This has been on my wishlist for a while, but with my Deck for games to cozily finish and my desktop for spectacle games, and having recently started something from the category of "new timesink games that anchor you to a desk," it'll be a while till I get round to it.

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Quoting: Mohandevir

Quoting: CatKillerHands up: I didn't think that they'd be able to match the price of the Deck, but they have. They must've managed to get some sweet prices on components.

4000 series apu. Old tech? Could it be a rebranding of an older model's internals leftovers that they are trying to get rid off?

If so smart move, but I'm not interrested.

Renoir is the same Zen 2 as the Van Gogh in the Deck; the Deck just uses RDNA 2 for the GPU rather than the Vega in the mainstream chips.

But, yes, stock clearance would have helped with the pricing.

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Hands up: I didn't think that they'd be able to match the price of the Deck, but they have. They must've managed to get some sweet prices on components.

I definitely wouldn't get one over a Deck - awkward control layout, no trackpads, weaker GPU - but the Deck isn't an option for everyone since it's only sold in a limited number of countries.

I hope using Linux works out for them, and they use it for future models (and there's no shortage of future models with Aya Neo) as the better option rather than as the cheaper option.

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Quoting: scaineBut as for Valve, yeah, good point - Canada has around the same population as Australia, so it's clearly not the numbers driving this decision. It's either regulation, import/export laws, or supply chain. Or something else - global freight isn't my thing, so I'm guessing.

Canada is, like, a couple of miles from Valve HQ.

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For some reason they kept calling it S@box, but it's s&box.

Everyone knows it's s#&%box.

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Quoting: dpanterBleh, guess I didn't have enough fingers. Concerned this might hurt the Linux gaming handheld scene instead. I didn't trust Ayaneo before, things like this sure don't help and I definitely don't trust their ability to maintain a fringe spin of a fringe distro.
What will they do when issues start happening? Tell people to install Windows instead? :unsure:

The same thing they do for issues with their Windows handhelds - say nothing and release a new model every two weeks.

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Quoting: sarmadSounds like they are going in the other direction and targetting lower prices rather than fancier spec sheet. That's smart if they manage to bring the price down to something below the price of Steam Deck.

It's extremely unlikely to be cheaper than the Deck. Valve have economies of scale that Aya Neo don't have, and Valve don't actually need to make money on the hardware. The Next (which this is supposed to be a cheaper version of) is $1,315, and their cheapest product is $899.

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Quoting: Purple Library GuyOK, this quote annoys me:

"No unfortunately not. From a security point of view supporting WINE would be like having a bank vault at the top of Nakatomi Tower then installing a doggy door in it."

Shyeah right, your anti-cheat is like a bank vault at the top of Nakatomi Tower. Also you walk on water and your shit doesn't stink. I'm sure it's been hacked six ways from Sunday, and here he is being all arrogant about it. What a douche.

Even if one were to claim that Linux were less secure - despite literally all of the high-value infrastructure everywhere using Linux... the vault at Nakatomi Plaza got breached. If he's going to go with plots from films he should have gone with Fort Knox: so radioactive that it's worthless.

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Still got the controls in the wrong place, and still no trackpads. The hand model seems quite uncomfortable in the promo image. Maybe these handheld PC makers should try using their devices to play games once in a while?

However, I hope the experience of putting Linux on their hardware was smooth, and I hope it pays off for them.

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Quoting: elmapulthe issue is that windows is more well know, the other oems might brute force every combination of price /specs/form factors until they manage to grab the atention of the same public that is currently purchasing steamdecks (except for us linux users or super hardcore gamers that actually pay atention to reviewers who said good things about steamOS), and then receive they reward from ms for killing another linux initiative.

or they might harm the reputation of handhelds in general making the public who never had an good experience give up on it and go back to notebooks /nintendo handhelds (that will be a reprise of what happened with netbooks)

I mentioned in a comment on a different article the big reason why that won't happen: the Deck is already here, and already great. Valve really knocked it out of the park with the hardware and the PR.

The Deck is what every handheld gets compared to. Journalists only cover the non-Deck devices because they want the drama of a conflict; eventually they'll get bored of covering devices that don't stand up, the non-Deck devices will get no coverage, and the Deck will keep on selling. At some point in the future, should another device come along that's actually as good as the Deck so journalists cover this segment again, the articles are going to be "finally there's something as good as the Deck" and the Deck gets more coverage yet again.

valve already said they will lock the hardware specs, having steamOS in different hardware configs but having those made by the other vendors would be the ideal scenario to fight the midlegen competition while steamdeck 2 dont lauch.
alternativelly if valve can keep pushing the price down or the proposal enticing (eg: hall effect sensors for the next steamdeck 1)

i dont know how valve will play this 4D chess against an multi trilion dollar corporation, but i would feel more relief if they werent fighting alone.

What Valve really need to do, while they're designing the Deck 2 and waiting for hardware to catch up, is get the Deck available in more countries. Maybe they'll need to take somewhat unfavourable terms with a logistics partner, maybe they'll need to grasp the nettle and build out a logistics network of their own; but they need to get more Decks in more people's hands and build the momentum of the Deck into action by game developers and Steam customers. Ideally they'd also manage to get it into widespread physical retail. The biggest flaw of the Deck is that people that want one can't get one.

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