Valve's Steam Deck is a fantastic gaming handheld PC. It's competitively priced and offers impressive specs to deliver contemporary graphics muscle. However, it's not the only game in town. While previously, Nintendo dominated this category, we're getting an influx of handheld gaming consoles in recent months that have seen various success rates among the community. This article will discuss five Steam Deck Competitors that are all set to shake things up.
But first, let's talk about what has made Steam Deck so popular.
A Vibrant and Dedicated Community of Gamers
The success behind the Steam Deck so far has been thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response from the wider gaming community. People have been hungering for an open platform handheld for years, and Steam Deck has finally delivered. This is in stark contrast to the rather tepid response the Switch has gotten from the gaming community at large.
Even though Steam Deck is (almost) one year old, the online communities are teeming with different DIY projects, tutorials, and guides on how to get the most out of your machine. Valve's commitment to keeping the Steam Deck ecosystem open has allowed for a much more collaborative environment to develop between the company and its users.
Last month we talked with our friends from esportsheadlines.com and concluded that the current landscape of DIY gaming projects goes to Valve in favor. Their repair guide is a good maintenance resource anyone can use to fix drift, a cracked display, or a worn-out battery, etc. Likewise, the release of the Steam Deck CAD files is also a great initiative for DIY enthusiasts and accessory manufacturers. Now anyone can 3D print custom shells and cases for their handheld without owning the device.
The Nintendo Switch Dilemma: Is It Really a Steam Deck Competitor?
When talking about Steam Deck competitors, the first name that always pops up is Nintendo Switch. But can they really be compared? I don't think so. Both are very different devices that follow different philosophies and target different audiences. The only thing they have in common is the handheld factor.
For instance, the Switch plays games specifically created for Nintendo's system. These include titles like The Legend of Zelda: BOTW, Metroid Dread, Mario Odyssey etc. You won't see these games on any other system. In contrast, the Steam Deck runs on modified Arch Linux, so you can install games from anywhere as you do on a regular PC.
You can also install a different OS and use third-party stores, emulators, benchmarking utilities, torrent clients, and more. A closed ecosystem like the Switch would never see such freedom. This is one reason small indie developers have flourished the most on Valve's platform, creating some of last year's biggest hits like Teardown, Valheim, and Vampire Survivors.
Not to mention, Valve's handheld was released in early 2022 - full five years later than the Switch. It enjoys higher clock speeds, newer CPU & GPU architectures, and faster storage options than the Nintendo. So, the difference between the two machines shows a big generational leap in terms of handheld gaming console performance, making their comparison a little bit of apples and oranges.
Top 5 Gaming Handhelds That May Pose A Serious Competition for Steam Deck
I've talked about how the Switch and the Steam Deck are two very different devices. But, there are other machines that are more similar to Valve's offering and can be considered its direct competition.
1. GPD Win 3
Do you remember the era of the slider phones? GPD obviously does because its gaming pc/handheld hybrid uses the same form factor.
The GPD Win 3 takes the basic layout of Steam Deck and adds a full-on QWERTY keyboard, allowing you to type with your thumbs.
While a bit smaller (5.5 inches screen & 1280x720 touch display) than Steam Deck, it boasts better specs - Intel Core i7 1195G7 CPU, 16GB LPDDR4 RAM, and a 1TB SSDR.
Moreover, it uses Intel's IRIS 12 integrated graphics, which may be less powerful than the RDNA 2 GPU on Steam Deck. But we obviously need more tests to know that for sure.
Similar to Valve's console, the GPD Win 3 also features SD cards similar to the Steam Deck. In other words, the best SD card for Steam Deck would also work with the GPD Win 3 and vice versa.
The biggest concern is the price. It's selling for approximately $1,183.99 MSRP via Aliexpress in North America, which is a lot more than the $649.99 that Valve charges for its handheld.
2 - Ayaneo Next Advance
The first Ayaneo handheld gaming pc launched in 2020 and received a major upgrade this year with the launch of Ayaneo Next Advance.
