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[64gigabyteram]

Valve: Hey, here's our brand new cool handheld. It's more powerful than the Switch!

It's also incredibly optimized with a custom, efficient X86 processor, a control scheme fine tuned and crafted to perfection and usable for all genres, an OS optimized and designed for gaming primarily, and a cheap, affordable price point. starting off at only 100 dollars more than the Nintendo Switch!

Other companies: WRITE THAT DOWN, WRITE THAT DOWN

forgets to write down the entire second paragraph

ASUS/ Ayaneo/ OneXplayer: HEYY BRO CHECK OUT OUR BRAND NEW SUPER FAST HANDHELD THATS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE STEAM DECK, 1080p 120hz OLED DISPLAY, POWERFUL AMD PHOENIX PROCESSOR, AND IT RUNS WINDOWS!!!!!
Wait, what do you mean our software experience and software support is terrible, our battery life is abysmal, it doesn't work with all games, and the price is too expensive? I thought you guys wanted power, 1080p and 120hz refresh rate displays!!!


A bit of a 'cringe' thread, i know, but i feel like this little dialogue i wrote sums up exactly where all these other handhelds pale in comparison to the Deck.

 

[OverHeat]

I have not played with my deck since getting the Ally…

 

[Topher]

 

[kvltus lvlzvs]

idk how any competitor could look at the steam deck and say, "well, if we just trade a bit more of the battery life, we can get X" because the battery life is universally the most panned part of the deck (and the only thing I personally dont like about it)

Aiming for the people who are like "Im not getting a deck because cant run hogwarts legacy at 60fps 1080p" at the expense of the "I dont like how it only gets 2.5 hours of battery life when I play Dark Sous 3" people was a mistake

 

[brettski2024]

I have not played with my deck since getting the Ally…

Shots fired! Shots fired!

I'm actually waiting for something smaller. Would love a deck 2.0 the size of an Odin or GCloud.

 

[64gigabyteram]

Dark Sous 3"

ah yes the biggest hit action rpg of 2016
dark soup 3

 

[acm2000]

do you have shares in Valve?

given the choice any sane person would pick Ally over the Deck

 

[diffusionx]

With Steam Deck, Valve put in the work to make it pleasant and straightforward to use, while on the other handhelds you have to deal with the usual bullshit that always comes from a PC company throwing shit in a box and selling it on specs. For example, I don't want to use Windows on a tiny handheld with an interface it's not designed for, it's not a plus, especially paired with some buggy janky launcher. Given that or the ability to just pick games I already own from a list of titles that were tested to run well on the device, I'd pick the latter 100% of the time.

 

[64gigabyteram]

I'm actually waiting for something smaller. Would love a deck 2.0 the size of an Odin or GCloud.

ayaneo actually has a product like that called the air plus



it's ayaneo though so it's extremely expensive

Contrary to the original post i don't hate these other handhelds. THey just miss what made the Deck so special and why it catapulted handheld PC gaming into the mainstream

 

[GHG]

The console wars are over, we need fresh meat.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

do you have shares in Valve?

given the choice any sane person would pick Ally over the Deck

From what I've been hearing I sure as shit wouldn't, Plus that price tag with the current economics. I'm good thanks

 

[RagnarokIV]

You could actually recommend a Steam Deck to a console gamer and they'd get along well with it. The other stuff is just busy-work shite - not worth it.

 

[Topher]

The console wars are over, we need fresh meat.

 

[acm2000]

From what I've been hearing I sure as shit wouldn't, Plus that price tag with the current economics. I'm good thanks

if money is a concern then you shouldn't be buying either of them, its not designed for you, sorry.

softwarte can be updated, lacklustre first gen hardware cant

 

[CuteFaceJay]

if money is a concern then you shouldn't be buying either of them, its not designed for you, sorry.

Fair enough.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I love the deck but sold it once I got my Ally and stopped using it....

 

[GymWolf]

I have to laugh at those bulky ass things being considered a portable console like a gameboy sp

 

[joeygreco1985]

Having used the Ally for almost two weeks I think the issues people talk about it are inherently Windows issues and really depend on your comfort with the nitty gritty of the OS. I just set mine up exactly as I would with my Desktop gaming PC and its been pretty good. Do yourself a favor and plug in a keyboard and mouse, set up everything the way you want, remove bloatware and unnnecessary Windows stuff, then you're golden.

 

[AV]

Valve made a fantastic product that people fail to imitate?

 

[ljubomir]

Valve: Hey, here's our brand new cool handheld. It's more powerful than the Switch!

