5 Best Handheld Gaming Consoles of 2023

Portable gaming consoles are becoming popular, and there are many options. So here are the 5 best handheld gaming consoles to get in 2023.

Handheld gaming consoles have made a huge comeback, dominating the gaming communities with their features, performance, and portable convenience. Instead of building or buying gaming PCs, players always on the run prefer handheld gaming consoles that deliver Full HD display at 120 Hz without compromising on graphics.

The performance and features of these consoles make things overwhelming when choosing the right gaming console. Therefore, we have narrowed the search for you by bringing the 5 best handheld gaming consoles of 2023 that are the best bang for your budget. We will enlist features with the pros and cons of each console to help you make the right choice.

1. ASUS ROG Ally

The first one on our list is the ASUS ROG Ally which is by far the most powerful gaming console in terms of specifications and output. The ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck seemed a competitive comparison based on their specifications, and still, the ROG Ally stays on top with its 8 cores and 16 threads processor.

The ASUS ROG Ally comes in two variants based on the difference between the processor and the price. You get the perfect gaming control with the joysticks and trigger setup that looks and feels like an Xbox controller. The special thing is the assignable buttons that add better interaction with the captative touch. Let’s discuss the features with some reasons you may or may not want to buy the ASUS ROG Ally.

Features

Processor/GPU: AMD Ryzen Z1 Zen-4

RAM: 16 GB

Storage: 512 GB 4.0 NVMe™M.2 SSD

Display Screen: 1920x1080p FHD 7-inch Display Screen

Battery Life: 3-6 Hours

Pros

• High-quality graphics with a considerably fluent refresh rate that syncs perfectly with the FPS.
• Better cooling setup as compared to the other handheld gaming consoles.
• Crisp button setup with feature to custom map two button functions.

Cons

• The display feels like 720p.
• Battery life may vary to perform poorly if the gaming load is increased.

2. Nintendo Switch OLED

Nintendo Switch OLED is probably the console that brought back the era of handheld gaming. Since its release back in 2017, there has been some competition between Steam Deck vs. Nintendo Switch OLED based on their specifications and features. However, many gamers still choose Nintendo Switch as the best handheld console available due to its lasting battery life and comfortable handling support. However, some players do complain about Switch’s overheating issues.

The best thing gamers love about Nintendo Switch is its feature to connect to a larger TV screen without additional costs. Therefore, if you ever fancy playing games or watching Netflix via Nintendo Switch on a higher definition, you can connect the console to a TV screen. However, one downside of Nintendo Switch is its relatively smaller library of games than other consoles. However, many indie game titles and famous first-party games from Nintendo’s history are still available.

Features

Processor/GPU: Nvidia Custom Tegra Processor

RAM: 4 GB

Storage: 64 GB Flash Storage

Display Screen: 1280x720p OLED 7-inch Display Screen

Battery Life: 4-9 Hours

Pros

• Supports a wide variety of first-party indie games.
• Comfortable button mapping and controller setup.
• Attachable with a TV screen with adaptive graphics and resolution.

Cons

• No full HD screen.
• The operating system limits many operations.

3. Ayaneo 2

Ayaneo 2 is probably the most expensive handheld gaming console available on the market, and it shows because of its insane hardware specifications. The Ayaneo 2 has a premium design, high-end performance hardware, and ergonomic control setup, making it a suitable option for many multiplayer gaming fanatics.

With the Ayaneo 2, you can portably play CPU-intensive games like Red Dead Redemption 2 on medium to high settings. However, you may experience overheating and slow downloading issues with the Ayaneo 2, which dropped it down to the third position on our list. Players expect the most high-end gaming experience for such a high price.

Features

Processor/GPU: AMD Ryzen 7 6800U CPU with AMD Radeon 680M GPU

RAM: 16 GB or 32 GB variants

Storage: 512 GB or 1TB or 2TB PCIe M.2

Display Screen: 1920×1200 IPS 8.4-inch Touchscreen Display

Battery Life: 2-4 Hours

Pros

• Best-in-class performance on FHD display.
• Outputs excellent gaming experience with dedicated GPU and CPU.
• Provides ergonomic control with a comfortable-to-handle design.

Cons

• Triggers feel a bit flimsy upon pressing.
• Its operating system suffers from bugs.

4. Valve Steam Deck

Steam Deck is another quality handheld gaming console that gives ready-to-play access anywhere, anytime. This portable gaming console has Steam OS, allowing it to connect with Xbox, PS4, or PS5 controllers for a more personalized gaming experience. Valve made Steam Deck more like a portable gaming PC as you get a wide variety of Steam games, and with the 16 gigs of DDR5 RAM, it can easily run many AAA title games.

The design and control handling is pretty comfortable, and you can easily enable or disable haptic feedback. However, the responsiveness of controls and diversity of the Steam Deck is worth appreciating, making it one of the best handheld gaming consoles.

Features

Processor/GPU: AMD Zen 2 4c/8t @ 2.4 to 3.5 GHz processor with AMD RDNA 2 CUs 1.6 GHz GPU

RAM: 16 GB

Storage: 256 GB or 512 GB NVMe SSD

Display Screen: 1280x800p IPS 7-inch Display Screen

Battery Life: 2-8 Hours

Pros

• Supports a wide variety of games from Steam.
• Efficient processing power.
• Better control scheme with reassigned able controls.

Cons

• Does not support all of the AAA title games.
• Battery life is not very reliable.

5. Nintendo Switch

Last but not least, one on our list is the fan favorite console of the gaming community, the Nintendo Switch. We placed the Nintendo Switch OLED on the top because of the brand’s popularity and amazing display screen. However, this console gets you the perfect specs for the perfect price, making it a popular option for a budget-friendly high-performance gaming console.

The joy-cons can be slotted into either side of the screen; like the OLED version, you can attach it to a larger display with a TV or play in the Tabletop mode. The retro-looking design of this console never changed, and it all comes under the $300 mark. Hence for budget gamers who love to play games while they’re on the go, this is the best gaming console they can get.

Features

Processor/GPU: Nvidia Custom Tegra CPU

RAM: 32 GB RAM

Storage: 32 GB Internal Storage

Display Screen: 1280×720 IPS 6.2-inch LCD Display.

Battery Life: 3-6 Hours

Pros

• Great value for money and gives a decent performance.
• Large capacity for RAM to handle resource-hungry games.
• Works perfectly on docked mode with the TV for a large display gaming experience.

Cons

• The screen size of the console itself is pretty small.
• The build quality doesn’t seem too sturdy.

Final Words

Handheld gaming consoles are officially back, making a competitive statement in the gaming communities with high-end performance hardware and portable features. Such high-end gaming technology in a small form factor makes it an appealing choice for gamers who are always on the go. This article featured 5 of the best handheld gaming consoles yet available. Hopefully, the details we shared with you will help you to make the right choice for your next gaming console.

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