It features an impressive AMD Ryzen 7 5800U CPU, 2 GHz AMD Vega 8 GPU, 16GB LPDDR4 RAM, and a generous 2 TB SSD - all packed into 7 inches 1280x800 touchscreen handheld device.
In terms of performance, the Zen-3 Ryzen 7 on Ayaneo Next Advance is probably much faster than the Steam Deck's Zen 2 CPU. Still, its vega integrated graphics are likely way behind the RDNA 2 on Steam Deck.
If the Advance seems too expensive at $1,345, check out the less expensive 2021 Ayaneo and Ayaneo Pro versions.
They cost much less at $1,215 and $925, but they are also less powerful due to their Ryzen 7 4800U and Ryzen 5 4500U CPUs.
3 - OneXPlayer Mini
The OneXPlayer models offer the biggest and the highest resolution displays of all these handheld devices. Even their smallest model, OneXPlayer Mini, comes with 7 inches 1,920x1,200 touch screen.
While the larger models are notably bulkier than the Steam Deck. Mini can be placed right between the Switch and Steam Deck in terms of its 619g weight and 10.2 inches size.
It features an Intel Core i7-1195G7 CPU, and some of the high-end variants come with a better AMD Ryzen 5800U. There's also a scaled-back version with a Ryzen 4800U processor.
However, all of them host "Radeon Graphics," similar to the Vega 8 GPU we saw earlier in the Ayaneo Next Advance. Moreover, they come with Windows 11 pre-installed, offering you a more comfortable playing experience for beginners.
And... if you go with any OneXPlayer variant, you will also likely miss all the rear buttons, touchpads, and other substantial control sticks you find on Valve's device.
Linus covered it here:
4 - Ayn Loki
Ayn's first handheld, the Odin, was an android-based Switch rival. Its next effort, the Ayn Loki, has set the sights on Valve's Steam Deck.
At $489 MSRP, the Ayn Loki is much more affordable than all of the above competitors. However, on the flip side, its hardware is also a bit more modest, and the design appears slightly more barebones.
The regular Ayn Loki features an AMD Ryzen 5 6600U CPU, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and 128Gb of onboard storage capacity. Plus, it uses 680M. It's also a lot smaller, with just 6 inch LCD display, and weighs just 362 grams.
As for the price, it costs $699. Other variants with lesser 64GB and 256GB storage capacity are much more affordable, with $499 and $599 MSRP.
5 - ANBERNIC WIN 600
The Win 600 is the first windows handheld by Anbernic. It's a budget machine with a much lower price than the above models. The base version starts at just $300. Despite that, it does have some strong points.
For example, the Win 600 comes in two variants. The first has an AMD Athlon Silver 3020s CPU, and the second features a 3050e processor.
It also boasts 128/256 GB SSD versions and Radeon RX Vega 3 graphics. While all these models ship with the windows 10 home version, you can also install SteamOS on them to get a Steam Deck-like gaming experience.
Furthermore, its IPS display is 5.94 inches with 10-point multi-touch and a resolution of 1280x720. Overall, with its added thickness, the size feels closer to Switch's display than Steam Decks.
What The Future Holds for Handheld Gaming
As you can see, even though the Steam Deck is a great piece of hardware, it's not the only handheld in town. In fact, there are quite a few gaming devices that can be worthy alternatives... and the future is looking even bright in general!
Companies like Razer, Verizon, and Qualcomm have already partnered to create a new 5G gaming handheld console called the Razer Edge 5G. Last month, the new partnership was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas.
Logitech is already sprinting ahead with the release of G CLOUD Gaming Handheld this month. It aims to put advanced libraries and graphics of popular video games from the cloud in your palm. From we can tell, maybe Razer and AMD will join the trend, and we'll see handheld consoles that are here only for streaming games through services like Nvidia Shield, GeForce Now, and so on.
The point is there are many handheld gaming devices on the market, and plenty more are coming out. So, if you're looking for an alternative to the Steam Deck, you definitely have some options!
