love how the handheld market is blowing up. more competition means more variety and pushes companies to innovate. lots of people returning to indies and retro games too.
the great part about the OLED I didn't expect: you don't really get "black bars" when doing 720p or old consoles with pixel perfect scaling, the unused areas of the screen are just OFF, very immersive
The steam deck OLED has honestly been the best gaming purchase I've made in years. I didn't even realize until I got it that the handheld market is actually booming right now
Congrats on making the correct choice in the handheld space. Every other handheld is a suboptimal offering masked over by marketing. If you are a pc gamer and have a Steam library this is a hands down no brainer. The ease of setup and cross save between handheld and pc is great. Emulation is also a breeze with a TON of community support. You can not beat the device right now.
@@User-pu3lcyou can do cross save with the other windows devices too. also, sure, the steam deck is better at some things, but it doesn’t have native game pass so... yknow but also, the ally’s vrr display still beats out the decks new (admittedly beautiful) display for smooth gameplay.
@@EastonOliverIt takes all of 2 minutes to get game pass on the steam deck (thanks to the massive dev community and content creators with how to videos on TH-cam) and it has vrr. Windows as an operating system is not built with handhelds in mind and Microsoft isn’t really incentivized to provide support for that use case given the company’s size and how little handhelds users impact their business. Machines centering their experience on Windows was always going to be a suboptimal choice.
Two of my favorite things about my Steam Deck OLED are the support from both Valve and the robust, active user community. The Steam Deck just works out of the box, but the fantastic user community tweaks the Steam Deck to unbelievable heights. I also admire Valve’s embrace of the modding community to the point of encouraging the community to fix issues, bring compatibility to games and services, and push the limits of this remarkable handheld.
Went for the Legion Go just for the immersive screen size. I had to go through many updates, setups and tutorial videos for performance improvements as well as removing windows log in. It now boots straight into Playnite big screen mode for a more console like experience with my favourite PS1, PS2, PS3 and PC games all in one shop 👍
The Ally although great and it deserves to be on a top 5 handheld list, hasn't come without it's fair share of teething problems. Some of them fairly major like the card melting MicroSD slot. The OLED Steam Deck although slightly less powerful, is pretty much perfect in design now and is well refined in comparison to the Ally. Because of that extra "polish" that came with the OLED Steam Deck, it simply deserves to be above the Ally and in the number 1 top spot. Honestly, if ASUS pulls it's finger out and does a revision of the Ally next year, just like Valve did with the Steam Deck (fixes all the issues and makes a OLED version), then there's absolutely no reason why it couldn't make number 1 next year (BTW, the same goes with the Legion Go)
@@fafski1199 The MicroSD issue has mostly been corrected in recent models, hasn't it? Its an issue if you were one of the early adopters but if you've bought one in the last couple months its not really a factor anymore. I bought mine in October, played it constantly, and never had any issue with the SD card.
The Ally, apart from battery life and microsd keffufle, is a great Windows handheld after updates and patches with the powerful Z1E apu. I got an Oled Steam Deck, and no matter how better that device is, it struggles with Baldur's Gate 3
I don't see people comment on it often, but I appreciate your ad skits, they're actually entertaining and I can see you put work into them. Thanks for the videos
My favorite was the Retroid Pocket 2S because the sticks and the analog triggers are SO GOOD. Such an improvement over the switch style sticks. If that device had a larger screen, it'd be nearly perfect for what I'm looking for
Not great and with that screen its not ideal how you supose to play 3ds games with one small screen? With that price just buy real 3ds from japan and hack it. @@louismontrose8966
For me the Go is where its at. Updates are coming thick and fast and oncr youre over the whole Windows thing and you have the games running comfortably, its amazing. I appreciate the Deck allows for you to get to game quickly with its suggested profiles but if you are willing to put time in you get some much more out of the Go.
@@cheerful_crop_circle One of the chonkiest and heaviest handhelds ever made, if you thought this was ever gonna be number 1 with the general public, you're sniffing the vents too hard. Legion Go has a place for a subset of handheld PC gamers, yet it and ROG Ally (which is overall a better package for the masses) end up being 2-3x bigger AND heavier than historic handhelds, but with non-existent batteries to make up for the size and weight. The value proposition you're offering everyone is insanity.
'oncr youre over the whole Windows thing and you have the games running comfortably, its amazing' Being on PC otherwise I wouldn't have an issue with this. But if you ever have to hard-reset or change handhelds, you will have to go through most of the same process including setting up individual "unruly" games.
I have the miyoo mini + and the limited edition steam deck and I really really love both. I'm not a big retro gamer but I had so much fun playing the original resident evil 1,2,3 on the miyoo. Can be annoyingly small for a game like that but I honestly got used to it. It's just so small and convenient to carry. The steam deck on the other hand is a powerful big boi. It's like night and day with those devices. Being able to play classic resident evil with a bigger screen and more comfortable controls for longer game time plus newer ones on the go is just a crazy feeling, I can't believe we live in a time where games I once thought could only be played on a home console now can be taken anywhere. I'm also a rookie in this racket but I found it absurdly easy to get roms running on the steam deck as compared to the miyoo. Both were fairly easy but the steam deck with definitely easier
Ayaneo all the way. One man in china during covid started that company and made the worlds first 7nm ryzen apu handheld. After linus reviewed it steam deck came a year and a half later followed by other devices. So I think atleast a honorable mention is in order for the machine that started the competition. Yes there very expensive because it’s a very small company trying to expand but it’s also a premium product and I still love mine as I’m currently waiting for my ayaneo slide
GPD Win 4 is by FAR the winner. Once you ditch the virtual keyboards on these things you will never want to go back. The performance of the latest model is also astounding. I dock mine to an eGPU and haven't had any desire to have my full desktop back.
Funny thing about that is a GPD Win 4 with no keyboard would be my dream handheld. I have no desire for a keyboard or moving parts taking up the limited space on a handheld.
HDR support-at least properly implemented and supported-is game-changing. It’s the only reason I still have Windows on my main gaming rig (attached to my 4K TV), as soon as HDR is broadly implemented and easily supported on Linux, I’ll jump over to Nobara, Bazzite, or SteamOS if it ever officially releases with NVIDIA support.
From what I understand the reason they made the Miyoo Mini + is specifically because of the screen on the Miyoo Mini. Those worse screens are all they could get their hands on in that size, they bought up all the stock of the original screens to meet demand
the steam deck has done so much to prove just how user-friendly linux can be if it's just supported properly by the hardware manufacturers. I hope we'll see more of these consolized custom OS PC handhelds in 2024, because the gap in UX between steam OS, and windows is quite frankly absurd.
The big hope is that the success of Steam Deck and Steam OS is that game developers start to consider Linux / Steam OS as a primary OS and these compatibility issues become a thing of the past
Yeah, but that's a big "if". And for older titles? Not really gonna be supported at all, and you're left with whatever support WINE had for them 10yrs ago.