It's also incredibly optimized with a custom, efficient X86 processor, a control scheme fine tuned and crafted to perfection and usable for all genres, an OS optimized and designed for gaming primarily, and a cheap, affordable price point. starting off at only 100 dollars more than the Nintendo Switch!

Other companies: WRITE THAT DOWN, WRITE THAT DOWN

forgets to write down the entire second paragraph

ASUS/ Ayaneo/ OneXplayer: HEYY BRO CHECK OUT OUR BRAND NEW SUPER FAST HANDHELD THATS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE STEAM DECK, 1080p 120hz OLED DISPLAY, POWERFUL AMD PHOENIX PROCESSOR, AND IT RUNS WINDOWS!!!!!
Wait, what do you mean our software experience and software support is terrible, our battery life is abysmal, it doesn't work with all games, and the price is too expensive? I thought you guys wanted power, 1080p and 120hz refresh rate displays!!!


A bit of a 'cringe' thread, i know, but i feel like this little dialogue i wrote sums up exactly where all these other handhelds pale in comparison to the Deck.

I have both Steam Deck and Rog Ally, and despite your seemingly ironic tone, you are spot on. People misunderstand the reasons why Deck is great. Windows handhelds vs Steam Deck it's not even a contest. It's not about benchmarks guys, it's about playing games.

 

[GymWolf]

Having used the Ally for almost two weeks I think the issues people talk about it are inherently Windows issues and really depend on your comfort with the nitty gritty of the OS. I just set mine up exactly as I would with my Desktop gaming PC and its been pretty good. Do yourself a favor and plug in a keyboard and mouse, set up everything the way you want, remove bloatware and unnnecessary Windows stuff, then you're golden.

Having to deal with windows bullshit even on a portable console dedicated to gaming sounds like a fucking nightmare, not gonna lie.

 

[diffusionx]

Having used the Ally for almost two weeks I think the issues people talk about it are inherently Windows issues and really depend on your comfort with the nitty gritty of the OS. I just set mine up exactly as I would with my Desktop gaming PC and its been pretty good. Do yourself a favor and plug in a keyboard and mouse, set up everything the way you want, remove bloatware and unnnecessary Windows stuff, then you're golden.

if you have to plug in a keyboard and mouse to make a handheld device usable, then it's over. I don't even know what to say to that lmao.

 

[64gigabyteram]

if you have to plug in a keyboard and mouse to make a handheld device usable, then it's over. I don't even know what to say to that lmao.

even in the case of the deck where you might need to use the linux desktop, you at least have the touchpads to make navigation easier. With the Rog ALLY it's just.... wtf man, this doesn't fucking work

 

[joeygreco1985]

if you have to plug in a keyboard and mouse to make a handheld device usable, then it's over. I don't even know what to say to that lmao.

In case I wasn't clear I meant during setup, for typing in account info and getting into Windows settings

 

[joeygreco1985]

even in the case of the deck where you might need to use the linux desktop, you at least have the touchpads to make navigation easier. With the Rog ALLY it's just.... wtf man, this doesn't fucking work

It has a touch screen as well as mouse emulation with the joystick, so two different methods right off the bat that do work, so im not sure what youre getting at here.

 

[Interfectum]

Hardcore gamers often place an excessive emphasis on the system's power, occasionally overlooking the reasons behind the popularity of devices like the Steam Deck, and even more so, the Nintendo Switch.

 

[64gigabyteram]

It has a touch screen as well as mouse emulation with the joystick, so two different methods right off the bat that do work, so im not sure what youre getting at here.

fingers be fat for small UI on windows, and joystick mouse emulation is not very fast to use. Both are still inferior to the touchpads on the Deck....

 

[diffusionx]

In case I wasn't clear I meant during setup, for typing in account info and getting into Windows settings

The point is that people don't buy a handheld to go fiddle with settings and "remove bloatware" and do all that... Windows shit. it just totally misses the point. PC people do it, and some even like to do it, but most people see it as a major inconvenience.

 

[RagnarokIV]

if you have to plug in a keyboard and mouse to make a handheld device usable, then it's over. I don't even know what to say to that lmao.

even in the case of the deck where you might need to use the linux desktop, you at least have the touchpads to make navigation easier. With the Rog ALLY it's just.... wtf man, this doesn't fucking work

In my work I support users on Windows touchscreen tablets. It's terrible.

Apple got it to work because iOS and iPadOS are completely designed around touch. Windows has never changed, it's the same core experience but with touch. It's literally like dropping a digitizer on Windows 98 and expecting it to be useable for touch and a modern experience LMAO.

 

[DemonGamerTTT]

The thing is... software is what matters in the end because as you know the deck can run a revision or release a more powerful version costing more...

