The Best Gaming Handhelds of 2026, According to the Reviews

The best gaming handheld in 2026, going by the reviews, is the Steam Deck OLED or the ROG Xbox Ally X: the Deck averages 8.6 out of 10 across 12 outlets, the Ally X 8.5 across 12. A tenth of a point separates them, so choose on the operating system: the Ally X runs Windows and plays anything with a PC launcher; the Deck runs SteamOS, and is $789 at Valve against $999.99 for the Ally X at Asus.

Update, 7 November 2026. Notebookcheck’s review of the ROG Xbox Ally X20, 88 out of 100, is now in its average, which moves from 7.9 across six outlets to 8.0 across seven. We re-read the store prices: Valve still lists the Deck at $789 and $949, and Asus lists the Ally X at $999.99 and the X20 at $1,299.99, the X20 marked out of stock. All 53 scores this page cites, the averaged ones and those reported alongside them, were re-read on the outlets’ pages, and none had changed.

Update, 17 October 2026. The ROG Xbox Ally X20 is now on sale and has six published scores, averaging 7.9, so it joins the list. We had said it had no scores and was not a pick because it had not shipped. We had also said the Legion Go S with the Z1 Extreme chip was left out because we held no product record for it; we now hold one, and it is still not a pick here. All 45 scores cited below were re-read on the outlets’ pages, and none had changed.

Update, 22 September 2026. We found 19 more published scores, moving the Ally X from 8.7 to 8.5, the Deck from 8.7 to 8.6 and the Legion Go S from 8.1 to 7.4. We had called the Legion Go S the fastest SteamOS machine; that is the Z1 Extreme version, and every score we average is for the Z2 Go version. Corrected throughout.

Best gaming handhelds compared

Machine	OS	Outlet average	Outlets	Spread	Chip	Screen	What the outlets agree it is best for
Steam Deck OLED	SteamOS	8.6 / 10	12	3.0	Custom AMD APU	7.4in OLED, 1280 × 800, up to 90Hz	SteamOS with the least fuss
ROG Xbox Ally X	Windows	8.5 / 10	12	1.0	AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme	7in IPS-level, 1920 × 1080, 120Hz	Playing anything on Windows
ROG Xbox Ally X20	Windows	8.0 / 10	7	2.0	AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme	7.4in OLED	An OLED screen on Windows, at a high price
Legion Go S (SteamOS)	SteamOS	7.4 / 10	5	4.0	AMD Ryzen Z2 Go	8in IPS, 1920 × 1200, 120Hz	A bigger screen on SteamOS

How we compared the reviews. We took every published numeric score we could find on a named outlet’s own review page, converted each to a ten-point scale (stars out of five doubled, hundred-point scores divided by ten) and averaged them — 36 scores in all. The spread is the gap between the highest and lowest. Screens are from Valve’s store page, Asus’s spec sheet and press release, and Notebookcheck’s measured review. The last column comes from the outlets’ own labels and verdicts. A machine needs three scores to appear, and we have not used any of them.

The top two are level, and the reviewers agree on one far more than the other

The Ally X is the safe number. All twelve of its scores sit between 8 and 9 out of ten — the tightest agreement on this page. The same three things come up review after review: the grips, Microsoft’s full-screen Xbox interface, and the price. PC Gamer’s first complaint is a “super-high price tag”, and TechRadar’s is that it is very expensive.

The Deck is the loved one, with a catch in the dates. GamesRadar+ gave it full marks and Wired seven out of ten, a three-point spread. Its reviews were written in 2023 and 2024, when the 512GB model cost $549, and some of them list price among its strengths — “Competitive pricing” at The Verge, “Competitively priced” at TechRadar. That strength is not in the machine you can buy today.

The Steam Deck costs $240 more than it did in May

Valve raised Steam Deck OLED prices on 27 May 2026 “due to rising memory and storage costs”: $789 for 512GB and $949 for 1TB, and its store still listed both on 7 November. Tom’s Hardware gives the earlier prices as $549 and $649. Valve says the Deck itself has not changed.

That does not alter a single score above, because no outlet re-reviewed it at the new price. It does change the comparison those scores were made in. At $789 the Deck is no longer the budget choice its reviewers weighed against pricier Windows machines, and the Ally X launched at $999.99. What each Steam Deck costs now, refurbished and LCD models included, has its own page.

The Legion Go S splits its reviewers more than any machine here

The Legion Go S we list is the SteamOS version with AMD’s Z2 Go chip. Five outlets scored it, from The Verge’s 5 out of 10 to Trusted Reviews’ 9 — a four-point gap on the same hardware, and the widest we have recorded on any shortlist.

Most of the split is over one question: is it faster than a Steam Deck? PCMag says it runs games faster than the Deck (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab), and Trusted Reviews found more performance. The Verge found the Z2 Go “only on par with Steam Deck” and its battery life behind it; our piece on why handheld battery life is always short explains why these machines struggle to last. TechRadar sits between them: plenty for casual games, a struggle in visually demanding ones.

The faster version is a different machine. Lenovo also sells a Legion Go S with the Z1 Extreme chip, which Tom’s Hardware lists at $829.99 and names its best SteamOS performance handheld. Seven outlets scored that version — PC Gamer, IGN, Tom’s Hardware, Tom’s Guide, Windows Central, Engadget and The Verge — and it averages 8.4. It is not a pick on this page, and those scores are not in the Z2 Go average. Windows Central, reviewing it, advises against the Z2 Go configuration.

