Handheld

The president of Nintendo has once again outlined how the company will deal with the huge issue that is scalping when the much anticipated Switch 2 console finally launches. According to the president, Nintendo is set on delivering enough consoles to meet demand. Apparently, the semiconductor shortage that stood in the way of ramping up production rates in the not so distant past is really over.

The M25 is a new retro gaming handheld that closely resembles a particular Sony PlayStation accessory. Available for under $100 with 64 GB or 128 GB of storage, the M25 also has a modest battery capacity, a compact display, 4 GB of RAM and runs EmuELEC 4.3 by default.

The 2024 Steam Summer Sale is in full swing, and the Deep Discounts category is where you'll find the best deals on games that can be best described as old but gold. Enjoy one of the best strategy city builder games in recent years, indulge in all-out insanity with Borderlands 2, or play as Gotham's most famous hero in Batman: Arkham Knight — all for under $6.

Valve has offered up a bevvy of new updates for the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED. Rolling out on its Beta and Preview software channels, the updates not only add Game Recording functionality but also make various desktop mode and general improvements.

Earlier this month, rumours emerged of Powkiddy having created a new retro gaming handheld under the auspices of the 'K56'. Supposedly set to rival the likes of the AYANEO Pocket Micro, KT Pocket R1 and ZPG A1 Unicorn in terms of performance, it turns out that the Powkiddy K56 may have been nothing more than the stuff of fan fiction.

Anbernic has now officially confirmed the existence of the RG40XX H after a spate of alleged leaks. Resembling the RG Cube, the RG40XX H appears set to arrive in three colours. Specifications for the Anbernic RG40XX H have now been confirmed, too.

Powkiddy is now selling the V10 globally, a 3.5-inch retro gaming handheld that measures just 103.2 x 94 x 22.5 mm. The Powkiddy V10 comes in multiple colours, including a pair of nostalgic transparent options.

You can finally record gameplay natively using Steam overlay. The feature is in beta for desktop users and also available for the Steam Deck.

Anbernic has not officially commented on the release of its next 4-inch gaming handheld yet. Nonetheless, new leaks have confirmed not only more information about the device, but also that it will launch as the RG40XX H with a native landscape display and not the RG40XX.

Interview Notebookcheck had an opportunity to speak with MSI's regional marketing managers Bruce Lin and Green Lin about the MSI Claw, Windows-on-Arm laptops and its future plans. While MSI will stick with Intel for the foreseeable future, it is open to the idea of collaborating with AMD for handheld chips at a later point.

The Steam Summer Sale will start this Thursday, June 27. While Valve has yet to reveal the full roster of games that will be discounted, the trailer has confirmed that strategy favourite, Stellaris, and smash hits Palworld and Content Warning will both be discounted in the Steam Summer Sale. It also teased a new category called Deep Discounts, which appears to slash prices by up to 95%.

A game that got canceled for the Nintendo Switch platforms in 2020 now has its trailer up for the Switch gaming consoles and is set to launch next month. This title, Deliver Us The Moon, was initially launched in 2018, but that launch was for PC, and the developers later brought it to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5.

Powkiddy has confirmed new details about the V10. Billed as a pocketable retro gaming handheld, the Powkiddy V10 will start for well under $50 and will be available in multiple colours at launch, including a transparent purple option.

Anbernic has yet another compact retro gaming handheld in development. Following the success of the RG Cube, it seems that Anbernic is looking to deliver another 4-inch gaming handheld, albeit with the innards of recent RG35XX options and last year's RG405M.

The increasingly popular portable console maker ONEXPLAYER is promoting officially refurbished models as well as new ones during its latest Mid-Year 2024 sale. They include devices powered by leading mobile processors from Intel and AMD, such as the 7-inch Mini Pro and latest Ryzen 7 8840U-based 2 Pro.

The Lenovo Legion Go has dropped to $579.98 on Amazon. This is an all-time low price for the gaming handheld, and it translates to a generous $120.01 discount from the regular $699.99 tag.

