- 3 months ago
Welcome to Handheld Showdown, a bracket-style competition series in which our hosts, Paul and Tony, battle out the best handheld gaming consoles out now. The votes from round one have been counted, and now, we need YOUR help to determine which two consoles move on to the final round. In this video, we reveal the results of round one and give our takes on which gaming handhelds deserve to win. Whether you have your favorite picks already or Tony and Paul have convinced you, make sure to vote in the polls in the community tab now!
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TechTranscript
00:00So, this is the first vote that was split between YouTube and the website, and narrowly, with just 53% of the vote.
00:09Oh my god. Whoa!
00:12Gimme the ally.
00:13Hey guys, welcome back to Handheld Showdown, our bracket-style competition pairing the best gaming handheld consoles available right now against each other to crown the champion of 2025.
00:24In the last episode, we started with eight consoles and asked you to vote on which four should progress through the semifinal.
00:30A massive thank you to those who participated. We received thousands of votes across YouTube and Tom's Guide.com, and today, the winners will be revealed.
00:38In this next round, we'll need your help again to decide which consoles should go through to the final.
00:42But, just like last time, Paul and I will be hashing out the matchups first.
00:46So, Tony, how do you think the first round went?
00:48Well, I had a lot of fun doing it. It was really cool just pitting all these together and just comparing them.
00:54But, I really like the fact that the fans got really into it in the comments section.
00:58Like, everybody was like, it was like an actual conversation.
01:00And it was cool how people were actually explaining, like, their own personal rankings as opposed to just saying, like,
01:05Oh, this one's the best and you're dumb.
01:07Yeah.
01:07Like, you guys were actually engaging there, so that was really awesome.
01:10And we can't wait to see what kind of interaction we can get from this video.
01:14So, are you ready to find out who's made it into the final four?
01:24So, first up in our bracket, we had the ROG Li-X versus the Nintendo Switch 2.
01:28Now, a few of you actually came at me for describing the Switch 2 as the most comfortable,
01:32which I actually still stand by for longer sessions.
01:34The lads at 128KB pointed out that they think this actually has the worst ergonomics
01:39and suggested if you combine it with a specific grip, it could fix the ergonomics
01:43to account for the asymmetrical stick layout, which would make it more comfortable.
01:47Now, hear me out.
01:48Undisputed, this is the lightest.
01:51And when I think of comfortable, it's not just about, like, the gaming itself.
01:55It's also about, where am I taking this?
01:57If I'm taking this on the go, I want something that's super lightweight
02:00that I can just stick in my backpack for a long period of time.
02:03Yeah, like, I understand where they're coming from, you know, as far as, like, ergonomics.
02:06Like, this is just kind of flat.
02:08Like, the other ones are actually better designed for your grip.
02:11But this is the lightest handheld we have here.
02:14That alone makes it more comfortable to hold.
02:17By a lot.
02:17Okay, so let's reset here.
02:19The Switch 2 versus the ROG Ally X.
02:22Which one do you think is going through?
02:23I hope it's not the Switch 2.
02:25I really hope it isn't.
02:26But it's the most popular one.
02:28So I'm like, oh, man, are they going to pick the Switch 2?
02:33After combining the votes from our YouTube and the website with an impressive 67%,
02:41the Asus Rogue Ally beats the Nintendo Switch 2 and advances to the Final Four.
02:45I don't know why I'm so upset about that.
02:46No, you guys are awesome.
02:48This is what I wanted to see.
02:51See, that's what I'm talking about.
02:52We have the best YouTube viewers out there.
02:55Yes.
02:56Yeah, can you tell I'm excited about that?
02:57You're a little excited.
02:58It's not like the Ally X is a bad handheld.
03:02It's maybe I just had so much higher expectations for it when, like, it was rumored.
03:11And the Switch 2, I mean, it appeals to, like, the different demographics.
03:14And I feel like, even though it's the one I've had the least experience with,
03:18it just felt like the most unique in a lot of ways.