I was just sitting here thinking about what kinda handheld would be best for me, wanting something like a steamdeck but not a steam deck. This video came at the perfect time
I thought the OLED Switch would be my only handheld going into 2023, but now at the end of the year, I'm mostly using my Portal & Steam Deck. Crazy year for handhelds
Oh good for you. I have no interest in the steam deck or the PlayStation portal as I have no interest in buying the PlayStation I’m happy with my switch. I don’t need every system under the Sun and it took me getting an Nintendo switch to make me realise that You say I’m limited myself, but I know what I want. I know what I like. I do not have time to play all of the systems but it’s great for handheld gaming but overall I think Nintendo still owns the handheld market. In my opinion. Neither of the other systems will ever be mainstream and that’s when Nintendo has the big advantage over the others. Nintendo is a known quantity and has been around since the 1980s in terms of gaming, so you kinda know what you’re getting with Nintendo no need to tinker like you do with the other systems, but that’s just me.
@@Adamtendo_player_1 Did you reply to the wrong person? You're quoting things I've said about you or about myself that were not in my comment. Or you're just trolling..? After all, the Portal is literally the opposite of tinkering, and unlike my Switch, it'll reliably & smoothly play games. I hope you're able to find the commenter you were talking to though, sounds like you were in a heated debate.
@@Adamtendo_player_1The other handhelds like Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Legion Go are already mainstream. Those are well-known brands. Just because Nintendo Switch has sold more Switch consoles doesn't make the other handhelds I mentioned NOT mainstream. Your weak logic is like saying that Xbox Series isn't mainstream because the PS5 is outselling it 3 to 1 and therefore Sony "owns" the console market. 🤣🤣🤣 Xbox consoles are mainstream devices. I can play Zelda Tears of the Kingdom with better performance on a ROG Ally vs the outdated Nintendo Switch which is using 2015 hardware in a console that launched in 2017. 🤣🤣🤣 YOU CAN'T.
I opted for the ROG Ally, had it for a few months now, and for someone that has a large library of games outside of steam, and now uses the Ally as a laptop I highly recommend
Agree 100% I have both the Ally and the OLED Deck and the Ally has basically replaced my aging living room media center PC because it's powerful enough to play games well on a big TV. I would say my usage of the two are 70% Steam Deck and 30% Ally. Just can't beat the Deck, especially now with the OLED model upgrades. That thing goes everywhere with me. The Ally has also been great for the purpose I put it into, and I can recommend both easily. But if I had to pick one, it would absolutely be the OLED Deck.
UX and UI are crucial to a good handheld which is why despite the others being more powerful, the only viable option for me is the SD OLED (which I never would’ve considered until the OLED screen which is stunning). I dont think a feature like sleep and instant resume gets talked about enough, shows how optimized this is for a good user console-like experience. Ofc more performance would be better but I could not live with a handheld that relied on the jank of using windows on such a small screen and with a gamepad. I’m honestly amazed at how well the SD runs despite being less powerful, the fact that cyberpunk 2077 still looks great and runs so smoothly is crazy to me on it
What UI/UX stuff is available on the Steam Deck that isn't as easy on something like Windows on the Ally? Isn't it just starting the steam launcher and clicking on your game?
The Legion GO has been performing amazingly. I like the new steam deck but the Legion has that certain feeling that your playing on a beast of a system and odd enough I enjoy the fan noise. Means it working ha.
I'm so glad that handhelds are getting love again! Nothing is more cozy to me than being able to curl up on the couch after work with my switch or 3ds and a cup of tea :)
Can't watch the video right now but just wanted to drop a comment here to say thank you Bob for those videos. I got myself and my 9 years old nephew the Miyoo Mini Plus and I'm enjoying it so much! It's definitely not perfect but it's a good balance between affordability and performance, and Onion OS just makes it even more enjoyable. My nephew just cried when he discovered his Christmas Gift, he's into retro gaming and his reaction was the best thing I saw this year. Thanks for helping me choosing my and his first handheld emulating device! Problem now: I think I'm addicted and wanna get more XD. Happy holidays everyone!
AYN Odin 2 turned out to be perfect for what I always wanted. It's as if all my PS2 games had been remastered, so it's a whole lot of fun to revisit all my PS2 games. I'm some cases some games like as if they were on PS3.
One other reason I chose to upgrade my Steam Deck LCD to OLED rather than a ROG Ally was its ability to run Steam OS AND Windows. Out of the box, the Deck is user friendly but for us tinkerers, its so open it has a crazy amount of customisation. I upgraded mine to 2TB dual-booting with Windows so I get the best of both worlds. Now, if Valve can hurry up and get the last Windows drivers out for the OLED, my Deck will be complete...
Just have to say, loveeee the intro Bob. It's totally got this early 2000's sci-fi badass action movie vibe and I'm all about it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't go back and watch it a second time.
and I love how the serious music suddenly cuts out and we specially hear him opening the door and shuffling into the room like it's some sloppy home video. I love his sense of humor in the editing.
I just got my hands on the ROG Ally. Been having so much fun. As a console gamer just entering into PC gaming, I have to say that this is a lovely introduction to the PC experience. Haven't touched my Switch since I got it. Pretty quiet fan.
I got my two nephews, 11 & 9, each a miyoo mini plus. They loved it and picked up on all the hot keys immediately. One played spiderman on ps1 and the other super Mario world SNES. They ignored pretty much every other Christmas gift.
List is actually pretty good. I personally have ROG Ally at 1 but it’s completely fair to have it at #2 as well. ROG Ally was the best surprise this year
I bought Asus ROG Ally for $399 from BestBuy, it's the base model but I only plan to play classic games such as JRPG and platform games. It's the perfect choice for those who don't plan to play any triple A title on a handheld. (Even Yakuza 0 played GREAT on this base model)
Super happy with my ROG Ally, the VRR was the determining factor over the Legion Go. I hope all of these great handhelds continue to sell well so we get continued support and hopefully they may lead to more optimized pc ports.
My steam deck struggled with God of War and I had to really play on the lowest settings. However I enjoyed the game and completed it. Harry Potter for some reason works perfectly and I get 50 FPS. I’m playing on recommended settings and it’s great. Steam deck also has auto resume which is fantastic. Most of the games I like are on steam. I bought the steam deck and I added a big micro 1TB ssd. By the sounds of it the SD Oled would be a 9.5/10. I’m happy to continue with the steam deck LCD I have and I won’t be upgrading for at least 3 years until this space has really matured as Intel and AMD make even better chips. My top tip would be to put the main games on main SSD. I would rate the steam deck LCD 08/10.
