Gaming handhelds: What really matters?

[Redaktion]

The market for gaming handhelds is booming. New devices are springing up everywhere and more and more manufacturers are venturing into the segment. Too much choice can be paralyzing, so knowing what makes a good handheld is certainly worthwhile.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Gaming-handhelds-What-really-matters.963128.0.html

[GeorgeS]

Ok, sure you kinda sorta hit some of the important things but really missed the mark on ALL of them.

OS and Interface

While ANYONE's 'game launcher' can run on WIN11, indeed the Steam deck is 'tied' to their store however can be 'hacked' to enable others. Not mentioned and completely missing is ALTERNATE Linux builds and OTHER game launchers.

The major problem with Linux/Steam vs WIN11 is the lack of game support for Vulken.

Size & Weight

Sadly (or stupidly) there seems to be a race to make these 'portable' devices NOT portable by making them not only LARGER but HEAVIER! Sure while larger devices can squeeze in more battery however the strain of holding them drops their usefullness down considerably.

Actual Performance & Run time on Battery

Again, sadly most of these (PC Gaming devices) have rather dismal run time on battery. Part of that problem is the amount of power required to drive an even gimped/dialed down game to achieve tolerable FPS and playability.

Other Alternate Gaming Devices

While the selling point of the 'handheld PC gaming' is that they are running the games NATIVELY, even if the user can over come the size+weight of the devices, most can't really do that for long without an external power source for very long anyway.

Besides adding controllers to one's cell phone (for example), there are countless lightweight devices that can be Streamed to if the user can add a decent network connection to the mix. There are a number of devices on the market that are designed/made/marketed to be portable streaming clients that can sip battery power.

Other handheld gaming

NBC is chock full of almost countless alternate 'Retro Handheld Gaming Devices' being introduced. Most/many of which cost a mere fraction of their handheld PC gaming counter parts as well as their size & weight (as well as run time on battery) is vastly different then the handheld PC's.

Custom 'grips' are available for many models of Cell phones which can turn them into both 'native' gaming systems (abet NOT PC games) or streaming clients for PC games.

Conclusion

A fairly good 'measuring stick' is the two current Switch models. Ask yourself if you enjoy playing on ether the Switch Lite or the full sized Switch.

Would you like something (far) larger & heavier & with less run time then ether of those examples? Are you looking for something more akin to a 3DS or GBA?

Granted, the 13-14" (or smaller) 'gaming PCs' are usually costly and there are limited choices as well as generally also requiring an external power source. However the better hardware they have can provide a much better gaming experience (you DO have a 'laptop' chamber in your backpack anyway right?) if you simply toss in a mouse or gamepad with it.

YMMV.

[Dan6]

My 5 cents. I have/had Switch,Deck,Ally,Vita and I'm settled with Deck because of how fluid and native gaming experience is, as well as full desktop option if needed. I'm not a fan of Nintendo games and other games are available on Deck, so that removes Switch from competition. And the problem with ROG Ally is Windows - it's too bloated, laggy and doesn't really work as a handheld OS (sleep mode; updates when you just want to kill 15 minutes in some game and other annoyances you're not interested in). I'd tolerate windows-based handheld only if you play games that require windows anticheat. So Deck is my bed/travel option. And I also carry around Vita with me - it still has great battery life, decent games and it's small enough to just always have it in my backpack in case if I need to kill some time.