooth is sadly known for, you’re going to be struggling to enjoy playing games while trying to fight connectivity issues.
PlayStation Link offers a low-latency lossless work-around for Bluetooth’s outdated tech.
However, PlayStation Link isn’t baked into the PlayStation Portal, the PlayStation Pulse Elite, or the PlayStation Pulse Explore. As detailed in this PlayStation Blog post, these hardware items will ship with an included PlayStation Link USB in the box, but standalone adapters will also be sold for future products at $24.99. Availability rolls out from December 6 worldwide, with the new headset and earbuds coming in February of next year.
What else does PlayStation Link do?
Aside from offering wireless audio solutions, there’s also going to be major quality-of-life features developed with the new technology. One of these includes connecting your headphones to both your PS5 and mobile phone at the same time, meaning you can answer phone calls while playing games. Other features include Bluetooth compatibility, meaning that if you’re not interested in the lossless compression you can also enjoy Pulse audio products without forking out for the USB adapter.
If you’re interested in finding out where to buy the PlayStation Portal so you can try out PlayStation Link alongside the Pulse audio range, we’ve already had a stab at finding the latest information.
About the Author