The Miyoo Mini Plus, the Steam Deck OLED, Odin 2, Rog Ally, Legion Go, this was an incredible year for handhelds! Just one thing, the base Odin 2 is $299. I think that’s a good price point, considering the Odin 2 outperforms the Steam Deck for NGC and PS2 emulation, has a better screen than the base deck, longer battery life, etc.
I was in the same camp with HDR, just classing it as being unnoticeable at best and actually providing a worse experience at it's worst. Once I upgraded to an LG C1 OLED TV a couple of years ago, I finally get it and now I have it on whenever I can.
Glad I went for a Steam Deck then. With a little modding, Valve's continued support means they will be many ways to get around it's shortcomings as a Linux based translation system. But really, that is kinda the point! It's modern PC games at a fraction of the power cost, and that's what counts here.
I love how Retro and PC handhelds looked way more fun than the current prevalent form factor of smartphones. These companies are once again gunning each other who can innovate more. This is like the wild west of handheld devices all over again. Which is a thing from the 90s and early 2000s.
fwiw the ayn odin 2 base is 299 right now from their website. emulation performance on everything but switch will be mostly the same across all models, the only difference is more ram (good for switch performance) and more internal storage (not entirely necessary, just throw a larger TF card in)
the idea that the Steam Deck power envelope is only going to get more efficient and smaller makes me very excited for what Valve might make later on. I dream that they enter the 4:3 retro handheld space and breath new life into developing games for other aspect ratios and integrate them with Steam. This level of power will emulate everything that currently exists, so it will always be viable.
It will be interesting what you think of the RGB30. I love the screen but the device has some major deal breakers for me mostly related to battery. 1. Standby battery life is awful 2. Jelos Boot from shutdown takes too long. 3. Battery meter and charging in general is inconsistent. 4. In practice it doesn’t feel much more capable than a Miyoo or 35xx. The additional power gives you mid to bad quality n64, dc, and psp. None I feel like I want to play a game in. 5. Because of 1-4 it makes me prefer something with Onion or Garlic OS.
I'm still impressed with the switch. You've seriously put that machine through a hell of a lot that you haven't done with some of the others as of yet and for what it is it's clearly able to put up with a crapola lot of punishment. I'm interested to see how much regular use/wear & tear will hold up on the other handhelds in the next year or two.
I have been doing my Retro Gaming on an 11 inch hdr 120 HZ oled Lenovo tablet with a Turtle Beach Atom controller. Between running games off the tablet directly, and streaming my best games for my pc, it is as good as it gets. I do love all these dedicated handhelds though
Bob you always have great reviews and breakdown of new handhelds. Thank you! I really want an OLED Steam Deck it just looks beautiful and great console. Just wish the price point was little lower.
I’m a tech-illiterate console gamer. Never got into PC gaming. That said, the Steam Deck OLED might be my favorite gaming device of all time. I can see myself playing nothing but this for a long, long time.
AYN Odin 2 Pro is just perfect for me as my first emulation device. Brings back childhood memories and switch games run surprisingly well. Chose this for battery life, size and ease of use since I can play all of the more demanding games on my Xbox anyways. It‘s pricey, but the cost might be higher when going for a cheaper option and replacing it quickly because you need more power. I feel like the Odin will serve me for at least 3 years
I bought the Odin 2 to have all my emulation on the go, I heavily debated between that and the steam deck Oled. Ill wait one or two more gens of steam decks for them to master it before buying, but i will eventually get one. Very promising!
I have the LCD version, remote play from my desktop has not worked very well for the games I have wanted to use it for. This upgade sounds like very good news.
@@cookielashon It's so easy to hack now. I have dreamcast, gba, snes and n64 all running on it. Plus like 80% of vita games I bought didn't fit on my sd card but with the hack I can just use microsd and fit all the games I own and a few that I don't 😉. Vita is a beast now. Switch would be nice because it can run PS2 but its unhackable so I don't play mine much. Probably will get a steamdeck next for dolphin and PS3
Super pleased with my ROG Ally purchase. I've only had it about two months now and I absolutely love it. The only dislike for me is the battery life. My plan was to use it on a dock as a regular PC. I'd love to build my first PC this year but wanted to make sure PC gaming was something I was serious about, and the Ally has been a great introduction for me to PC gaming
Another excellent video Bob! Here's an out of the box idea for a video: I would love to see you build a Gaming PC with Steam OS to use as a living room console :P
I swear to god, Sony called the PS Portal the "Portal" because they figured people would hear that and confuse it with the word "Portable" and they thought they could squeeze some extra sales out of it
I agree with you that the value of having the largest library in the history of gaming makes the Steam deck the best value, but please stop saying the Steam Deck OLED is just a little bit more than the Odin 2. The Steam Deck people want is the current one we are seeing, and it is roughly 200 dollars more expensive than the Odin 2. Perhaps the Odin 2 is too expensive, but 200 bucks isn't couch change.
Though I am saddened by Bobs departure from the podcast, I can DEFINITELY see the increase in his videos quality which makes me happy. Glad you checked in with yourself Bob we are with you wherever you make content man. ✌🏽 ✌🏽
I try the SD Oled and I keep my Ally If u have a gaming PC ---> Steam Deck If u have an Xbox series X ---> Rog Ally (Xbox Play every where) So the Rog Ally is even cheaper when u compare all the system. 1h30 and 3h00 is enough to play games on the go (for me)
one thing that is worthwhile to metion, the Rog Ally is the only of those devices to have freesync premium (vrr) that helps to stabilize the frame pacing when the framerate is all over the place
I chose the Rog ally, since its got the variable refresh rate screen. Plus its form factor is much slimmer the the deck or the Go, plus it runs windows and steam out the box. Its a no brainer really.
Two main factors for me were portability and battery life. That's why I opted for the Odin2 over the SD. I think I would enjoy the SD more, but it would not fit the brief for my use case. I just need access to good games for long travel periods and I think Odin2 will be a great companion for that.
Honestly just got a Rog ally today and I’m not disappointed at all, the setup was straight forward and the bios and graphics drivers were insanely easy as well, honestly I’m very happy with this device and I’m excited about future updates and more from asus, great product and thank you for the review, great job 👍
I love my Deck OLED but I really want to get the ROG Ally. The Deck in my small hands at times is almost too big and there are somethings I wish I could do but can't because it's not windows. Ally and Deck OLED being 1 and 2 are where I'd put them. They are the best handhelds. The Go is just too big and really is almost a small tablet or laptop at it's size
Great list, just have to swap the Ally and Go. As someone with both, I can tolerate the Go’s fan issues (addressed and confirmed fixes are coming), but having a device that can’t use SD cards consistently and knowing it’ll eventually get stick drift with a “small” screen just isn’t for me. Also the Go being a PC tablet too, is surprisingly useful. The deck deserves the #1 just for the pick up and play. Valve killed it and the community is massive and incredibly helpful. Sure OLED is kind of a waste when you have to degrade games to minimum settings (“man hogwarts’s has amazing colors with oled, shame I have to play the game at horrible quality”), but considering my preferences are emulation and Indy games for portable content, it wins.
