Steam Deck 2 is very likely a long way away; they’ve said they won’t be doing minor upgrades—only major ones, and the current models still play most modern games just fine without issue. There’s no reason to wait on a Steam Deck if it’s within your budget.
And there’s the whole issue with a certain buffoon who doesn’t understand how tariffs work and is currently trying to speedrun an economic collapse, so who knows if the hardware components will be available in three years.
However, unless there’s a significant change in games that makes the current Gen unable to play games, I think it’s likely going to be a great device in three years time. I know that I have no plans to upgrade mine.
Well, it seems at least one company has admitted that only focusing on making games high-end games might have been a bit self-defeating when there’s an even bigger market with slightly older tech they could have been selling to. So there’s that.
I also remember reading somewhere that there’s just been a breakthrough in battery tech (It was probably mostly in regards to electric vehicles, but if it can be be applied to smaller devices, that’s also a good start).
Maybe there doesn’t have to be a sacrifice in battery life on the next-gen Steamdeck. It’s small stuff like this that would make me think that maybe the next gen isn’t too far in the future.
But again, what the hell do I know? I’m a PC guy. Fairly happy with my stationary setup.
I would argue that if you’re an Xbox gamer with no interest in PC and no interest in trying different eco-systems then yes the new ROG Xbox Ally will be your best bet. You might not get quite the same performance as the SteamOS models but you’ll have access to your GamePass, cross-buy library titles if you have any and a familiar interface.
You can absolutely play a Steam Deck on the couch. It’s effectively the same sort of device as a Switch, just without all the Nintendo nonsense of knowing that you’re supporting a company that specializes in squashing industry innovation through litigation.
You can even buy a dock that uses the USBC port as an HDMI output, if you want to play on a bigger screen, and connect your favorite Bluetooth controller.
What kind of games are you looking to play, and what form factor do you want?
I bought a Miyoo Mini Plus on sale two years ago and ended up liking it so much I wish I'd bought a more expensive model with analog sticks. There are quite a lot of devices like it on the market, if you want something small for retro emulation look into all the different options.
Meanwhile, my Steam Deck largely gathers dust because it's just too bulky to feel like a replacement for the handheld-sized handhelds I grew up on. Switch (2) is good for running Switch games, and it's at least a bit smaller and lighter than the Deck, but mine rarely leaves the dock.
Cheaper/better value than anything else on the market
excellent customer support
trackpads for games that need them
configurable rear buttons
no other handheld competes on power efficiency or battery life
Runner up would be Legion Go. If you want the SteamOS experience you can easily install it on any other handheld (although I would recommend Bazzite or similar instead). Other handhelds will deliver better performance at the expense of battery life.
Cheaper/better value than anything else on the market
I just want to make this a point. As the hardware is not only cheaper, the games are too. Especially because of the sales, and the option to use other storefronts (through heroic) like epic to get free games every week or two.
I don’t recommend the upcoming Lenovo Legion Go 2. The Go 2 is around $1300, and only offers some 20% performance increase over the previous gen (with the Z1E CPU) which is currently $750. The ROG Xbox Ally X pricing is yet to be revealed.
The elephant in the room is the Steam Deck OLED, which you can find refurbished/certified for $440. It’s not as powerful, but power is never going to be a handheld’s strong suit anyway. They’re everywhere and tons of indie games are made with it in mind.
If you’re willing to get a bit nerdy, game streaming is getting pretty good these days, and is really easy on battery life. Moonlight lets you stream games from your desktop PC, while Xbox Remote Play can stream from your Xbox. If cloud gaming is your jam, Nvidia Geforce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming are available. For any of these, the Steam Deck would be perfectly adequate, but if you want something smaller and lighter, you could also go with an AYN Odin 2 Portal, which is an Android-based handheld with WiFi 7 and a nice 120Hz OLED screen for around $330.
Another consideration is whether you’re a “patient gamer”. If you want to play the latest and greatest, then I have no idea. But, if you’re like me, then there are literally thousands of slightly older games you’d be happy to play.
If that’s you, then you can’t beat the Steam Deck for value. With game bundles, I often get 8 games for $10 or less. Even if I only play one, that’s incredible value compared with $80 new titles.
With a tiny bit of work, you can get Epic and GOG working on the Deck, too. If you’re a Prime subscriber, you’ll get 1-4 GOG/Epic games/week for free in addition to Epic’s weekly giveaways and GOG’s occasional giveaways. Some of those are AA/AAA games from a few years ago, too.
If you’re tired of AAA games entirely (like me), then the Deck is also likely the best since there are so many incredible indie games. I’d much rather play 20 unique 1-10 hour games than a single 100-hour AAA repetitive slog. And most can be had for $10 or less if you wait for a sale or bundle.
It’s also a great emulation machine for everything Nintendo that came before the Switch and everything else up to the PS2 generation, I guess? (Switch emulation is a bit of a pain to get working well, and for anything 360/PS3 or newer, they mostly have PC versions anyway, I think? I’ve never had a reason to emulate any of 'em so idk.)
The OLED has a great screen and great battery life, so I have barely touched my smaller emulation devices since getting it. Why use a tiny device with cramped, limited controls when I can play on a great screen with Steam Input (so I can easily write my own game macros, or use the back buttons on twin stick games instead of the face buttons so I never need to take my thumbs off the joysticks, etc.)
I guess if you actually want a device on the go, then something smaller might be better, but for longer trips the Deck works great in my laptop bag, and for short, mobile gaming breaks, I’ll just play Minion Masters or Space Cadet Pinball on my phone.
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