Steam Deck: Top Alternatives You NEED to See in 2024
With about 2 years since its initial launch and with an OLED version nearing 6 months old, the success of the Steam Deck is undeniable. Valve’s small handheld PC has helped revolutionize a somewhat niche market already experimented with by other companies, and has instead highlighted another option to complement PC Gaming. We have seen the arrival of many alternatives, which we will explore in the selection of the most interesting ones to Steam Deck, already available or coming soon.
What are the alternatives to Steam Deck in 2024
Since 2022 to date, Steam Deck has not been the only one to propose something in the handheld PC market, but it has certainly been the source and inspiration for many of its competitors in the last year. With offerings that challenge Valve’s offer both on the hardware side and in terms of price. Certainly, Steam Deck, especially with the new lineup, remains the best option in terms of budget, but for those who can or prefer to spend a little more, there are quite a few options.
Switch Oled
There’s not much to say about it. Switch OLED brings Nintendo’s hybrid console, released in 2017 based on ARM Architecture specifically the Nvidia Tegra X1 Maxwell series chip. The OLED version, like the Red Box version available since 2019, is based on a more efficient version of the Tegra X1 and brings, in addition to some design tweaks, the famous OLED screen. A screen that maintains a resolution of 1280×720 but offers all the advantages of OLED, vibrant colors, perfect blacks, and also panel energy efficiency. Of course, the playground is limited to what Nintendo offers, and games are not cheap, although it is possible to save something thanks to Allkeyshop.
Asus Rog Ally
Asus’s proposal is certainly the most well-known, announced in May 2023 it immediately surprised many players thanks to its availability in stores starting from June of the same year, unlike Steam Deck mostly only available online (although available in some countries in certain chains). ROG Ally stands out for a very performing choice thanks to the Z1 and Z1 Extreme processors based on the latest generation of AMD, between Zen 4 and RDNA 3, but also the choice of Windows 11 as a platform. With a competitive price and a Full HD IPS screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. A good choice, although the Z1 version, despite being newer on paper, sometimes fails to beat Steam Deck Oled. With a recent price cut, the Z1 Extreme version remains an excellent option more powerful than Steam Deck OLED at 649€.
Lenovo Legion Go
Even Lenovo doesn’t hold back and offers the Legion Go. The Legion Go in terms of hardware is very close to the Rog Ally, bringing with it the same Z1 Extreme and Windows 11 as the operating system. The difference lies in a QHD IPS screen 2560×1600 with a refresh rate of 144Hz, as well as a detachable tablet+controller style reminiscent of the Nintendo Switch, despite having superior quality controllers as well as Hall Effect sensors on the analog sticks, immune to drifting. Improvements that can be felt on the price of 799€.
MSI Claw
MSI Claw A1M is a very interesting choice in the handheld panorama. If the alternatives with x86 hardware are mostly based on AMD, the Taiwanese Micro-Star International instead opts for Intel. In particular, we are talking about the new Intel Core Ultra 7 155H from the Meteor Lake series, with a hybrid architecture of 6 Performance Cores, 8 Efficient Cores, and 2 extra Low Power Cores. Equipped with an 8 Xe Core graphics portion based on Arc. All accompanied by a Full HD IPS screen at 120Hz. An interesting choice but definitely expensive and often unable to compete with other alternatives despite the price of 899€.
GPD Win 4
For those new to this new market, the name may not be recognizable, but GPD (Game Pad Digital) is a company that since 2016 has experimented in the niche market of handheld PCs, long before all the others. The company currently offers various options including the latest, GPD Win 4 brings a valid option. The 2024 version of the GPD Win 4 has a particular design reminiscent of the PSVita, with a retractable keyboard hidden by the screen. A much more compact choice compared to other competitors, a choice that uses an option based on an AMD Zen 4 and RDNA 3 chip with the choice between a Ryzen 5 8640U or a Ryzen 7 8840U (close to a Z1 Extreme). With a Full HD H-IPS screen that supports only up to a solid 60 Hz, and the option to add an external video card with Oculink connection (and a dock to be purchased separately) to use it as a Desktop. The price is definitely the highest at around 954€ for the highest tier and wait a few weeks before shipping starting from April 2024.
New alternatives to Steam Deck coming soon
These are among the most interesting choices for Steam Deck, without detracting from Valve’s option. An option that remains very competitive despite not offering the same performance as some of the other options. However, there are other options coming soon including the interesting ones from Ayaneo, with Ayaneo Flip DS and Ayaneo Flip KB. Two clamshell options reminiscent of the Nintendo DS or 3Ds style. Especially the Flip DS with a lower second screen, while the Flip KB inserts a useful keyboard like some of the GPD Win options.
Thanks to software and hardware optimization, optimized for a typical consumption of 12-15 watts, Steam Deck remains very valid also thanks to the affordable price starting from 419€ for the LCD version, 569€ for the 512GB OLED, and 679€ for the 1 TB OLED. Remember that you can also purchase Steam Deck by paying with the money from your Steam wallet!
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Among all consoles, Asus Rog Ally looks quite interesting. In fact, I use Asus products since a while and they've always been of a quality. Anyway, I'm more leaning towards Steam Deck and will probably buy it some day. I just love the idea of being able to easily access my library.