Great video. Pre-ordered the first deck and didn't really get much use out of it since it runs everything at 16:10 and the black bars pissed me off so much lmao. Went back to it to clear out a ton of games I bought in prep for it and well what do you know THEY PATCHED IT SO WE CAN STRETCH THE SCREEN. LETS GOOO Can't get off it. Such a good handheld.
I've had a an ROG Ally Z1 Extreme and a Legion Go z1 Extreme. And idk what Lenovo has under the hood, but it out performs it by A LOT. Idk why. But I'll take my loud af Legion Go over the Ally anyday of the week. The screen is unreal, and the triggers are BUTTERY. Wolfenstein is an amazing playthrough, and so is TLOU Part 1 remake on Steam. This thing is a workhorse.
I’ve noticed that it out performs my Ally too. Plus the damn sd card reader actually works. It is unfortunately heavy as fuck in comparison though. The screen not having variable refresh rate was originally an instant disqualification for it for me; however I decided to buy one to give it a test run while my Ally is away on RMA, and I dont notice any difference. Its not like it gets screen tearing or anything and it looks just as smooth to my eyes. They are both equally matched. Like dead even.
@theo5675 Doubt it. It's probably an overheating issue. The Ally isn't loud, because the max fan speed is low. Might be why it turns into a toaster oven for the SD card. Poor thermals = poor performance. Plus, it literally DOESN'T have the resolution to keep up. I'm playing TLOU at 1600p rn. That's literally impossible on the Ally. And in COD MW3, I'm playing MP at 90+ FPS at 1200p on the Legion Go. Spiderman Miles Morales is a steady 60fps at 1600p. Yeah, its loud, but that's what my headphones are for.
Have the OLED, had the lcd OG deck, Keeping the ROG Ally and selling the oled. The Ally is just perfect for what I want. I’d have mentioned the VRR for the AI’s as the feature that separates it from the others. Besides that point, solid list.
I'm just waiting for the moment that I can pick up a very simple, small and silent handheld that can play Super Mario Sunshine, LoZ Windwaker, the first two Ratchet & Clank games, the first two Jak & Daxter games and anything before that, all with an HDMI out and Bluetooth controller/headset support.
I’ve always been a handheld gamer , even when I was growing up I would normally prefer my DS or GBA over my ps3 and ps4 games. I’m pretty happy that handheld gaming is getting better. I wouldn’t be surprised if the future of gaming is going to be handheld gaming consoles that can be docked like a switch except with much more power than a switch.
I haven’t seen/heard/read any reviews for the Portal except for one when it came out… but I don’t understand how you panned it that hard. I’ve used it almost every day for 4-10 hours per day since launch (when I’m not using my Switch). Because I’ve chosen to live with my dad and spend time with him as he’s getting up there in age, it’s the best way to play my PS5 without hogging the TV so that we can watch stuff together too. I understand people don’t like that it’s just a remote play device, but for what it is, it seems perfect for me. My only complaint is that I can’t hook my airpods or any other bluetooth headphones up to it.
![BEST Gaming Handheld in 2024!? [Steam Deck OLED | Ally X | Legion Go | Claw]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/czoKrKcgHaY/mqdefault.jpg)
![BEST Gaming Handheld in 2024!? [Steam Deck OLED | Ally X | Legion Go | Claw]](/img/tr.png)
![Completely Overkill 3DS emulation [AYANEO Flip DS]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bUG5hoLzYVA/mqdefault.jpg)
love how the handheld market is blowing up. more competition means more variety and pushes companies to innovate. lots of people returning to indies and retro games too.
Hopefully we get a new PSP in the near future
@@DirtyFozzy if you like psp youre in luck my friend "GPD win 4" check out "ETA prime" review on the console
@@DirtyFozzyWith PlayStation Portal out, I think it'll take quite a while unfortunately.
@@skycloud4802Unless the rumors are true.
@@skycloud4802 and sony is sucking in the corner, with their "new" handheld. This is karma! for killing Vita
the great part about the OLED I didn't expect: you don't really get "black bars" when doing 720p or old consoles with pixel perfect scaling, the unused areas of the screen are just OFF, very immersive
There are many nice subtle things about the OLED. Even a little extra fps and better speakers and better triggers
It's exactly why I love my Alienware OLED Ultrawide monitor.
Always talking about handhelds but never about holding hands smh.
🫱🏻🫲🏻
that's ghey
Yes
Holding hands! You deviant! How you can talk about something so torrid in a public forum is beyond me.
✊😔
The steam deck OLED has honestly been the best gaming purchase I've made in years. I didn't even realize until I got it that the handheld market is actually booming right now
This is what I try to tell people you won’t understand it until one is in your hands
That’s exactly how I feel about my Legion Go
Congrats on making the correct choice in the handheld space. Every other handheld is a suboptimal offering masked over by marketing.
If you are a pc gamer and have a Steam library this is a hands down no brainer. The ease of setup and cross save between handheld and pc is great. Emulation is also a breeze with a TON of community support.
You can not beat the device right now.
@@User-pu3lcyou can do cross save with the other windows devices too.
also, sure, the steam deck is better at some things, but it doesn’t have native game pass so... yknow
but also, the ally’s vrr display still beats out the decks new (admittedly beautiful) display for smooth gameplay.
@@EastonOliverIt takes all of 2 minutes to get game pass on the steam deck (thanks to the massive dev community and content creators with how to videos on TH-cam) and it has vrr.
Windows as an operating system is not built with handhelds in mind and Microsoft isn’t really incentivized to provide support for that use case given the company’s size and how little handhelds users impact their business.
Machines centering their experience on Windows was always going to be a suboptimal choice.
Two of my favorite things about my Steam Deck OLED are the support from both Valve and the robust, active user community. The Steam Deck just works out of the box, but the fantastic user community tweaks the Steam Deck to unbelievable heights. I also admire Valve’s embrace of the modding community to the point of encouraging the community to fix issues, bring compatibility to games and services, and push the limits of this remarkable handheld.
Nice but can the deck run Minecraft
@@SleepzyV I believe it can with a few tweaks
Went for the Legion Go just for the immersive screen size. I had to go through many updates, setups and tutorial videos for performance improvements as well as removing windows log in. It now boots straight into Playnite big screen mode for a more console like experience with my favourite PS1, PS2, PS3 and PC games all in one shop 👍
Legion Go needs OLED.
Only then will it truly be immersive.
@@PSYCHOV3N0MLegion GOLED? 😅😂
As an Ally owner, I like this list. I put the Ally as #1 on my personal list, but I have no problem with the steam deck winning this award.
