I was interested in buying a Steam Deck… Until I discovered all the (apparently) better alternatives. Asus Rog Ally, OneXPlayer, Aya Neo etc… I like the idea of an handheld console and obviously I would like to have a device that can run almost everything, so the Windows based handhelds seem better than the Steam Deck. Is it true? Furthermore the Steam Deck looks really big compared to some new devices out there (eg the OneXFly) and neither I like the screen of the Steam Deck, apparently of lower res and with very big bazels (to me looks like the first Nintendo Switch). On the other hand, I think Valve is a more serious company than (apart from Asus) some other unknown Chinese company and I expect Valve to deliver a better product. Still I’m not convinced of Steam OS compared to Windows 11, since I would like to play also Epic games and maybe some emulators. So I started getting information about the alternatives and… There are a lot. There are so many that I got overwhelmed. If you go to the OneXPlayer website they sell like 3-4 different handheld consoles, Aya Neo even more and they also have IndieGoGo campaigns running for new devices, all with weird names. I can’t understand what’s the device right for me (and I really don’t understand their business model). So my question is: are the rivals of the Steam Deck worth their price? Are they really better than the Steam Deck (in terms of quality, screen, size)? Thank you for your opinion!
UPDATE: I finally bought a refurbished 256GB Steam Deck.
Both are great options! Just to counterbalance arguments against:
I can’t buy a Steam Deck in Australia, but I can buy the ROG Ally.
Windows can be clunky, but that less-than-stellar experience is limited to navigating and launching games. The stock launcher works fine, it’s just bare-bones. You can set Steam to launch into big picture on boot at which point it’s the same experience as the Steam Deck anyway.
All games install and run, there’s absolutely no dicking around required compared to some experiences on Steam Deck.
Touch controls are nice. 120hz VRR 1080p screen is a better draw imo as it’s universally applicable to all games. That screen makes sub-60fps experiences much nicer and has better colours and contrast and uniformity (not to mention resolution).
ROG Ally cooling system is really great, and really quiet. I don’t feel like there’s a desktop machine wedged between my hands.
The ROG Ally performance isn’t what ASUS sold, but it’s still a good bit faster than Steam Deck, and most games I’ve tried I can hit a visual and performance fidelity roughly on par with an Xbox Series S. Which ain’t bad at all.
Both are convenent and versitile systems, I think probably Steam Deck is more convenient whereas ROG Ally is more versatile.
I really bought the ROG Ally to experiment with Linux on it. I think it is getting there. I have Arch Linux with chimera kernel on mine as well as gamescope-session which allows it to function very similarly to the Steam Deck, but at the moment it seems TDP control isn’t working so games don’t run as well as they should. I also can’t get the ROG button to work as a Steam button even though that should be working according to ChimeraOS. I wanted Arch because it allows for dual booting vs. Chimera which does not, as well as for development purposes. I think the hardware of the Ally is solid, though I still hold that the Deck’s controls are much better. Once the Ally is better supported on Linux I think it would be a better option, as I refuse to use Windows anymore except for testing/reverse engineering purposes.
Handheld Companion are doing good work implementing better controller options (including gyro) and power management (including autoTDP) and I believe will have napping to the OEM keys sorted out eventually. If that sort of stuff could go into a distro I could see Arch or ChimeraOS being really interesting options. Hopefully the ROG Ally sells well and there’s a community to support it in this way, it could be great!