In July 2021, Valve revealed the Steam Deck, a Switch-like handheld device packed with features including a huge variety of control options, a 7-inch touchscreen, the ability to connect to external displays, and a quick suspend / resume feature. The device began shipping in February 2022, starting at $399.
With an unprecedented degree of support from Valve and the help of the gaming community, it progressed from being a “glorious mess” in our initial review to becoming one of The Verge’s favorite gadgets of 2022 and something other companies couldn’t really match. More than two years after the Steam Deck launched, the landscape is very different now that new competition has arrived in the form of Windows-powered handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally and Ayaneo’s assorted decks.
Now Valve’s new revision of the Steam Deck adds an OLED screen along with tons of other improvements that Sean Hollister says make it “everything the original should have been.”
We’ve been keeping a close eye on the Steam Deck, and you can read all of our coverage of it and upcoming rivals here.
Highlights
- Steam Deck OLED review: better, not faster
- Here is Valve’s own transparent Steam Deck.
- The cheaper $600 Asus ROG Ally is here, and you probably shouldn’t buy it
- Starfield vs. Steam Deck and ROG Ally.
- It’s not just you: Steam suddenly looks nice
- Asus ROG Ally updated review: it’s a bit better now
- Ayaneo 2S will officially be one of the first Steam Deck rivals with Ryzen 7000
- The Steam Deck wasn’t born ready, but it’s ready now
Mar 18
Playtron: the startup hoping to Steam Deck-ify the world
Handhelds are the future of gaming — but there are reasons the category hasn’t exploded yet. The Nintendo Switch is locked down, Windows can be cumbersome, and Valve’s pick-up-and-play SteamOS hasn’t yet escaped the Steam Deck.
Read Article >What if there were an Android of gaming, an OS you could install on any capable hardware to get a controller-friendly PC experience? Imagine an “Epic Deck” that could actually play Fortnite, a “5G Deck” for cellular carriers, or maybe a “PlayStation Deck” for Sony’s growing PC ambitions.
Mar 8
The MSI Claw has arrived to take on the Steam Deck
The MSI Claw has officially arrived, as the base model of MSI’s Core Ultra-powered handheld gaming machine is now available from MSI’s website for $699.
Read Article >There are two other higher-specced models, too, but they’re listed as coming on March 12th. Here’s how the three models stack up:
Mar 4
Lenovo Legion Go review: the Swiss Army knife of handhelds
Want a handheld gaming PC? I wouldn’t recommend the $700 Lenovo Legion Go over a Steam Deck. Windows 11 isn’t nearly as convenient and portable as Valve’s Steam OS for playing Windows games on the go. Even Microsoft knows that.
Read Article >But even if it’s not the best portable game console, it’s a nifty portable PC that can absolutely play games. For the right kind of Windows gadgeteer, the Lenovo Legion Go might narrowly be worth the cash.
Mar 2
Roblox says it hasn’t blocked Linux or Steam Deck, but it’s reportedly toast there
Bad news for Roblox fans on Linux — the workarounds are dead. GamingOnLinux reports that the latest version of Roblox “forcefully blocks it from working with Wine,” throwing a “Wine is not supported” error message even when Roblox-specific tools like Vinegar and Grapejuice are added. Wine is the compatibility layer that lets many Windows games run on Linux systems.
Read Article >But Roblox claims it’s not personal. “Confirming there has been no change on our end to specifically block Linux or Steam Deck since Roblox never supported Linux or Steam Deck officially,” spokesperson Samantha Spielman tells The Verge.
Mar 1
GPD’s latest PC gaming clamshell comes with a VRR screen.One thing the Asus ROG Ally absolutely does better than the Steam Deck or Lenovo Legion Go: smooth out choppy gameplay with its variable refresh rate screen. Now, GPD will use a similar 7-inch 120Hz VRR screen on its 2024 Win Mini — and (sadly?) swap out the Oculink external GPU port for 10Gbps USB-A.
The MSI Claw will also have a 7-inch VRR screen.
Feb 15
Microsoft admits Windows is a weak link in handheld gaming PCs — and promises to improve.One of the weak points in the experience on a ROG or the Lenovo [Legion Go] is Windows. How Windows works on controller input only on that kind of DPI, on a smaller eight- or seven-inch screen. That’s a real design point that our platform team is working with Windows to make sure that the experience is even better.
Does that mean handheld mode isn’t just a hackathon project anymore? There was that Xbox app compact mode...
Feb 14
It’s time for Microsoft to build an Xbox Steam Deck
The Nintendo Switch is on track to become the bestselling game console of all time. Sony’s PS5 will likely surpass the Xbox One’s entire lifetime sales later this year. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s newer Xbox Series X and S, with their comparatively disappointing exclusive games, are firmly in third place yet again — and it doesn’t look like Xbox Game Pass will ever fill the gap.