The Ally although great and it deserves to be on a top 5 handheld list, hasn't come without it's fair share of teething problems. Some of them fairly major like the card melting MicroSD slot. The OLED Steam Deck although slightly less powerful, is pretty much perfect in design now and is well refined in comparison to the Ally. Because of that extra "polish" that came with the OLED Steam Deck, it simply deserves to be above the Ally and in the number 1 top spot.
Honestly, if ASUS pulls it's finger out and does a revision of the Ally next year, just like Valve did with the Steam Deck (fixes all the issues and makes a OLED version), then there's absolutely no reason why it couldn't make number 1 next year (BTW, the same goes with the Legion Go)
@@fafski1199 The MicroSD issue has mostly been corrected in recent models, hasn't it? Its an issue if you were one of the early adopters but if you've bought one in the last couple months its not really a factor anymore. I bought mine in October, played it constantly, and never had any issue with the SD card.
i own ally and i ve added 4tb ssd in to it LOL. never had to use the card at all . i thiknits the end game in handheld for me
The Ally, apart from battery life and microsd keffufle, is a great Windows handheld after updates and patches with the powerful Z1E apu. I got an Oled Steam Deck, and no matter how better that device is, it struggles with Baldur's Gate 3
I’m with you bro I love my ally but I understand why it was his number 1
I really can’t wait to see what the future of PC handhelds is. It’s grown so quickly and with such a strong start
I don't see people comment on it often, but I appreciate your ad skits, they're actually entertaining and I can see you put work into them. Thanks for the videos
My favorite was the Retroid Pocket 2S because the sticks and the analog triggers are SO GOOD. Such an improvement over the switch style sticks. If that device had a larger screen, it'd be nearly perfect for what I'm looking for
If it had just had a 4 inch screen I would have bought it day 1, everything else is perfect.
Can it handle any 3ds Pokémon games?
Not great and with that screen its not ideal
how you supose to play 3ds games with one small screen? With that price just buy real 3ds from japan and hack it. @@louismontrose8966
The Legion Go has max fan set to On by default for some reason. It's much more bearable once you turn that off even using it at 30w.
How do you turn it off?
@@Eevolved35 There's a toggle for it at the bottom of the performance screen.
@@lammyjammer6670 ahhh right I see, I just recently got it and it was set to off so I guess I got my hands on it after the updates
@@Eevolved35 it's pretty easy to miss 😂
For me the Go is where its at. Updates are coming thick and fast and oncr youre over the whole Windows thing and you have the games running comfortably, its amazing. I appreciate the Deck allows for you to get to game quickly with its suggested profiles but if you are willing to put time in you get some much more out of the Go.
I have a Lenovo Legion Go and I’m very satisfied with it overall.
So am I 😊 I’ve sold my steamdeck and bought a Legion Go
Legion Go should be number 1
@@cheerful_crop_circle One of the chonkiest and heaviest handhelds ever made, if you thought this was ever gonna be number 1 with the general public, you're sniffing the vents too hard. Legion Go has a place for a subset of handheld PC gamers, yet it and ROG Ally (which is overall a better package for the masses) end up being 2-3x bigger AND heavier than historic handhelds, but with non-existent batteries to make up for the size and weight. The value proposition you're offering everyone is insanity.
'oncr youre over the whole Windows thing and you have the games running comfortably, its amazing'
Being on PC otherwise I wouldn't have an issue with this. But if you ever have to hard-reset or change handhelds, you will have to go through most of the same process including setting up individual "unruly" games.
I have the miyoo mini + and the limited edition steam deck and I really really love both. I'm not a big retro gamer but I had so much fun playing the original resident evil 1,2,3 on the miyoo. Can be annoyingly small for a game like that but I honestly got used to it. It's just so small and convenient to carry. The steam deck on the other hand is a powerful big boi. It's like night and day with those devices. Being able to play classic resident evil with a bigger screen and more comfortable controls for longer game time plus newer ones on the go is just a crazy feeling, I can't believe we live in a time where games I once thought could only be played on a home console now can be taken anywhere. I'm also a rookie in this racket but I found it absurdly easy to get roms running on the steam deck as compared to the miyoo. Both were fairly easy but the steam deck with definitely easier
I just bought a Legion Go. Absolutely fantastic piece of hardware.
Agreed!
ABSOLUTELY
Mine is showing up tomorrow! I always get a little nervous with big money purchases. So I’ve been watching vids like crazy about handhelds lol.
Ayaneo all the way. One man in china during covid started that company and made the worlds first 7nm ryzen apu handheld. After linus reviewed it steam deck came a year and a half later followed by other devices. So I think atleast a honorable mention is in order for the machine that started the competition. Yes there very expensive because it’s a very small company trying to expand but it’s also a premium product and I still love mine as I’m currently waiting for my ayaneo slide
GPD Win 4 is by FAR the winner. Once you ditch the virtual keyboards on these things you will never want to go back. The performance of the latest model is also astounding. I dock mine to an eGPU and haven't had any desire to have my full desktop back.
Looks cool, would love to try it but it’s so much more expensive than a Steam Deck OLED, let alone a regular LCD Steam Deck
Said no one ever, lol.
gpd win mini has a way better form factor
Funny thing about that is a GPD Win 4 with no keyboard would be my dream handheld. I have no desire for a keyboard or moving parts taking up the limited space on a handheld.
HDR support-at least properly implemented and supported-is game-changing. It’s the only reason I still have Windows on my main gaming rig (attached to my 4K TV), as soon as HDR is broadly implemented and easily supported on Linux, I’ll jump over to Nobara, Bazzite, or SteamOS if it ever officially releases with NVIDIA support.
Fr tho hdr on my iPad keeps it future proof I feel
From what I understand the reason they made the Miyoo Mini + is specifically because of the screen on the Miyoo Mini. Those worse screens are all they could get their hands on in that size, they bought up all the stock of the original screens to meet demand
the steam deck has done so much to prove just how user-friendly linux can be if it's just supported properly by the hardware manufacturers. I hope we'll see more of these consolized custom OS PC handhelds in 2024, because the gap in UX between steam OS, and windows is quite frankly absurd.
Some black magic will be needed to get Batocera and RetroPie to work at this level
The big hope is that the success of Steam Deck and Steam OS is that game developers start to consider Linux / Steam OS as a primary OS and these compatibility issues become a thing of the past
Yeah, but that's a big "if". And for older titles? Not really gonna be supported at all, and you're left with whatever support WINE had for them 10yrs ago.
I was just sitting here thinking about what kinda handheld would be best for me, wanting something like a steamdeck but not a steam deck. This video came at the perfect time
What are you getting?