 

[Wildebeest]

My handheld runs the universally loved Microsoft Windows and sucks up power like a thirsty alcoholic. But it!

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Don't care.

Still would get Rog Ally over Deck cause new games will run on it. And better screen.

 

[danklord]

In entering a new market often times the hardware is sold at a loss because the revenue in software makes up the gap. Because PC games are mostly on Steam, Valve was able to sell at a loss.

Other companies like Aya are not able to sell at a loss because they don't make a profit on software. The same for ROG Ally, though they are in a better position with their various products, it's still entering a new market and trying to disrupt so they could be selling at a loss to blow out competition.

It's not that hard.

 

[64gigabyteram]

Hardcore gamers often place an excessive emphasis on the system's power, occasionally overlooking the reasons behind the popularity of devices like the Steam Deck, and even more so, the Nintendo Switch.

yep. Even the Deck itself still has 2 major issues it needs to address (battery life and size) in order to really jump into major mainstream popularity that the Switch solved with ease

The fact that other companies are looking at power and not ease of use as the way to improve on the deck is funny and sad

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Switch is the only significant and relevant handheld available. Everything else is just a niche novelty a very few people will own.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

Valve: Hey, here's our brand new cool handheld. It's more powerful than the Switch!

It's also incredibly optimized with a custom, efficient X86 processor, a control scheme fine tuned and crafted to perfection and usable for all genres, an OS optimized and designed for gaming primarily, and a cheap, affordable price point. starting off at only 100 dollars more than the Nintendo Switch!

Other companies: WRITE THAT DOWN, WRITE THAT DOWN

forgets to write down the entire second paragraph

ASUS/ Ayaneo/ OneXplayer: HEYY BRO CHECK OUT OUR BRAND NEW SUPER FAST HANDHELD THATS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE STEAM DECK, 1080p 120hz OLED DISPLAY, POWERFUL AMD PHOENIX PROCESSOR, AND IT RUNS WINDOWS!!!!!
Wait, what do you mean our software experience and software support is terrible, our battery life is abysmal, it doesn't work with all games, and the price is too expensive? I thought you guys wanted power, 1080p and 120hz refresh rate displays!!!

1 - There had been windows gaming handhelds from AYA and OneXPlayer since 2020. That's one year before the Steam Deck was even announced. If anything, Valve were the first ones saying "WRITE THAT DOWN".

2 - The Deck's Van Gogh chip wasn't originally made for Valve. It was made for a cancelled ~2020 Microsoft device as it appears in much earlier roadmaps. It wasn't designed for Linux, it was actually designed for Windows. It has the same "Ryzen AI" (internally known as "CMVL - Computer Vision Machine Learning") coprocessor that was developed for none other than Windows Hello.

3 - Again, people have been using Windows on handhelds since before the Steam Deck even launched, and the experience has been acceptable overall. On the other hand, the problems I currently have with the ROG Ally pale in comparison to the ones I had with the Deck for the first 6 months.

4 - There are clear advantages of Windows over SteamOS. If you don't want to accept them that's fine. There's no reason to mindlessly hate on windows nor the people using it.

5 - Valve created the Deck as a gateway for other players to enter the market. This fanboyism makes so little sense even Valve would laugh at it.

A bit of a 'cringe' thread, i know,

This is probably the only accurate affirmation in the whole post.

 

[jshackles]

I love my Steam Deck enough to have not traded up for an Ally... yet. But, I also installed Windows on it so

In my opinion, no device on the market right now has nailed the Switch's sweet spot of price / performance / battery life / hardware design / software ease of use.

 

[GymWolf]

yep. Even the Deck itself still has 2 major issues it needs to address (battery life and size) in order to really jump into major mainstream popularity that the Switch solved with ease

The fact that other companies are looking at power and not ease of use as the way to improve on the deck is funny and sad

Try witcher 3 or doom on both platforms and see why the switch has better battery, it's not magic, the console is just less powerfull and games runs and look worse.

 

[Codes 208]

I love the deck but sold it once I got my Ally and stopped using it....

Well yeah, you often stop using something once its sold

 

[OverHeat]

1 - There had been windows gaming handhelds from AYA and OneXPlayer since 2020. That's one year before the Steam Deck was even announced. If anything, Valve were the first ones saying "WRITE THAT DOWN".

2 - The Deck's Van Gogh chip wasn't originally made for Valve. It was made for a cancelled ~2020 Microsoft device as it appears in much earlier roadmaps. It wasn't designed for Linux, it was actually designed for Windows. It has the same "Ryzen AI" (internally known as "CMVL - Computer Vision Machine Learning") coprocessor that was developed for none other than Windows Hello.