Read Article >Microsoft isn’t planning to take this lying down. It’s among the largest video game companies in the world now that it owns Activision Blizzard, and it’s going to act. This Thursday, we expect the company to reveal a seismic shift in strategy, one where it could bring Xbox exclusives like Hi-Fi Rush, Starfield, even Indiana Jones to PlayStation and / or Switch.
Feb 2
The Lenovo Legion Go just added custom fan curves and integrated driver updates.I had to download patches manually from Lenovo’s website just last week. Looking forward to never doing that again! I’m not sure what else is in Legion Space 1.2.7, as the company hasn’t issued a changelog yet, but previous updates brought joystick deadzone and sensitivity adjustments for example. There was a new graphics driver in December.
Jan 31
The Asus ROG Ally is getting AMD’s Fluid Motion Frames — the Lenovo Legion Go might too.The tech works on DX11 and DX12 games and adds fake frames. It is not a silver bullet for low-perf handhelds: it can add so much lag AMD only suggests it for games running 60fps or better.
But this Filterless video shows it’s more nuanced than that. In the right games, you could save considerable battery or add noticeable smoothness. The ROG Ally will get it “as soon as possible”; Lenovo is “looking at how to properly implement” it.
Jan 31
Ayaneo’s underpowered Steam Deck competitor is now on sale for just $299.No need to crowdfund — you can just up and buy it right here for its Early Bird price. There’s a lot to like about its design. But it’s unlikely its old Ryzen 5 4500U will even approach a $349 Steam Deck LCD in performance. I tested the very first Ayaneo, which came with that chip, and the Deck beat it soundly.
Also, it will no longer come with any flavor of SteamOS. It’s a Windows machine now.
Jan 30
MSI confirms the Claw will have a 48-120Hz VRR screen
The MSI Claw will be one of the first handheld gaming PCs with an Intel Core Ultra processor inside — and the second with a variable refresh rate (VRR) screen. Previously, the Asus ROG Ally was the only handheld with that dynamic gameplay smoothing display feature, and it’s one of its biggest advantages, and — after a lot of back and forth — MSI has now triple-confirmed that the Claw will contain a 7-inch, 1080p, 48-120Hz VRR screen too.
Read Article >Earlier today, I published that it wouldn’t have a VRR screen, after explicitly fact-checking that with the company on Friday, MSI initially said you could manually set it to 48Hz or 60Hz refresh rate if you’d rather go lower than the full 120Hz on offer.
Jan 26
The Lenovo Legion Go gets its first price cut — to $649.I’m actually working on a review of the Legion Go right now, and it’s the only Windows gaming handheld I can recommend — if you absolutely must have Windows, can’t wait for Intel-powered handheld reviews, and don’t want a gaming laptop instead.
It’s $50 off at Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, and Lenovo direct.
Note: If you buy something from these links, we might get affiliate revenue.
Jan 26
A second-gen Asus ROG Ally is coming as soon as this year.Asus India exec Arnold Su told Techlusive that the new gaming handheld will “focus more on gaming” — what a Yo Dawg quote! — but will still be focused on Windows rather than, say, SteamOS. I wonder why.
The first Ally was a bit tortured but not a bad product overall, unless we’re talking about the cheaper, weaker version.
Jan 12
Jay Peters, Richard Lawler and 1 more
Ayaneo’s Next Lite is a $299 Steam Deck competitor with unofficial SteamOS
Ayaneo’s attempt to launch a bargain-price competitor to the Steam Deck has been confusing, to say the least, but the company has now published a product page that clears most things up. The Ayaneo Next Lite will cost $299, will not ship with an official build of SteamOS but rather an unofficial fork you have to download separately, and come with a four-year-old AMD processor that’s arguably less potent than the one in the original Steam Deck LCD.
Read Article >While the company originally advertised that “subscriptions” for the handheld will open on Thursday night, that may have been a case of Chinese to English translation getting too literal — the final product page only has a “Subscribe” button so you can get emailed with more information about the handheld. A new blog post has no mention of subscriptions.
Jan 12
Why isn’t Valve just working with Ayaneo to officially bring SteamOS to its handhelds?I’d like to know too! I’ve been told that in general Valve isn’t easy to get a hold of, and that it has contributed to some handheld makers’ decisions to launch on Windows.
But... Valve has clearly been working towards a SteamOS that works on more handhelds, as you can see if you launch the desktop Big Picture Mode on Windows handhelds. Also, Valve is a tiny company of roughly 300 employees.