03:20Yeah, it is the most unique, but it's also, like, the clear outlier here.
03:24You know, it's like, this is not for PC gaming, which is what you want all these for.
03:30And I don't disagree with everything you said about the ROG Ally X.
03:33That is, it is iterative.
03:35But all those things still, in my opinion, make it better than a Switch.
03:38I could play Steam games, Windows 11 games.
03:41I have the full breadth of everything there.
03:44And again, this is a cool system.
03:46But this is really if you're, like, a hardcore Nintendo guy, you know?
03:49So this is why, again, cool system.
03:52But that's why I wanted the ROG Ally X win.
03:54And I'm very, very happy.
03:55So I'm good.
03:58Next in the bracket were the Steam decks.
04:00A lot of people were amping up the OLED.
04:01But I found this one comment really interesting.
04:04I bought a Steam Deck OLED for me in 2023.
04:07My wife is not that much of a gamer.
04:09She was enjoying the Switch Lite.
04:11So I got her the Steam Deck LCD summer of 2024, and she loved it.
04:16Oh, that's interesting.
04:17So I think that's kind of, like, the point there.
04:19The Steam Deck LCD is a really great introductory system.
04:24Yeah.
04:24You're not as concerned with performance.
04:26You're probably not as concerned with the differences in the screen quality.
04:29Especially if you're just, like we said last time, trying to get your feet wet in PC gaming.
04:34The Steam Deck LCD is still a really great deal.
04:37Yeah, I know.
04:38Again, it's easy for people to maybe overlook the LCD.
04:41Because, like, OLED's all nice and fancy or whatever.
04:44But it's still a great system.
04:45You're still getting the same basic experience as far as performance and battery life.
04:50So I'm not surprised by that at all.
04:52So with that, which one do you think is going through?
04:54I think it's going to be the OLED.
04:57Again, that screen really grabs people.
04:59Okay.
05:00So after tallying the votes with a dominating 91%, the Steam Deck OLED takes it.
05:07Yeah.
05:07Yeah.
05:08Yeah, that's no shock there.
05:1191%.
05:12That's huge, though.
05:1391%.
05:14See, I even, I would have thought it would be like maybe 75 to 25.
05:18No, 91.
05:20Telling you, man, people are like, they're OLEDs.
05:22OLEDs great, though, but like, you can't deny that this offers great value still.
05:26Yeah.
05:26I mean, I still use my original one, but the people I've spoken.
05:31Next up, I know this is your baby.
05:32We've got the Legion Go S with SteamOS versus my baby, the ROG ally.
05:38You nervous?
05:40Uh, yes, because I don't think my baby's going to make it through.
05:43But we'll see.
05:44Okay.
05:45This is the first vote that was split between YouTube and the website.
05:48And narrowly, with just 53% of the vote.
05:51Oh, my God.
05:52Whoa.
05:55Give me the ally.
05:56The Lenovo Legion Go S.
05:58What?
05:58Let's go.
05:59Yeah.
06:00I'm surprised.
06:01That's disappointing.
06:02Look at that.
06:03Oh, you guys made my day.
06:05Thank you for that.
06:06I was like scared, bro.
06:08Woo.
06:09No.
06:10Look how reluctant Paul is right now.
06:11We need a recount.
06:13Look how reluctant.
06:14He didn't want to put it on there, bro.
06:16Yeah, you did that with such hesitancy, man.
06:18You really, that really hurt you.
06:20I'm not happy.
06:21And I honestly thought I was going to lose because it's like the newest kid on the block, right?
06:25But again, SteamOS.
06:26I think that's the only reason it won.
06:28Yeah.
06:29No, I think it's because of SteamOS, man.
06:30It's just the price difference and the performance is basically the same.
06:33And a lot of people agreed with it.
06:34They're like, hey, you can install SteamOS on here in like 20, 30 minutes.
06:38Yeah, but you still have to go through that, though.
06:41Yeah.