Not yet on the list

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 averages 7.7 across nine outlets, most of which praise its 8.8-inch OLED screen and mark it down for price; it is not yet listed as a pick. Lenovo announced a SteamOS version in January, expected from June at an estimated $1,199, and now lists it on its US site. Which Legion Go is which, and which runs SteamOS sets out the three Lenovo handhelds.

Why Wired’s Ally X score is not in the average

Wired gave the ROG Xbox Ally and the Ally X (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) one score between them, 7 out of 10, and marks down “compromised performance on the Ally” — the cheaper model with a slower chip. A score shared by two machines cannot stand for one of them, so it is listed in the sources but not averaged. Including it would move the Ally X from 8.5 to 8.4.

The Ally X20 scores below the Ally X, and its reviewers point to the price

Asus’s ROG Xbox Ally X20 went on shelves from 15 October, and seven outlets have scored it: Gizmodo 4.5 out of 5, Notebookcheck 88 out of 100, CNET 8.3 out of 10, IGN 8, PC Gamer 80 out of 100, and PCMag and Tom’s Guide 3.5 out of 5. That averages 8.0, half a point below the Ally X’s 8.5. Which ROG Ally is which sets all five Ally models side by side. MSI’s Claw handhelds are not in this average; which MSI Claw is which sets out their chips, screens and batteries from MSI’s spec pages.

The difference from the Ally X is narrower than a new model name suggests. It runs the same processor, the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme; what changes is the display, a 7.4-inch OLED in place of the Ally X’s 7-inch IPS-level panel, plus a translucent chassis and gold internals for the anniversary. The reviewers like that screen: PCMag’s headline calls it “Glorious OLED”, Notebookcheck’s “a stunning OLED screen”, and Gizmodo calls the X20 “the prettiest, most comfortable handheld you can buy”.

What holds the score down is the price. Asus’s US store listed it at $1,299.99 on 7 November, against $999.99 for the Ally X, $300 more for the same chip with a different screen and chassis. Tom’s Guide calls that price “eye-watering” and lists “AAA struggles at this price” among its reasons to avoid it; PCMag’s headline ends “Big Price”. Because the chip is the same, a game that struggled on the Ally X has no obvious reason to run better on the X20.

If you are choosing between these and a console

Everything here is a handheld PC, which plays a PC game library. Android handhelds are a different machine: they reach Steam games by streaming them. The Nintendo Switch 2 is a console first and is not averaged on this page. If you are weighing Nintendo’s older hardware instead, Nintendo still sells three original Switch models, from $229.99.

On SteamOS, Valve’s Deck badges are the usual guide to whether a game will run, and TechRadar’s review of the Deck warns that even Verified games can run badly. Our explainer on what the Steam Deck badges actually promise sets out what Valve checks and what it does not.

What this cannot tell you

Nothing here replaces holding one. An average inherits every mistake its constituents made, tells you nothing about how a machine feels after an hour, and says nothing about units built long after the review samples shipped. The Deck’s reviews are the oldest here, and they judged it at a price Valve no longer charges.

Questions people ask

What is the best gaming handheld in 2026?

Going by the reviews, the Steam Deck OLED and the ROG Xbox Ally X: the Deck averages 8.6 out of 10 across 12 outlets and the Ally X 8.5 across 12. The Ally X runs Windows, so every launcher works; the Deck runs SteamOS. On 7 November Valve listed the Deck at $789 and Asus the Ally X at $999.99. These are the outlets’ scores; we have not used either machine.

What are the Steam Deck alternatives in 2026?

Of the machines averaged here, the ROG Xbox Ally X scores closest to the Deck: 8.5 out of 10 across 12 outlets, against the Deck’s 8.6, and it runs Windows. The ROG Xbox Ally X20 averages 8.0 across seven outlets. The Legion Go S (SteamOS, Z2 Go) averages 7.4 across five and is the only one that runs the Deck’s SteamOS. These are the outlets’ scores; we have not used any of them.

What is the best handheld gaming device?

On the reviews, a handheld PC: the Steam Deck OLED (8.6 out of 10, 12 outlets) or the ROG Xbox Ally X (8.5, 12 outlets). The newer Ally X20 adds an OLED screen to the Ally X’s chip and averages 8.0 across seven outlets. The Nintendo Switch 2 is a console first and is not averaged here.

Is the ROG Xbox Ally X20 worth it over the Ally X?

Its reviewers rate it lower: 8.0 out of 10 across seven outlets, against the Ally X’s 8.5 across 12. It has the same processor and adds a 7.4-inch OLED screen, which they praise; the price, $1,299.99 at Asus against $999.99 for the Ally X on 7 November, is what Tom’s Guide and PCMag single out against it.

Is the Steam Deck still worth it in 2026?

Its reviews put it a tenth of a point above the Ally X: 8.6 out of 10 across 12 outlets. But those reviews date from 2023 and 2024. Valve raised the price on 27 May 2026, and its store listed the 512GB model at $789 on 7 November, $240 more than before, according to Tom’s Hardware. Several reviews had counted its price as a strength.

What is the best Windows handheld?

The ROG Xbox Ally X, on the reviews: 8.5 out of 10 across 12 outlets, all between 8 and 9. Tom’s Hardware names it its best Windows handheld, and Tom’s Guide calls it the best PC gaming handheld you can buy. Its reviewers’ main complaint is the price: Asus listed it at $999.99 on 7 November.

What is the best handheld console in 2026?

This page covers handheld PCs, which play a PC game library; the Nintendo Switch 2 is a console first and is not averaged here. If you are weighing Nintendo’s older hardware, Nintendo still sells three original Switch models, from $229.99.