Jan 9
We go hands-on with MSI’s Intel-powered Steam Deck competitor.There are still many unknowns about this new handheld Windows gaming PC, but Sean Hollister reports from CES 2024 that MSI’s Claw device feels comfier than competitors like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.
MSI says the Claw will ship this year, priced at $699 to start, or more if you’re willing to pay for an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU.
Jan 9
MSI Claw hands-on: the Steam Deck rival with Intel inside
MSI just announced the Claw, a handheld Windows gaming PC following the Steam Deck’s lead. It’s destined to challenge the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go at the same starting price of $699 — only this one has an Intel Core Ultra inside, which MSI claims is the clear winner over AMD in performance and battery life.
Read Article >I just got hands-on at CES 2024, and I can confidently tell you that as of right now, it’s impossible to say whether it’s any good — that depends on performance and battery life, which are not final. MSI is showing off engineering samples here at CES, ones that feel like they need the months of tuning they’ll hopefully get before a first-half 2024 launch.
Jan 1
Speaking of handheld PC gaming chips, here’s an incredible look at the Steam Deck’s APU.The gorgeous X-ray-like close-up photos in this video are from Fritzchens Fritz — I’ve introduced you to his work before. You can also go straight to his Flickr page if you don’t have time for video. I particularly like this shot.
The video also shows how much smaller the Steam Deck OLED’s die-shrunk Sephiroth chip is — no die shots of that one yet, though.
Jan 1
AMD’s 8840U won’t shake up handheld PC gaming, but what about Intel’s Core Ultra?Chinese boutique handheld firms are moving fast, with Ayaneo and GPD switching out their AMD 7840U in 2024 handhelds for the new 8840U instead — even though that chip is largely unchanged from 7840U. The only public diff is faster AI.
And yet there may be a new sheriff in town: OneXPlayer’s next system will feature an Intel Core Ultra. Phoronix has an extensive comparo showing Intel’s 155H beating AMD’s 7840U in GPU performance and power consumption simultaneously — just what I want in a handheld.
Dec 13, 2023
Fortnite on Steam Deck? Sweeney says Valve needs “tens of millions of users” to justify it.A tidbit from my interview:
Why is Fortnite still not playable on Steam Deck?
If we only had a few more programmers. It’s the Linux problem. I love the Steam Deck hardware. Valve has done an amazing job there; I wish they would get to tens of millions of users, at which point it would actually make sense to support it.
Epic’s own Easy Anti-Cheat does support Steam Deck, though — and both Valve and Epic agreed the anti-cheat part should be a simple matter in November 2021.
Dec 7, 2023
“Listen to me as a Steam Deck owner.”Rapper/podcaster Danny Brown enters his Steam Deck review (not necessarily the OLED model, but still) as the ultimate in-flight companion device.
Dec 1, 2023
A ROG Ally update is adding gyroscope controls and a lot more.It started as an April Fool’s tease, but the very real handheld gaming PC is now six months old. Along with gyro controls, a new Armoury Crate update is adding a new Feedback Hub, the ability to turn CPU Boost off, new AMD Advanced Graphics Options, and direct sharing of images and video to Discord and TikTok.
Windows Central highlights this Asus video tracking everything added since launch (we revisited our review over the summer), or you can read the changelog here.
Nov 22, 2023
A look inside both the Legion Go and Steam Deck OLED
iFixit published a dual teardown of Valve’s Steam Deck OLED and the Lenovo Legion Go today, giving a nice, detailed look inside both handhelds with all of the site’s usual meticulous detail. This being iFixit, the focus is on the consoles’ repairability, and it gave both high marks — a 9 / 10 for the Steam Deck OLED and 8 / 10 for the Lenovo Legion.
Read Article >The article has a nice summary of the process, but we recommend watching the video for the full effect and some nice close-up shots of the components. It’s also a great way to see how things come apart if you’re interested in doing this yourself.
Nov 17, 2023
A hefty stable Steam Deck update gives the Dock a brand-new feature
Valve’s new Steam Deck OLED just went on sale today, but there are goodies for the original LCD model, too — the company is now rolling out a stable build of SteamOS 3.5.5 with a hefty list of fixes, changes, and upgrades.
Read Article >Some of the biggest are ones we’ve already seen in a September beta, like support for VRR and HDR external displays, the ability to tweak your screen’s color and undervolt your processor with new firmware, and a graphics driver update with a big performance improvement for Starfield (though it still looks like mud in cities).
Nov 16, 2023
The best Steam Deck games are now the best Steam Deck startup movies.Elden Ring, Hades, Vampire Survivors, Dead Cells and Persona 5 can now wake up your Deck. (If you’ve ever spent $30 on Steam, you’ve likely already got enough points for a vid.)
Hey Moon Studios, can we get an Ori and the Will of the Wisps HDR one for Steam Deck OLED?