5 Best Steam Deck Alternatives You Can Find On Amazon (According To User Reviews) – BGR

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Valve’s Steam Deck is the most popular handheld gaming PC on the market today. With a near 50% share of the market and nearly 6 million units sold, it’s safe to say that Valve is the king of the handheld PC space. But with the rise and popularity of the Steam Deck, a number of competitors have emerged to stake their claim and vie for a piece of that lucrative and growing portable gaming market.

With companies like ASUS and MSI attempting to get a foothold in the space, it seems every few months a new portable PC handheld is released and vies for gamers’ attention. Even Xbox is getting into the game with its own upcoming handheld and even rumors hinting that Sony will release a PS6 handheld. There now exist options for those not interested in a Steam Deck, or those simply looking for an alternative with a slightly different feature set. 

Having choices is always a good thing, and thankfully there are a number of highly reviewed portable handheld gaming PCs to choose from. There exist Linux-based handhelds for those that want to take advantage of open-source software, as well as Android-powered devices that allow for APK support. You can even pick up a Windows powered handheld and sneak in some work in between those gaming sessions.

One of the most prominent competitors to the Steam Deck comes from ASUS, with its ROG Ally portable handheld. Featuring a full HD 7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, this handheld has some solid power under the hood. Add in the included 512GB of storage, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and an AMD RDNA 3 GPU, you have an impressive list of specs that outshine the aging Steam Deck. 

But the thing that makes the ASUS ROG Ally unique is that it runs Windows under the hood, making this device a true portable gaming PC. Being essentially a Windows machine means that all software and digital game stores work on the device. You can easily use Steam, the Epic Games Store, and anything that works natively on Windows. This gives you access to a number of games and software that aren’t supported natively on something like the Steam Deck, such as Fortnite. 

And if you are looking to turn your ROG Ally into a truly powerful gaming desktop, you can pair it with the ROG XG Mobile external GPU. Imagine going from handheld gaming on-the-go to desktop gaming thanks to an eGPU featuring an RTX 4090. The ASUS ROG Ally might just have the potential to be both your favorite handheld and next battlestation PC.

Lenovo has managed to create something special with its Lenovo Legion Go S. This portable handheld console features the powerful AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor, an 8-inch 120Hz PureSight display, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage for all your games. And with a 55.5Whr battery and rapid charge support, you can expect some decent game time when compared to its rivals.

The Legion Go S also features what Lenovo calls its ColdFront technology. Designed to keep the handheld cool, this tech allows the Legion Go S to run at peak performance without the fear of overheating. And with the console running Windows, it’s not entirely out of the question to turn your Legion Go S into your everyday computer with all it can do and support. 

Lenovo has created a really great handheld PC for those on the go, but the Legion Go S also has one little secret up its sleeve thanks to Valve itself. You can now officially install SteamOS onto your Legion Go handheld, making it a true competitor to the Steam Deck. And with Valve tight-lipped on a potential Steam Deck successor, the Legion Go S might just fill that gap.

MSI is a major player in the PC space. From producing graphics cards to high-end gaming laptops, the company knows a thing or two about hardware. So, when MSI jumped into the handheld gaming PC market, people took note. The MSI Claw PC gaming handheld is the company’s take on the Steam Deck, featuring multiple processor and storage options. The handheld sports an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor on the most affordable variant, an Ultra 7 155H processor on the mid variant, and an Ultra 7 258V processor on the premium variant. The MSI Claw comes with a 7-inch 120Hz display, 512GB or 1TB of storage, and 16GB or 32GB of RAM options. Though, you can also find a bigger 8-inch screen for an added cost with the Ultra 7 258V variant.

All of this, alongside having some of the best-in-class battery life with the included 53WHr battery, means you’ll be gaming longer than ever. The MSI Claw is a Windows-based handheld, but it features additional compatibility for games through the MSI App Player allowing users to download and play a number of popular Android titles.

One of the few Intel-based handhelds, the MSI Claw supports Intel’s AI-powered Xe Super Sampling to help enhance performance and visuals running at lower resolutions. The MSI Claw also features Hall Effect joysticks, meaning you’ll never have to worry about that pesky stick drift that affects so many controllers. This is important as these portable consoles almost always have their controller built into the device, making doing any repair on them difficult.

If you are a console gamer who uses Microsoft’s Game Pass service, you may want to consider picking up the Logitech G Cloud portable gaming console. Featuring a 12+ hour battery and a 16:9 1080p 7-inch touch display, Logitech has designed the G Cloud to be a dedicated cloud gaming system. This means you’ll be able to access hundreds of AAA titles without the need to download any game through services like Xbox Cloud Gaming, NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW, and even Android titles through the Google Play Store. 

It’s also a great choice for those looking for a remote play option for both Xbox and Steam, making it a great companion console for the home when sitting in front of the TV or PC isn’t possible. It’s comfortable and lightweight, making it a solid choice for some late-night gaming while in bed or for playing some Fortnite while lounging on the couch. 

But because this portable console is cloud based, it comes with limitations. Being tied to the cloud means you’ll need to be connected to a network as well as a paid subscription service in order to access most games. Since this is an Android based device, the Logitech G Cloud has access to the Google Play Store. This allows you to download games and apps to the device, and with so many fantastic titles available you might just find that the Logitech G Cloud is perfect, affordable, and on-the-go companion for you.