06:41I don't want to go through that.
06:42I mean, I would love for someone to pay me $300 for 30 minutes of work.
06:46Yeah.
06:46I'd be happy to do that.
06:47Yeah.
06:48Sign me up.
06:50And finally, that leaves us with the Lenovo Legion Go and the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus.
06:56Two Windows machines.
06:57A lot of love out there for both devices.
07:00Which one do you think is going through?
07:01Even though the Lenovo Legion Go is the most unique handheld we have out here,
07:05I don't even think this one's a contest.
07:07I think it's going to be the MSI Claw.
07:08Let's see.
07:10Okay.
07:11This vote is split again between YouTube and the website.
07:14What?
07:15With the same slim margin of 53%.
07:20The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus defeats the Lenovo Legion Go.
07:25Okay.
07:26Humanity, our hope in humanity has been restored.
07:29Well, you finally got a win, Paul.
07:31I'm happy for you.
07:33I think that's a well-deserved win, but I'm surprised that it was that close for a team.
07:38I'm very surprised.
07:39I would have thought that people would be like, oh, I thought more people would lean
07:43towards better performance.
07:45Yeah, no, apparently.
07:46But with a larger gap.
07:47No, I think just, again, the MSI Claw just looks like a regular standard handheld.
07:52You know, the touchable controls may be a little too weird for people.
07:55And it's also possible.
07:56We know the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is going to be coming out later this year.
07:59So maybe they're like, nah, let's not do that.
08:01But I'm still surprised it was that close.
08:03Do you think there's a bit of recency bias to this?
08:06Yeah, there is.
08:07But I'm actually not surprised, right?
08:09Because all of these systems, like they took what the original console did
08:14and just made it better, right?
08:15So I get that.
08:16And maybe it's just me.
08:17Actually, it's not just me.
08:19I've seen a couple of you in the comments also agreeing with this.
08:20But like, I come to this from the value perspective.
08:24Okay, yeah.
08:24So when I look at these handhelds, like, okay,
08:27this is the best value with the best screen, like overall for like a lot of people.
08:32This one, the reason I thought this would go through is like, yeah, for bang for my buck.
08:36This is the best performance I can get for like $400.
08:38Like nothing else is going to come close to it.
08:40Yeah, but this is why I think we got such different responses.
08:44Because it depends on what you're coming at it from, right?
08:46You're looking at like, best value.
08:48I'm looking for best experience, even that experience costs you a little bit more.
08:52So the final four is set.
08:54We have the ASUS ROG Ally X versus the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus,
08:58and the Steam Deck OLED versus the Lenovo Legion GO-S with SteamOS.
09:02With SteamOS.
09:04All right, let's kick things off with the ASUS ROG Ally X versus the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus.
09:14For this round, we're going to get more into the device specs,
09:16as well as some of the intangibles that we think make it better than its opponent.
09:20So, Tony, take us through the benchmarks with the ASUS ROG Ally X.
09:24Right, so the big story here is the weight and the display.
09:28Display on the ROG Ally X is seven inches, and this in turn gives you a smaller handheld,
09:34which is easier to hold.
09:35It weighs a pound and a half, which is like perfect.
09:38Not only will you not feel it too much when you're holding it,
09:41but also if you slip it into your backpack,
09:42you're not going to feel it when you're carrying it around.
09:44Good point.
09:45And the other big difference is the chips that they have.
09:47This has the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which I found has pretty good performance overall.
09:52I usually like to set games at like medium settings, 720p,
09:55and I generally get between 30 and 45 frames a second, depending on the game.
10:00Sometimes I actually get a little bit higher.
10:01So I found the performance is pretty good.
10:0380-watt-hour battery, which is kind of standard now,
10:07but that also gives you decent enough battery life.
10:09Battery life that's at least comparable to a gaming laptop.
10:12Like when we tested it, it lasts roughly around three hours, but in real-world testing,
10:17it really lasts around two, which is kind of what you would expect, but...