Imagine wanting something like the steam deck and then not getting a steam deck
I thought the OLED Switch would be my only handheld going into 2023, but now at the end of the year, I'm mostly using my Portal & Steam Deck. Crazy year for handhelds
Oh good for you. I have no interest in the steam deck or the PlayStation portal as I have no interest in buying the PlayStation I’m happy with my switch. I don’t need every system under the Sun and it took me getting an Nintendo switch to make me realise that You say I’m limited myself, but I know what I want. I know what I like. I do not have time to play all of the systems but it’s great for handheld gaming but overall I think Nintendo still owns the handheld market. In my opinion. Neither of the other systems will ever be mainstream and that’s when Nintendo has the big advantage over the others. Nintendo is a known quantity and has been around since the 1980s in terms of gaming, so you kinda know what you’re getting with Nintendo no need to tinker like you do with the other systems, but that’s just me.
@@Adamtendo_player_1 Did you reply to the wrong person? You're quoting things I've said about you or about myself that were not in my comment. Or you're just trolling..? After all, the Portal is literally the opposite of tinkering, and unlike my Switch, it'll reliably & smoothly play games.
I hope you're able to find the commenter you were talking to though, sounds like you were in a heated debate.
@@Adamtendo_player_1The other handhelds like Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Legion Go are already mainstream.
Those are well-known brands.
Just because Nintendo Switch has sold more Switch consoles doesn't make the other handhelds I mentioned NOT mainstream.
Your weak logic is like saying that Xbox Series isn't mainstream because the PS5 is outselling it 3 to 1 and therefore Sony "owns" the console market. 🤣🤣🤣 Xbox consoles are mainstream devices.
I can play Zelda Tears of the Kingdom with better performance on a ROG Ally vs the outdated Nintendo Switch which is using 2015 hardware in a console that launched in 2017. 🤣🤣🤣
YOU CAN'T.
The steam deck oled is hands down the best handheld this year. I love that the rgb30 got some love too.
I opted for the ROG Ally, had it for a few months now, and for someone that has a large library of games outside of steam, and now uses the Ally as a laptop I highly recommend
Rog Ally is my first gaming pc and handheld as an adult. I’m excited for the future of handheld gaming!
Agree 100%
I have both the Ally and the OLED Deck and the Ally has basically replaced my aging living room media center PC because it's powerful enough to play games well on a big TV. I would say my usage of the two are 70% Steam Deck and 30% Ally. Just can't beat the Deck, especially now with the OLED model upgrades. That thing goes everywhere with me. The Ally has also been great for the purpose I put it into, and I can recommend both easily. But if I had to pick one, it would absolutely be the OLED Deck.
Love the opening camera work bahb. Everyone loves a cinematic intro
UX and UI are crucial to a good handheld which is why despite the others being more powerful, the only viable option for me is the SD OLED (which I never would’ve considered until the OLED screen which is stunning). I dont think a feature like sleep and instant resume gets talked about enough, shows how optimized this is for a good user console-like experience. Ofc more performance would be better but I could not live with a handheld that relied on the jank of using windows on such a small screen and with a gamepad. I’m honestly amazed at how well the SD runs despite being less powerful, the fact that cyberpunk 2077 still looks great and runs so smoothly is crazy to me on it
What UI/UX stuff is available on the Steam Deck that isn't as easy on something like Windows on the Ally? Isn't it just starting the steam launcher and clicking on your game?
The Legion GO has been performing amazingly. I like the new steam deck but the Legion has that certain feeling that your playing on a beast of a system and odd enough I enjoy the fan noise. Means it working ha.
The Legion Go is million times better than the Steam Deck
idk but fan noise never bothers me 🤷♂️
Facts. I’ve ran my PlayStation 4 into the ground until I got a ps5. so a loud fan ain’t nothing new 😂
I'm so glad that handhelds are getting love again! Nothing is more cozy to me than being able to curl up on the couch after work with my switch or 3ds and a cup of tea :)
Can't watch the video right now but just wanted to drop a comment here to say thank you Bob for those videos. I got myself and my 9 years old nephew the Miyoo Mini Plus and I'm enjoying it so much! It's definitely not perfect but it's a good balance between affordability and performance, and Onion OS just makes it even more enjoyable.
My nephew just cried when he discovered his Christmas Gift, he's into retro gaming and his reaction was the best thing I saw this year.
Thanks for helping me choosing my and his first handheld emulating device!
Problem now: I think I'm addicted and wanna get more XD.
Happy holidays everyone!
AYN Odin 2 turned out to be perfect for what I always wanted. It's as if all my PS2 games had been remastered, so it's a whole lot of fun to revisit all my PS2 games. I'm some cases some games like as if they were on PS3.
One other reason I chose to upgrade my Steam Deck LCD to OLED rather than a ROG Ally was its ability to run Steam OS AND Windows. Out of the box, the Deck is user friendly but for us tinkerers, its so open it has a crazy amount of customisation. I upgraded mine to 2TB dual-booting with Windows so I get the best of both worlds.
Now, if Valve can hurry up and get the last Windows drivers out for the OLED, my Deck will be complete...
Yeah.. I was a Windeck guy before.. but when a Steam OS update Steam-rolled my Windows Partition.. I knew it was time to get an Ally
What are u using Windows for? Docked with a mouse and keyboard and external display or something more entertainment-on-the-go related?
@Decoder2040 Mainly Game Pass. I also used it to play modded games, but I have noticed more and more games are now able to be modded in SteamOS.
Just have to say, loveeee the intro Bob. It's totally got this early 2000's sci-fi badass action movie vibe and I'm all about it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't go back and watch it a second time.
and I love how the serious music suddenly cuts out and we specially hear him opening the door and shuffling into the room like it's some sloppy home video. I love his sense of humor in the editing.
I just got my hands on the ROG Ally. Been having so much fun. As a console gamer just entering into PC gaming, I have to say that this is a lovely introduction to the PC experience. Haven't touched my Switch since I got it. Pretty quiet fan.
I got my two nephews, 11 & 9, each a miyoo mini plus. They loved it and picked up on all the hot keys immediately. One played spiderman on ps1 and the other super Mario world SNES. They ignored pretty much every other Christmas gift.
Their parents must be upset with you. Your present outshined theirs😂😂
Legion go + steam big picture mode and learning to use the mouse and it's amazing
Great list the Steam Deck surely is a pioneer and a pillar for next generations portable Pc gaming
List is actually pretty good. I personally have ROG Ally at 1 but it’s completely fair to have it at #2 as well. ROG Ally was the best surprise this year
Bobs playing that Lenovo like a serial killer 😂. Laying on his back with the device on his chest and controller detached on his side.
I bought Asus ROG Ally for $399 from BestBuy, it's the base model but I only plan to play classic games such as JRPG and platform games. It's the perfect choice for those who don't plan to play any triple A title on a handheld. (Even Yakuza 0 played GREAT on this base model)
Super happy with my ROG Ally, the VRR was the determining factor over the Legion Go. I hope all of these great handhelds continue to sell well so we get continued support and hopefully they may lead to more optimized pc ports.