3 - Again, people have been using Windows on handhelds since before the Steam Deck even launched, and the experience has been acceptable overall. On the other hand, the problems I currently have with the ROG Ally pale in comparison to the ones I had with the Deck for the first 6 months.

4 - There are clear advantages of Windows over SteamOS. If you don't want to accept them that's fine. There's no reason to mindlessly hate on windows nor the people using it.

5 - Valve created the Deck as a gateway for other players to enter the market. This fanboyism makes so little sense even Valve would laugh at it.





This is probably the only accurate affirmation in the whole post.

This post deserves gold!!!!

 

[phant0m]

i consider the Deck like an Apple product and Ally/GPD Win/etc devices like Android. Better specs, more customizable, but the Deck is going to give you a more seamless user experience.

It's SteamOS that makes the Deck, not the hardware.

 

[64gigabyteram]

1 - There had been windows gaming handhelds from AYA and OneXPlayer since 2020. That's one year before the Steam Deck was even announced. If anything, Valve were the first ones saying "WRITE THAT DOWN".

no shit. Why is it that Valve's attempt gained actual popularity while OneXPlayer and Aya's did not? Why did channels like Taki Udon start covering x86 handhelds more AFTER the Deck's release?
They did a lot more than just say "write that down"

2 - The Deck's Van Gogh chip wasn't originally made for Valve. It was made for a cancelled ~2020 Microsoft device as it appears in much earlier roadmaps. It wasn't designed for Linux, it was actually designed for Windows. It has the same "Ryzen AI" (internally known as "CMVL - Computer Vision Machine Learning") coprocessor that was developed for none other than Windows Hello.

Cool, but that doesn't change what I said that it's still customized and made for the Deck. 2020-2022 is a long time and a lot of revisions could've been made to the chip to work better with Valve's vision. Cancelled products mean nothing.

3 - Again, people have been using Windows on handhelds since before the Steam Deck even launched, and the experience has been acceptable overall. On the other hand, the problems I currently have with the ROG Ally pale in comparison to the ones I had with the Deck for the first 6 months.

An experience so acceptable that Apple and Google completely fucked over Microsoft in the smartphone and tablet market despite Windows having been on tablets for years beforehand. It barely works. Even on Laptops, which are closer to a desktop than a handheld, Windows isn't ideal. Windows 11 was designed for touch interfaces and even then it's clunky and hard to use on the ally.

4 - There are clear advantages of Windows over SteamOS. If you don't want to accept them that's fine. There's no reason to mindlessly hate on windows nor the people using it.

I'm "mindlessly" hating on Windows because it's not designed for handheld computers. Or handheld anything, really. Windows works on a desktop PC best. This is the problem with it.

5 - Valve created the Deck as a gateway for other players to enter the market. This fanboyism makes so little sense even Valve would laugh at it.

They were doing it to grow linux as an OS, they made the Deck and SteamOS3 with the intention of getting other PC makers to partner with them and put SteamOS/other Linux distribuions on prebuilt PCs/handheld pcs. Windows was never really part of the plan...

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

 

[hououinkyouma00]

do you have shares in Valve?

given the choice any sane person would pick Ally over the Deck

Here's the thing though.

1. Price
I can get a 1TB Steam Deck for under $500 right now with maybe 15 minutes of work.
2. Windows
Windows fucking sucks, and it's even worse on a handheld. I would love to drop Windows entirely on my gaming pc but it's just not there right now. The Steam Deck uses a OS that is meant purely for games and works much better.
3. Performance
The Ally definitely has better performance but at a similar TDP the Steam Deck performs very good and the battery life is already shit enough as it is.

There is also other things like the trackpads that from my use with the steam controller are great once you get used to them. There are plenty of reasons to use a steam deck over any of these other handhelds including the Ally.

But it's all subjective and I don't own either at the moment though I did have a Steam deck for a month or so and really enjoyed it.

 

[Klosshufvud]

Can't wait to see what a revision of Steam Deck will look like with RDNA4 and OLED. Maybe they can shrink down the body a bit, remove some of that bezel too. Something more in line with Aya Neo/GPD Win 4 form factor would be ideal for me.

 

[Drell]

Any machines that tries to get rid of Windows is a win for me.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Well yeah, you often stop using something once its sold

Badly written I guess. I meant I stopped using my deck for like 2 weeks once I gotr the Ally so I thought it would be better suited to go to someone else.

Love the Deck, love the Ally.

 

[Davevil]

But your Steam Deck can do this ?

 

[Buggy Loop]

Implementation is always king.

 

[gothmog]

The key differentiator is "Windows". Remove that from the equation and the rest of those handhelds are great. Problem is it takes work to do that rather than just slapping Windows on it.