Sony has now started distributing a feature-packed update for the PlayStation Portal. Rolling out globally, the update introduces various changes to the PS5 accessory, including the option of connecting to public Wi-Fi networks for the first time.

Nintendo may not be ready to announce a Switch 2 yet. Nonetheless, the company has decided to refresh the Switch Lite, which will be available later this year in a new special edition variant aimed at commemorating the release of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

CheckMag The Warframe Jade Shadows update has officially launched for Windows, Xbox, Switch, PlayStation, and iOS. Update 36 introduces a number of exciting new additions to the MMO looter shooter, including a new warframe, an exciting new quest offering insights into a long-time foe, and a whole new game mode to get stuck into as well as some valuable quality of life fixes.

It appears that Powkiddy is preparing to release a successor of sorts to last year's X55 gaming handheld. While the company has not officially commented on the device yet, render images and a few specifications have leaked online. Updated: Powkiddy comments on rumours.

Meteorish has now released the TJD T80, only its second gaming handheld released to date. Announced last year, the device comes in two variants globally with a $199 starting price.

Powkiddy is preparing to release another new compact gaming handheld. This time, the company will complement a Rockchip RK3226 chipset and 1 GB of RAM with a 3.95-inch display.

CheckMag Between staunch discounts, plentiful competition, and the recent release of the Steam Deck OLED, there has never been a better time to buy a gaming handheld. However, imminent new releases for the Asus ROG Ally, Nintendo Switch, and new CPU offerings from AMD and Intel mean that waiting just a little longer may be a better option for those looking for maximum performance.

AYANEO continues to refresh its gaming handhelds at a breakneck pace. Less than a month has passed since it introduced new versions of three models, including the Steam Deck-sized AYANEO KUN. Nonetheless, it has now sought to update another model, this time with a special edition livery.

Humble Bundle has introduced a new games bundle, which contains seven playable Steam Deck games that are worth nearly $200. The bundle, however, can be yours for a minimum payment of $25, and the good part is that you will also be getting a 25% discount on a DLC for one of the titles included in the pack.

The GameMT E6 Plus is a new retro gaming handheld based around a 5-inch and 720p touchscreen display. While the GameMT E6 Plus looks like a Steam Deck or an ASUS ROG Ally, it is more of a target for cheaper gaming handhelds thanks to the presence of a Rockchip RK3566 chipset and 2 GB of RAM.

The Asus ROG Ally X should officially become available in July, sending the original ROG Ally firmly into discount territory. With the latest Best Buy deal resulting in a $150 price drop, it starts to look like a mighty fine budget option, considering it has the exact same internals as the upcoming ROG Ally X.

A new version of the ONEXPLAYER X1 can now be ordered globally. As expected, One-Netbook has updated the large gaming handheld to the AMD Ryzen 7 8840U, which can be configured with 64 GB RAM, 4 TB SSD and a ONEXGPU eGPU.

While Nintendo Switch can play a good number of games, you get 30 FPS in most of the games. However, a YouTuber named naga has proved that the gaming handheld is capable of running many titles at a steady 60 FPS by putting an extreme overclock in place and upgrading the RAM.

The SZDiiER D-007 Plus is another Rockchip RK3326-based retro gaming handheld claiming to be powerful enough to emulate various classic game consoles. Based around a 3.5-inch display and a 3,500 mAh battery, the SZDiiER D-007 Plus is available for under $50 in various transparent and solid colour options.

At the Xbox Showcase, Microsoft introduced the updated Series S and X and many new games. After the event, IGN interviewed Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, and in the interview, he hinted that the Xbox gaming handheld would be more like the Asus ROG Ally and less like the Sony PlayStation Portal.

The Anbernic RG Cube has finally been released globally. Available for well under $200 in four colour options, the Anbernic RG Cube has a sub-4-inch display with enough power to emulate games from Dreamcast, GameCube and PlayStation 2 libraries at beyond their native resolutions.

MSI has only released one gaming handheld so far. However, the company has now shared a few details about forthcoming products, including a larger option to challenge the likes of the ONEXPLAYER X1. MSI should be back at CES next year with more gaming handheld announcements too.