My steam deck struggled with God of War and I had to really play on the lowest settings. However I enjoyed the game and completed it.
Harry Potter for some reason works perfectly and I get 50 FPS. I’m playing on recommended settings and it’s great.
Steam deck also has auto resume which is fantastic.
Most of the games I like are on steam.
I bought the steam deck and I added a big micro 1TB ssd.
By the sounds of it the SD Oled would be a 9.5/10.
I’m happy to continue with the steam deck LCD I have and I won’t be upgrading for at least 3 years until this space has really matured as Intel and AMD make even better chips.
My top tip would be to put the main games on main SSD.
I would rate the steam deck LCD 08/10.
The Miyoo Mini Plus, the Steam Deck OLED, Odin 2, Rog Ally, Legion Go, this was an incredible year for handhelds!
Just one thing, the base Odin 2 is $299. I think that’s a good price point, considering the Odin 2 outperforms the Steam Deck for NGC and PS2 emulation, has a better screen than the base deck, longer battery life, etc.
I was in the same camp with HDR, just classing it as being unnoticeable at best and actually providing a worse experience at it's worst. Once I upgraded to an LG C1 OLED TV a couple of years ago, I finally get it and now I have it on whenever I can.
Glad I went for a Steam Deck then. With a little modding, Valve's continued support means they will be many ways to get around it's shortcomings as a Linux based translation system. But really, that is kinda the point! It's modern PC games at a fraction of the power cost, and that's what counts here.
3TB Deck LCD(good ol 64gb) and 5TB Ally owner. love both my handhelds
I love how Retro and PC handhelds looked way more fun than the current prevalent form factor of smartphones. These companies are once again gunning each other who can innovate more.
This is like the wild west of handheld devices all over again. Which is a thing from the 90s and early 2000s.
Imagine the future of Handhelds! It's only getting better!
The Steam Deck OLED is insane.
I really want a translucent one :(
Also, they improved the repairability, which was very good!
fwiw the ayn odin 2 base is 299 right now from their website. emulation performance on everything but switch will be mostly the same across all models, the only difference is more ram (good for switch performance) and more internal storage (not entirely necessary, just throw a larger TF card in)
the idea that the Steam Deck power envelope is only going to get more efficient and smaller makes me very excited for what Valve might make later on. I dream that they enter the 4:3 retro handheld space and breath new life into developing games for other aspect ratios and integrate them with Steam. This level of power will emulate everything that currently exists, so it will always be viable.
It will be interesting what you think of the RGB30. I love the screen but the device has some major deal breakers for me mostly related to battery.
1. Standby battery life is awful
2. Jelos Boot from shutdown takes too long.
3. Battery meter and charging in general is inconsistent.
4. In practice it doesn’t feel much more capable than a Miyoo or 35xx. The additional power gives you mid to bad quality n64, dc, and psp. None I feel like I want to play a game in.
5. Because of 1-4 it makes me prefer something with Onion or Garlic OS.
I'm still impressed with the switch. You've seriously put that machine through a hell of a lot that you haven't done with some of the others as of yet and for what it is it's clearly able to put up with a crapola lot of punishment. I'm interested to see how much regular use/wear & tear will hold up on the other handhelds in the next year or two.
Still using my og steam deck but man the steam deck oled is a masterpiece
I have been doing my Retro Gaming on an 11 inch hdr 120 HZ oled Lenovo tablet with a Turtle Beach Atom controller. Between running games off the tablet directly, and streaming my best games for my pc, it is as good as it gets. I do love all these dedicated handhelds though
Bob you always have great reviews and breakdown of new handhelds.
Thank you!
I really want an OLED Steam Deck it just looks beautiful and great console. Just wish the price point was little lower.
You won't regret it. For me it was one of the best purchases I've made.
@sirnootmuskai I got the normal Steam Deck earlier this year and I still love it OLED or not.
I love my Steam Deck OLED. That screen is amazing and the whole deck offers such a great experience.
I’m a tech-illiterate console gamer. Never got into PC gaming. That said, the Steam Deck OLED might be my favorite gaming device of all time. I can see myself playing nothing but this for a long, long time.
AYN Odin 2 Pro is just perfect for me as my first emulation device. Brings back childhood memories and switch games run surprisingly well. Chose this for battery life, size and ease of use since I can play all of the more demanding games on my Xbox anyways. It‘s pricey, but the cost might be higher when going for a cheaper option and replacing it quickly because you need more power. I feel like the Odin will serve me for at least 3 years
13:13 dude the flip is amazing.
With you and Taki both putting the oled Steam Deck at your number one I may give it another look.
Legion Go for me ‼️it’s a powerhouse
I bought the Odin 2 to have all my emulation on the go, I heavily debated between that and the steam deck Oled. Ill wait one or two more gens of steam decks for them to master it before buying, but i will eventually get one. Very promising!
my wish for the next rog ally: 7.5(8.0)inch oled with super thin bezel, 32GB, 60(or 65) wHr battery, hall stick, latest AMD Apu
The upgraded wifi chip on the steam deck oled was a huge upgrade too! Makes it great for game streaming on top of everything else.
I have the LCD version, remote play from my desktop has not worked very well for the games I have wanted to use it for. This upgade sounds like very good news.
Me still playing my vita every day 👁👄👁
Literally dude 😂😂😂😂😂
@@cookielashon It's so easy to hack now. I have dreamcast, gba, snes and n64 all running on it. Plus like 80% of vita games I bought didn't fit on my sd card but with the hack I can just use microsd and fit all the games I own and a few that I don't 😉. Vita is a beast now. Switch would be nice because it can run PS2 but its unhackable so I don't play mine much. Probably will get a steamdeck next for dolphin and PS3
Wanted to get one to mod it, but could not get one, so now I have the Steam Deck Oled and I am super satisfied with it.
I can only play roblox😢 you lucky duck
Super pleased with my ROG Ally purchase. I've only had it about two months now and I absolutely love it. The only dislike for me is the battery life. My plan was to use it on a dock as a regular PC. I'd love to build my first PC this year but wanted to make sure PC gaming was something I was serious about, and the Ally has been a great introduction for me to PC gaming
Another excellent video Bob! Here's an out of the box idea for a video: I would love to see you build a Gaming PC with Steam OS to use as a living room console :P
There's a guy that does that on TH-cam. If you search for "put steam OS on (blank)" it'll show up I think. Sorry can't remember the channel name rn
That intro was fucking fire wolf
I swear to god, Sony called the PS Portal the "Portal" because they figured people would hear that and confuse it with the word "Portable" and they thought they could squeeze some extra sales out of it
I agree with you that the value of having the largest library in the history of gaming makes the Steam deck the best value, but please stop saying the Steam Deck OLED is just a little bit more than the Odin 2. The Steam Deck people want is the current one we are seeing, and it is roughly 200 dollars more expensive than the Odin 2. Perhaps the Odin 2 is too expensive, but 200 bucks isn't couch change.
personally im still rocking the LCD Steam Deck. I might upgrade later
I always look forward to the sponsor part, "YA HUNGRY!? ...fifty." will never get old for me lol
Top content again Bob. This channel fully deserves the 1mil this year.
