After taking the Steam Deck OLED, PS Portal, and ROG Ally for a spin, I’ve reached a verdict on these hot new players in portable gaming. For my money, the Steam Deck OLED and PS Portal take the cake, leaving the ROG Ally in the dust.
Kicking things off with Valve’s Steam Deck OLED, this handheld is a lazy gamer’s best buddy. No need to tinker endlessly with settings – it just works right out of the box. Triple-A titles? No sweat, OLED panel makes games pop visually, while the battery life keeps me gaming for hours on end. Sure, the decks looks a little plain, but for a portable it handles heat impressively. It might not beat the WIN Max 11 handheld’s raw horsepower, but simpler is often better. I can play without worrying about battery nosedives or a buzzsaw fan ruining my immersion.
Now onto Sony’s slick PS Portal. This unassuming gadget packs a visual punch thanks to its stellar screen. Hands down it’s the best display of any portable I’ve gamed on. No more straining my eyes on a postage stamp-sized phone screen! Pair that with an actual DualSense controller and buttery smooth PS5 remote play, and it’s portable gaming bliss. The only downside? You need lighting fast internet to power the streams properly.
And that leaves us with the ROG Ally. On paper, it should blow both the Deck and Portal away performance-wise. But in reality? Too little, too late. It runs hot, has iffy battery life, and lacks the ecosystem pull its competitors boast. When it comes to practical, enjoyable handheld gaming, the Ally has struck out.
So there’s my hot take. While the ROG Ally talks a big game with its specs sheet, the Steam Deck OLED and PS Portal deliver an overall better user experience. Sure, they have compromises. But the simplicity and smart design shine through. As a frequent traveler and casual gamer, give me the Deck and Portal any day over Asus’ ambitious but flawed Ally. Well executed concepts beat raw horsepower when you just wanna game on the go without any fuss!