It seems that MSI is a while off from releasing its first Intel Lunar Lake-powered gaming handheld. Nonetheless, a company executive has delivered new details about the MSI Claw 8 AI+, including potential launch pricing.

MSI has hinted at another Claw gaming handheld release, the fourth this year. Contrary to expectations at Computex 2024, it seems that MSI plans to offer two Intel Lunar Lake-based options, including a true successor to the original 7-inch Claw A1M.

One-Netbook has now released the ONEXPLAYER X1 Mini, a day after revealing launch pricing for its new AMD Ryzen 7 8840U-based gaming handheld. Available for $799, the ONEXPLAYER X1 Mini also has a 65 Wh battery, detachable controllers and a 144 Hz display.

Anbernic has confirmed pricing and availability for the RG Cube, a 1:1 gaming handheld that is said to be powerful enough to emulate PlayStation 2 games at 1.5x native resolution. Anbernic RG Cube will sell the RG Cube in multiple colour options, all with RGB backlit joysticks.

One-Netbook is preparing to release its second gaming handheld of the month after the ONEXPLAYER X1 Ryzen Edition. This time, the company has turned its attention to ONEXPLAYER X1 Mini, a smaller version of the ONEXPLAYER X1 Ryzen Edition that packs the same AMD Ryzen 7 8840U APU and will start at $799 globally.

ADATA, best known for selling PC components such as SSD and memory modules, introduced its first gaming handheld, XPG Nia. It brings a good number of unique features, which include user-upgradable RAM and a "circular computing" design that allows users to build cases and accessories.

ZOTAC has now showcased the ZONE, its alternative to the ASUS ROG Ally and Steam Deck. Not only has the company now confirmed all ZOTAC ZONE specifications, but it has shared a release month and launch pricing too.

The latest Xbox Games Showcase is only a few days away possibly bringing games like Call of Duty: Black Ops Gulf War, a new DOOM, and Fable, to name a few. According to a new report, fans might get to see a tiny glimpse of the “Xbox Portable” handheld console at the showcase in addition to a plethora of game announcements.

ModRetro is targeting not just the Nintendo Game Boy Color fans with its first release, but also the Analogue Pocket and DIY efforts from the likes of Funnyplaying. Built around an FPGA chip and offering cartridge support, the ModRetro Chromatic is billed as being the most accurate modern recreation of a Game Boy Color to date.

The recently teased OneXPlayer X1 Ryzen Edition has been officially launched in China. It comes with the AMD Ryzen 7 8840U from the Hawk Point series with a maximum 5.1 GHz clock speed. This Zen 4 processor can be paired with up to 64 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 4 TB of PCIe 4.0 storage. Other aspects of the gaming handheld are pretty much the same as the Intel Meteor Lake variant.

It seems that MSI is working towards delivering a refresh of its Claw gaming handhelds. Arriving less than six months after its initial release, the new MSI Claw will retain existing hardware like a 7-inch display and an Intel Meteor Lake processor.

According to new reports, MSI has turned its attention to a second-generation Claw gaming handheld, less than six months after releasing its inaugural model. Allegedly arriving as the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus, the device will sport a larger display and Intel Lunar Lake processors, among other changes from the current MSI Claw A1M.

ZOTAC is due to officially present its first gaming handheld next week at Computex 2024. In the meantime, the company has allowed one trusty editor to publish the first pictures of the ZOTAC ZONE, which show several similarities between it and main rivals like the ASUS ROG Ally and Valve Steam Deck.

CheckMag The MSI Claw’s debut in the gaming handheld market has been underwhelming, to say the least. With a design that echoes its competitors and a user experience that fails to impress, it’s clear that MSI has significant ground to cover if it hopes to compete effectively.

The Anbernic RG Cube is on its way as a foil to the Powkiddy RGB30. While Anbernic has not released the RG Cube just yet, it has now shown what the RG Cube is capable of in a new emulation video.