10:21Still above average.
10:22Still above average, you know, but again, it depends on the kind of game.
10:25Cyberpunk will drain a lot faster than something like Ninja Turtles, for example.
10:28But here's where it gets interesting.
10:30Price-wise, this might have been the winner before because it was $7.99,
10:34but currently at the time of this recording, it is $8.99, so a little bit more.
10:39The main reason I would actually suggest this, recommend this console is because
10:43of the battery life and the portability.
10:46100%.
10:47I think when it comes to playing these two handhelds side by side,
10:50the first thing you'll notice is that size and weight difference.
10:54Even just like 30 minutes in, you definitely notice the extra weight here,
10:58but with great weight comes great performance.
11:02And I mean, that really is the story with the MSI Claw 8 AI+.
11:06So let's first look at the design.
11:08Yeah, it's about 1.75 pounds.
11:11So like I said, a little heavier, but we've also got a larger 8 inch 16 by 10 display.
11:18So not only is it larger by an inch, you actually have a little bit more screen real
11:22estate at the bottom there.
11:23And some games do support that extra resolution, but it's also more immersive
11:28when you're using this as, you know, like a laptop replacement on the go.
11:32If you're crazy like that, you can actually see more of your icons and your desktop.
11:37But in addition to that, like I said, we're getting more performance.
11:40So you touched on this already, Z1 Extreme versus the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V.
11:46When this originally came out, like there were only like a few titles where
11:50it was barely getting a little bit more frames per second than the
11:55Ally X.
11:56Now it's consistently like across the board.
11:58It's either on top or even better than the ASUS ROG Ally X.
12:02And that's the main point here.
12:05The fact that they both cost the same is really like,
12:08you got to get down into the nitty gritty of what you really value.
12:11If you want to get better performance, you may want to bump the games down to 720p resolution,
12:15which actually looks, I would say, decent on the 7 inch screen versus an 8 inch screen,
12:20where they could start looking a little bit muddy.
12:23I would disagree.
12:24I don't think that that that inch difference is going to be too noticeable when it comes to playing
12:29the the games, maybe in your experience.
12:31I notice it.
12:31You know, I know some people may, but I notice.
12:34I personally haven't.
12:35I think when it comes to me playing on the go, I do prefer having the the larger screen at the end of
12:39the day.
12:40For a lot of the games, I feel like I'm able to get 1080p medium settings as well.
12:45And I'm still able to consistently hit that sweet spot of like 30 to 45 frames per second.
12:50Yeah.
12:51And especially with frame gen on, like you can easily get to like around 60 now in a lot of great
12:56titles.
12:56Yeah, with the games that support it.
12:58When you're comparing these two consoles, do you want something that's a little bit smaller?
13:02Easier to travel with.
13:03Easier to travel with, still really great battery life.
13:06Or for the same price now, especially now that this has gone up $100, do you want the ultimate
13:12performance?
13:12And that's exactly what you get with the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus.
13:15Even though I think the RG LX has a lot of things going for it, at the end of the day,
13:19if I'm being honest, I got to go with the MSI Claw.
13:22Like on paper, like it's like just better.
13:26And even using it, it's just better.
13:29No shade to Asus here, but you know, that's what I would pick.
13:32I would pick the MSI Claw.
13:33Better hardware.
13:34Yeah.
13:35Okay.
13:35So I think it's pretty clear which handheld we think should go to the final stage.
13:38But do you agree with us?
13:40Head to the poll in the post tab in the channel after you watch the video to cast your vote.
13:44Has Tony made the better argument for the Asus ROG Ally X?
13:47Are you going to side with me and send the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus through?
13:50I think this one's an easy vote.
13:51And second, we have the Steam Deck OLED versus the Legion OS with Steam OS.
14:01The Steam Deck OLED is the higher seat, so let me give you the benchmarks here.
14:04So right off the bat, we have one of the strongest reasons to buy the Steam Deck OLED.
