As much as I love my Switch, it hasn't been my go-to handheld in years. When it first launched in 2017, the OG Switch had the landscape all to itself, demonstrating just how much of an appetite there was for a console-handheld hybrid. Unfortunately for Nintendo, some of the biggest names in PC gaming listened — and did it better.
These days, a slate of handheld gaming PCs has stolen my attention, and more often than not, I find myself reaching for my Steam Deck and leaving my Switch to gather dust in its dock. Between the allure of playing my Steam library on the go, often with higher resolutions and frame rates than the Switch can manage, and Nintendo's line-up of first-party titles drying up, there hasn't been much drawing me back to the Switch.
Compared to its predecessor, the Switch 2 faces an entirely different landscape when it comes out later this year. The Steam Deck, which arrived in 2022 when the 5-year-old Switch was already showing its age, kicked off a wave of handheld gaming PCs.
Its Linux-based SteamOS not only copied the Switch's biggest selling point but also made pick-up-and-play portability even more convenient, letting you seamlessly jump between playing games on your desktop PC and on the go.
And it's far from the only name in the game. Already challenging Steam for the throne is the Windows 11-driven Asus ROG Ally and its beefier cousin, the ROG Ally X.
You've got the MSI Claw 8+ AI powered by Intel’s improved Core Ultra 200V “Lunar Lake” chip, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, and the Lenovo Legion Go with its Switch-like detachable controllers.
Even my trusty Steam Deck, arguably the best handheld gaming console out there, has been supplanted by the Steam Deck OLED, taking a page from Nintendo after the Switch OLED's success.
Heating things further, CES 2025 made it clear that this'll be a banner year for gaming handhelds. We're in a veritable renaissance I haven't seen since I was wiling away recess on my Game Boy SP or PSP.
Lenovo debuted its smaller, easier-to-use Legion Go S with a new AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip. There's also the upcoming Acer Nitro Blaze 8 and Acer Nitro Blaze 11, named for their respective 8-inch and 11-inch screens, that steal the detachable controllers of the Legion Go and Switch. But the most significant shake-up wasn't hardware: Valve announced that its popular SteamOS, the gold standard for portable PC gaming UI, will come to third-party handhelds as soon as April.
That might sound like gibberish if you've yet to buy into the PC gaming handheld ecosystem, but trust me, it's big news.
The current crop of Steam Deck competitors are mostly limited to running Windows, and as my colleague Tony Polanco put it in his ROG Ally X review: “Windows 11 absolutely sucks on a handheld.” Microsoft's OS isn't optimized for handheld devices, adding extra bloat and drag on battery life while also being a royal pain to use on such a tiny screen. SteamOS's widespread adoption has the potential to ratchet up the appeal of the entire handheld PC gaming market.
While no one expects Switch 2 to outmatch the pixel-pushing prowess of a handheld gaming PC, the selection of more powerful options weakens Nintendo's sales pitch. We'll have to wait until April to learn more about the Switch 2's specs, but from what we've heard so far, it's not likely to surpass competitors that have been on the scene for years.
If it seems like I've painted a grim picture for the Switch 2's chances at success, that's because specs only tell part of the story. In reality, Nintendo is running circles around the competition, if it can even be called that. Sales of the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, and every other handheld gaming PC combined don't even come close to the Switch's 150 million consoles sold.
The fact is, Nintendo has carved out a league entirely of its own. One that PC gaming handhelds have yet to crack, for all their technical bells and whistles. If it's anything like its predecessors, the Switch 2 will continue to be the de facto console for families and kids, who historically have cared less about framerates and performance than they do about what games they can play on it. Want to check out the latest Mario or Legend of Zelda title? Nintendo's your one and only option — just as it's always been.
If Switch 2's rumored hardware upgrades shake out, it also has a real chance of convincing holdouts who might have been waiting for this Wild West boom of handheld PCs to die down before pulling the trigger on an expensive machine. Even the best handheld gaming PCs suffer from frustrating drawbacks like poor battery life and subpar OS optimization. A few hundred bucks on the latest from a dependable name like Nintendo is easier to swallow than $500+ on a machine that's still working out the kinks.
But can a souped-up version of Nintendo's 2017 console really make a case for itself in this day and age? Or will we see another train wreck like the Wii U if Nintendo fails to distinguish it enough to convince folks it's worth upgrading from their excellent Switch?
We've broken down how the Switch 2 might compare to the best handheld gaming consoles on the market so you can make the case for yourself. Granted, Nintendo's keeping tight-lipped about what to expect from its long-awaited Switch successor, but with a release date slated for sometime later this year, it's only a matter of time before we learn more.
Switch 2 rumored specs vs. other gaming PC handhelds
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Switch 2 (rumored) | Asus ROG Ally X | Steam Deck OLED (1TB) | Lenovo Legion GO S | MSI Claw 8 AI+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Price | $280-$499 | $799 | $649 | $729 | $899 |
Chipset | TBD | AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme | Custom AMD Zen 2 "Van Gogh" APU | AMD Ryzen Z2 Go | Intel Core Ultra 7-258V |
Storage | TBD | 1TB PCIe Gen 4x4 SSD | Up to 1TB NVMe SSD | 1TB PCIe SSD Gen 4 | 1TB NVMe SSD |
Memory | TBD | 24GB LPDDR5x | 16GB LPDDR5x | 32GB | 32GB |
Operating system | TBD | Windows 11 | SteamOS | Windows 11 | Windows 11 |
Display | 7.5-inch display | 7-inch FHD, 16:9, 120Hz refresh rate IPS panel | 7-inch 1280 x 800 HDR OLED, 90Hz refresh rate | 8-inch WQXGA (1920 X 1200) LCD 16:10 | 8-inch WQXGA (1920 X 1200) LCD 16:10 |
Ports | TBD | 1x USB 4 Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, 1x microSD card reader slot | 1x USB-C, 1x 3.5 mm audio jack, 1x microSD card reader | 1X Micro SD card slot, 2X USB-C, 1X headphone jack | 2x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C, 1x microSD Card reader, 1x 3.5mm headphone/mic jack |
Dimensions | TBD | 11 x 4.4 x 1.5 inches | 11.73 x 4.6 x 1.93 inches | 11.77 x 5.02 x 0.88 inches | 11.77 x 4.96 x 0.94 inches |
Weight | TBD | 1.49 pounds | 1.4 pounds | 1.63 pounds | 1.75 pounds |
Battery | TBD | 03:04 | 3-12 hours | 01:42 | 02:22 |
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