My favorite part of the video is the winner audio “cool man” lmao. So good.
I really like this format! Clean, fun - Direct. Hope 2024 brings in some new adventures for you and the channel!
Though I am saddened by Bobs departure from the podcast, I can DEFINITELY see the increase in his videos quality which makes me happy. Glad you checked in with yourself Bob we are with you wherever you make content man. ✌🏽 ✌🏽
I try the SD Oled and I keep my Ally
If u have a gaming PC ---> Steam Deck
If u have an Xbox series X ---> Rog Ally (Xbox Play every where)
So the Rog Ally is even cheaper when u compare all the system.
1h30 and 3h00 is enough to play games on the go (for me)
It would have been great if you could’ve provided links to the devices spoke about in this video
Odin 2 starts from 299$, 8gb is enough for all games, even switch :) Being playing BotW a lot with great fps
one thing that is worthwhile to metion, the Rog Ally is the only of those devices to have freesync premium (vrr) that helps to stabilize the frame pacing when the framerate is all over the place
I chose the Rog ally, since its got the variable refresh rate screen. Plus its form factor is much slimmer the the deck or the Go, plus it runs windows and steam out the box. Its a no brainer really.
Just got a used steam deck and love it. Just pick up and play.
Two main factors for me were portability and battery life. That's why I opted for the Odin2 over the SD. I think I would enjoy the SD more, but it would not fit the brief for my use case. I just need access to good games for long travel periods and I think Odin2 will be a great companion for that.
Honestly just got a Rog ally today and I’m not disappointed at all, the setup was straight forward and the bios and graphics drivers were insanely easy as well, honestly I’m very happy with this device and I’m excited about future updates and more from asus, great product and thank you for the review, great job 👍
I love my Deck OLED but I really want to get the ROG Ally. The Deck in my small hands at times is almost too big and there are somethings I wish I could do but can't because it's not windows. Ally and Deck OLED being 1 and 2 are where I'd put them. They are the best handhelds. The Go is just too big and really is almost a small tablet or laptop at it's size
Great list, just have to swap the Ally and Go. As someone with both, I can tolerate the Go’s fan issues (addressed and confirmed fixes are coming), but having a device that can’t use SD cards consistently and knowing it’ll eventually get stick drift with a “small” screen just isn’t for me. Also the Go being a PC tablet too, is surprisingly useful.
The deck deserves the #1 just for the pick up and play. Valve killed it and the community is massive and incredibly helpful. Sure OLED is kind of a waste when you have to degrade games to minimum settings (“man hogwarts’s has amazing colors with oled, shame I have to play the game at horrible quality”), but considering my preferences are emulation and Indy games for portable content, it wins.
Great video.
Pre-ordered the first deck and didn't really get much use out of it since it runs everything at 16:10 and the black bars pissed me off so much lmao.
Went back to it to clear out a ton of games I bought in prep for it and well what do you know THEY PATCHED IT SO WE CAN STRETCH THE SCREEN. LETS GOOO
Can't get off it. Such a good handheld.
I've had a an ROG Ally Z1 Extreme and a Legion Go z1 Extreme. And idk what Lenovo has under the hood, but it out performs it by A LOT. Idk why. But I'll take my loud af Legion Go over the Ally anyday of the week. The screen is unreal, and the triggers are BUTTERY. Wolfenstein is an amazing playthrough, and so is TLOU Part 1 remake on Steam. This thing is a workhorse.
I’ve noticed that it out performs my Ally too. Plus the damn sd card reader actually works. It is unfortunately heavy as fuck in comparison though.
The screen not having variable refresh rate was originally an instant disqualification for it for me; however I decided to buy one to give it a test run while my Ally is away on RMA, and I dont notice any difference. Its not like it gets screen tearing or anything and it looks just as smooth to my eyes.
They are both equally matched. Like dead even.
It’s cuz of the new drivers once the new drivers come to the ally soon it’ll be the same
@theo5675 Doubt it. It's probably an overheating issue. The Ally isn't loud, because the max fan speed is low. Might be why it turns into a toaster oven for the SD card. Poor thermals = poor performance. Plus, it literally DOESN'T have the resolution to keep up. I'm playing TLOU at 1600p rn. That's literally impossible on the Ally. And in COD MW3, I'm playing MP at 90+ FPS at 1200p on the Legion Go. Spiderman Miles Morales is a steady 60fps at 1600p. Yeah, its loud, but that's what my headphones are for.
I LOVE my steam deck OLED. I was like "what made me wait so long!?" And then I'm like "oh yeah, the OLED is a game changer"
Have the OLED, had the lcd OG deck, Keeping the ROG Ally and selling the oled. The Ally is just perfect for what I want. I’d have mentioned the VRR for the AI’s as the feature that separates it from the others. Besides that point, solid list.
I got the Odin 2. Worth every penny
Still have no idea why I even need handheld gaming device but video is great. Thank you Bob!
Wow this Steam Deck thingy looks really cool! I hope they sell it in Australia someday!
I recently got the Rog Ally for Christmas and I love it!
I'm just waiting for the moment that I can pick up a very simple, small and silent handheld that can play Super Mario Sunshine, LoZ Windwaker, the first two Ratchet & Clank games, the first two Jak & Daxter games and anything before that, all with an HDMI out and Bluetooth controller/headset support.
I am very new to the Wulff Den, so I greatly appreciate this video. Helps me get caught up.
I’ve always been a handheld gamer , even when I was growing up I would normally prefer my DS or GBA over my ps3 and ps4 games. I’m pretty happy that handheld gaming is getting better. I wouldn’t be surprised if the future of gaming is going to be handheld gaming consoles that can be docked like a switch except with much more power than a switch.
The Steamdeck made my love for handhelds come back. It made my gaming habits change for better or for worse 😅 I can play pc level fame and emulation!
I haven’t seen/heard/read any reviews for the Portal except for one when it came out… but I don’t understand how you panned it that hard. I’ve used it almost every day for 4-10 hours per day since launch (when I’m not using my Switch). Because I’ve chosen to live with my dad and spend time with him as he’s getting up there in age, it’s the best way to play my PS5 without hogging the TV so that we can watch stuff together too. I understand people don’t like that it’s just a remote play device, but for what it is, it seems perfect for me. My only complaint is that I can’t hook my airpods or any other bluetooth headphones up to it.
I agree 100% with this list. I have the miyo plus and the steam deck oled. About to get the odin 2 pro soon. Great video.