14:08The OLED display.
14:08The OLED, yep.
14:09Yeah, so it's got a 7-inch 720p display, which, yes, is maybe a little bit underpowered compared
14:17to some of these other devices here.
14:18But that OLED, man, I mean, you made me try it out not too long ago and side by side with
14:23these other devices.
14:24It just has so much more pop.
14:25It looks incredible.
14:27And it's only 1.4 pounds, so it's also one of the lightest that we've had in our bracket.
14:32And in hand, I do think this is a really great device to play for a long period of time.
14:39Just all the buttons are in the places that I'd want them to be.
14:42And let me ask you this.
14:44Do you use the trackpads a lot?
14:45I don't, but it actually is very responsive, especially if you're playing like an RTS game.
14:50You've got to like scroll around and stuff.
14:51It's pretty responsive.
14:52Um, and it also has trackpads, which some of the other devices we've been talking about don't.
14:57In terms of performance, this is where things might be a little bit lopsided.
15:01We've got the AMD custom APU, which you'll only find in the Steam Deck.
15:06And yeah, it's starting to show it.
15:08Yeah, that APU is pretty, it's a grandpa APU at this point.
15:11It's starting to show its age.
15:12It's still good for more indie titles, some AAA games,
15:15but you're definitely going to have to dial down the settings quite a bit.
15:18I mean, it's not going to change like the pop or brightness of your display.
15:23It's going to mean the actual graphics in your games aren't just going to be as high quality.
15:28So in terms of the immersive experience, you do lose out on that.
15:32But if your games don't require those high settings and you prioritize having just like an incredible display,
15:37that's not only going to look great indoors, but also outdoors.
15:40Because I think that's a really big benefit with OLEDs.
15:43And if it matters to you, that also meant we could shave off 0.1 pounds from the original LCD.
15:48Yeah, because of the OLED, which is really cool.
15:50Ever so slightly more portable.
15:52Listen, it makes a difference.
15:53It does, it does.
15:54What makes a difference?
15:56Moving on to battery, it's kind of a mixed bag here.
15:59We've got one of the smallest at just 50 watt hours.
16:01Yeah, smaller capacity.
16:02But again, you're probably playing games at lower settings.
16:06And the optimization that you get with SteamOS and running Steam Deck verified games,
16:10you're probably not, you know, drawing as much power from this.
16:146 inches of RAM was fine when the Steam Deck really came out,
16:17but now we're getting 24, 32.
16:18With a lot of these AAA games, you need more RAM.
16:22Like I think 24 gigabytes is starting to become like the minimum.
16:26The minimum, yeah.
16:2632 gigabytes is like a really nice spot.
16:29But one maybe redeeming factor about this is the price is still relatively affordable,
16:34even though we have the nicer display.
16:36Pricing for the one terabyte model is $649.
16:40Which is still very affordable compared to some of the others.
16:43Relatively, yeah, I'd say so.
16:44Okay, so you made some great points.
16:46Now I'm going to just beat you on some of those.
16:48But at the end of the day, it is aging hardware,
16:51despite how great the OS is.
16:53And if you do want SteamOS, you actually have a better machine with the Lenovo LegionOS.
16:58I said this before many times that I want the specs of the RG Ally X with SteamOS.
17:05And this is literally that.
17:07Let's start off with the display, which is 8 inches versus 7 inches for the Steam Deck,
17:12which could be a deciding factor right there.
17:14It is still LCD, whereas that's OLED.
17:18So yeah, this still looks way better.
17:20Yeah.
17:20So yeah, in some cases it will look better.
17:22But this is a lot bigger.
17:23You have more room just to play with.
17:26And also 16 by 10 display, which is really good.
17:28Just like the claw.
17:29Just like the claw, which is really good.
17:31This is actually very reminiscent of the claw in a lot of ways.
17:33It's just it's running SteamOS.
17:35It is a little bit heavier, though, at 1.6 pounds.
17:38You will feel that after a while.
