The new video may answer at least one of our many burning questions about Sony’s confusing answer to the Switch and Steam Deck.
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At least one of our questions about the Sony Project Q handheld game-streaming device has seemingly been answered by a new leaked video posted by Zuby_Tech on Twitter (via Reddit / Imgur). In it, a basic version of Android OS running on a plastic-wrapped device shows a simple menu system and a QR code. It’s very doubtful this is what the final version of the handheld’s menu will look like, but it gives us an idea what’s running under the hood, at least.
The person making the video quickly taps through the menu, then starts rolling the handheld over to show the top, back, and bottom of it. The low resolution makes it hard to tell much. You can make out what look like a set of four buttons behind the tablet portion of the device on the top, centered holes on the top and bottom edge of the tablet (microphones, maybe?), and what appears to be speaker slots on the top edge.
In a separate Zuby_Tech tweet, there’s also a picture of the tablet with the screen removed, showing the frame behind it and some of its guts:
If you want a better look at the Project Q, check out our coverage of its May announcement, when Sony said it will be an 8-inch tablet framed by DualSense controllers that won’t stand on its own like the Nintendo Switch or the Steam Deck. Instead, it’ll exist as an accessory for the PS5 that will stream games from your console — making it more comparable to the Nintendo Wii U.
That may seem nonsensical, but Sony has also been testing cloud gaming for the PS5, and we’ve speculated the company could eventually run those games on the Project Q as well. But the new handheld could be coming in November and Sony’s new approach to cloud gaming may not be ready in time for that launch.
Sony gave very little other detail about the Project Q at its PlayStation Showcase announcement. We know it uses a 1080p LCD display running at 60fps, and it uses Wi-Fi to connect to a PS5. Running Android, though, means it should (and hopefully will?) be capable of much more.
