Ever since Valve released theoriginal Steam Deck , the PC play world has been on the hunt for a Steam Deck killer . Asus travel first with itsROG Ally , and Lenovo follow in brief after with theLegion Go . That ’s not to bring up the belt of small brand that have been chip away at handheld gaming personal computer for years , such as Ayaneo and GPD .

You ca n’t pop the Steam Deck , though , at least not with the current offerings . Valve has a particular reward with the Steam Deck that it ’s been building for years , and it will be hard for a true competitor to come forth in the growing market ofhandheld gaming PCs .

Priced for everyone

In the most unmediated way , the Steam Deck tolerate head and shoulder above other hand-held options due to its price . Before theSteam Deck OLED , you could pick up a machine for as small as $ 400 . Sure , it came with only 64 GB of slow storage , but it extend fundamentally the same experience as the more expensive theoretical account .

Now , prices are even lower . you’re able to find a Steam Deck LCD for $ 350 and even less if you nibble up a refurbished equipment . The price of access here is abject , not much more than a Nintendo Switch and less than an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 .

That ’s in stark contrast to devices like the ROG Ally and Legion Go . The ROG Ally with the Z1 Extreme chip is $ 700 , with no selection to reduce the cost for less storage . The Legion Go is the same Leontyne Price , and you’re able to spend an extra $ 50 for more storage . Asus undertake to compete at a humbled price with the ROG Ally featuring the base Ryzen Z1 flake , but at $ 600 , it ’s still much more expensive than the Steam Deck ( and a act obtuse , as you could read in ourROG Ally Ryzen Z1 review ) .

cost goes out the window with more niche brand . TheAyaneo 2Swill take to the woods you at least $ 1,000 , and the GPD Win 4 cost $ 850 . If you have the money to save , you could make an argument for one of these other devices . But when the Steam Deck costs so little and store upgrades are trashy and loose , it ’s safe to say that Valve is playing in a league of its own .

The software advantage

It ’s not just price , however . The barrier to entry is depressed for the Steam Deck compared to other devices , but there ’s no denying that Steam Deck competitors concur some advantage . For instance , the ROG Ally comes with a much fast CPU , and the Legion Go ’s monolithic screen is unmatched .

Valve advance with computer software . I’vepreviously writtenabout the job with Windows on a handheld play personal computer , but it come down to this : Windows , for as much flexibility as it offers , just is n’t make for two thumbsticks and some buttons . It ’s work up for a mouse and keyboard , and that difference makes the Steam Deck feel like a much nice gadget compared to its Windows counterparts .

SteamOS provides a mostly seamless hand-held experience , but it ’s not just about sailing . With SteamOS at the helm , the Steam Deck is able-bodied to suspend game when you need to pause , and you ’re able to well select options in overlays without your input signal being mirrored on the game hunt underneath . It feel like a handheld , not a laptop computer stripped of its most commodious input method .

There ’s the fact that Windows supports , well , any Windows game , but with Steam as the elementary mart for personal computer games and puppet like the Heroic Launcher for other storefronts , you could still play the huge majority of PC game on the Steam Deck . In accession , there ’s a swath of additional software you could download through Decky Loader , making SteamOS more useful . Those options are n’t useable on Windows - based handhelds .

Bring on the killers

I want to see more speculate Steam Deck killer . That ’s good for everyone . With the ROG Ally and Legion Go out , Valve pushed out the Steam Deck OLED , which allow for a massive improvement over the original model . If nothing else , handheld competitors ensure that the Steam Deck does n’t go down behind and become a 2d - family citizen .

It will be a tough conflict for a competitor to unfeignedly upend the Steam Deck , though . It has to sail through the arrant marriage of carrying into action and software and at a monetary value that ’s fair enough for a mainstream hearing . We ’re still in the early days of hand-held gaming personal computer , so I do not doubt that a equipment will get there eventually . For now , though , it ’s punishing to say any new handheld can truly enter the class of a “ Steam Deck killer . ”