17:40But I also really love the design, despite the fact that it's so heavy.
17:44The D-pad is really cool.
17:46It's like raised.
17:46The analog sticks are great.
17:48And this also has like trigger locks on the back.
17:50So if you're playing a first person shooting game, you could get more precise shooting there,
17:55which is really cool.
17:56Yeah, I don't think we've touched on that yet.
17:58But this is the only handheld on the list that has that.
18:01Yeah, it has trigger locks.
18:03Yeah, it's a very unique thing.
18:05It's a must for playing shooters for me now.
18:06So I'm glad that it has that.
18:08Yeah, but obviously, if you're playing a racing game,
18:10you don't want the trigger lock.
18:11So you could just depress it.
18:12Really cool feature.
18:13This also has a touchpad, but as you can see, it's very tiny.
18:16I never use that.
18:17So I wouldn't recommend it.
18:19I love this system, but I wouldn't recommend using that tiny little thing.
18:22But what kind of performance can you get out of it?
18:24Right, no, performance is great.
18:25You have the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip, which is like, you know, it's been around for a while,
18:30but it's way more performant than this, what is that, four years now?
18:34Yeah.
18:35You know, Zen 2 chip, so you also have 32 gigs of RAM, which you admit is like the bare minimum
18:41standard they have now.
18:42And you know, in my playtesting, like you have to play around with the settings a little bit.
18:46Generally, at medium settings and 1080p, I could get like between 40, maybe 50 frames a second,
18:53depending on the game.
18:54So the performance is just fantastic.
18:56This has a 55 watt hour battery, you know, battery capacity compared to 50.
19:01So that's not a lot on paper.
19:03It's also kind of disappointing when you look at like the Ally X.
19:06Yeah, no.
19:07And some of the other ones we've tested, right?
19:09They're 80 watt hours and you would figure they could fit that in here.
19:12But I guess, you know, maybe to keep the cost down, they have a smaller battery capacity,
19:16which is kind of troubling.
19:18And even in my testing, it generally lasted about like an hour and a half, two hours tops.
19:23So not the greatest.
19:26I'm kind of disappointed by that.
19:27So when talking about like, obviously, we've got roughly, I mean, 50 versus 55.5.
19:33I feel like that's pretty equal, but we've got a smaller, but OLED display here, but an older,
19:38a four year old chip versus a two year old chip that maybe is a little bit more efficient.
19:42Yeah, I will say that though, even though the battery life may be somewhat on par,
19:47this is a bigger machine with a different chip.
19:49So I'm actually kind of, now that I'm thinking about it,
19:52maybe it's the battery life isn't as bad because you would think with a bigger machine,
19:56the battery life might drain even faster than on that.
19:58So that's something to keep in mind.
20:00Now let's talk about price.
20:01This is marked at $829, but currently at the time of this recording is $50 less.
20:06So a little bit less expensive, but that is still way more than this guy.
20:12Even though this configuration is expensive, you know, at its price point,
20:15the combo of the Ryzen Z1 extreme chip and SteamOS just senses over the top.
20:20This is the handheld to get, in my opinion.
20:23All right, so there you have it.
20:25Which two devices do you think are going to make it through to the final?
20:28Now it's all in your hands.
20:29So check out the poll, post it on the channel and at tomsguide.com
20:32to vote for which device you want to send through.
20:34Keep the comments coming as well.
20:36It's been great to interact and see all the discussion happening around the handhelds.
20:40Don't forget to come back for the next episode of Handheld Showdown.
20:43And until then, you can find us everywhere at Tom's Guide.
20:45And you can follow Tony and me if you want to see what other gaming tech we're checking out.
20:49Until then, we'll catch you later.
20:58Under the hood, you are actually getting more.
21:00Yeah, yeah.
21:02I mean, again, for the camera, I was trying to prop this up,
21:05but as I was looking through this, I was just like, this is the clear winner.
21:09Yeah, better value too.
21:10Yeah.
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