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Best Handheld Gaming Console 2025 Final Four | Tom's Guide Handheld Showdown Ep2
Sep 24, 2025
Welcome to Handheld Showdown, a bracket-style competition series in which our hosts, Paul and Tony, battle out the best handheld gaming consoles out now. The votes from round one have been counted, and now, we need YOUR help to determine which two consoles move on to the final round. In this video, we reveal the results of round one and give our takes on which gaming handhelds deserve to win. Whether you have your favorite picks already or Tony and Paul have convinced you, make sure to vote in the polls in the community tab now!
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0:00
So this is the first vote that was split between YouTube and the website and narrowly with just 53% of the vote
0:09
Whoa! Give me the ally. Hey guys, welcome back to Handheld Showdown, our bracket-style competition pairing the best gaming handheld consoles available right now against each other to crown the champion of 2025
0:23
In the last episode, we started with eight consoles and asked you to vote on which four should progress through the semifinal
0:30
A massive thank you to those who participated. We received thousands of votes across YouTube and Tom's Guide.com
0:35
And today, the winners will be revealed. In this next round, we'll need your help again to decide which consorts should go through to the final
0:42
But just like last time, Paul and I will be hashing out the matchups first. So, Tony, how do you think the first round went
0:48
Well, I had a lot of fun doing it. It was really cool just pitting all these together and just comparing them
0:54
But I really like the fact that the fans got really into it in the comments section
0:58
Like everybody was like, it was like an actual conversation. And it was cool how people were actually explaining like their own personal rankings as opposed to just saying like, oh, this one's the best and you're dumb
1:07
Like you guys were actually engaging there. So that was really awesome. And we can't wait to see what kind of interaction we can get from this video
1:13
So are you ready to find out who's made it into the final four? So first up in our bracket we had the ROG Li-X versus the Nintendo Switch 2
1:28
Now a few of you actually came at me for describing the Switch 2 as the most comfortable
1:32
which I actually still stand by for longer sessions. The lads at 128KB pointed out that they think this actually has the worst ergonomics
1:39
and suggested if you combine it with a specific grip it could fix the ergonomics to account
1:43
for the asymmetrical stick layout, which would make it more comfortable. Now, hear me out
1:49
Undisputed, this is the lightest. And when I think of comfortable, it's not just about, like, the gaming itself
1:55
It's also about where am I taking this. If I'm taking this on the go, I want something that's super lightweight
2:00
that I can just stick in my backpack for a long period of time. Yeah, like, I understand where they're coming from, you know, as far as, like, ergonomics
2:06
Like, this is just kind of flat. Like, the other ones are actually better designed for your grip
2:11
but this is the lightest handheld we have here. That alone makes it more comfortable to hold
2:17
By a lot. Okay, so let's reset here. The Switch 2 versus the ROG Ally X
2:22
Which one do you think is going through? I hope it's not the Switch 2. I really hope it isn't, but it's the most popular one
2:28
So I'm like, oh man, are they going to pick the Switch 2? After combining the votes from our YouTube and the website
2:35
with an impressive 67%, the Asus Rogue Ally beats the Nintendo Switch 2
2:43
and advances to the Final Four. I don't know why I'm so upset about that. No, you guys are awesome
2:48
This is what I wanted to see. See, that's what I'm talking about. We have the best YouTube viewers out there
2:55
Yes. Can you tell I'm excited about that? You're a little excited
2:58
It's not like the Ally X is a bad handheld. It's maybe I just had so much higher expectations for it
3:08
when it was rumored. Yeah. And the Switch 2, I mean, it appeals to the different demographics
3:14
and I feel like even though it's the one I've had the least experience with, it just felt like the most unique in a lot of ways
3:20
Yeah, it is the most unique, but it's also the clear outlier here
3:24
You know, it's like... It's the underdog. This is not for PC gaming
3:28
which is what you want all these for. And I don't disagree with everything you said about the ROG Ally X
3:33
It is iterative, but all those things still, in my opinion, and make it better than a Switch
3:38
I could play Steam games, Windows 11 games. I have the full breadth of everything there
3:44
And again, this is a cool system, but this is really if you're like a hardcore Nintendo guy
3:49
You know, so this is why, again, cool system, but that's why I wanted the RGLX win
3:54
and I'm very, very happy. So I'm good. Next in the bracket were the Steam decks
4:00
A lot of people were amping up the OLED, but I found this one comment really interesting
4:03
I bought a Steam Deck OLED for me in 2023. My wife is not that much of a gamer
4:09
She was enjoying the Switch Lite. So I got her the Steam Deck LCD summer of 2024, and she loved it
4:16
Oh, that's interesting. So I think that's kind of like the point there
4:19
The Steam Deck LCD is a really great introductory system. Yeah. You're not as concerned with performance
4:26
You're probably not as concerned with the differences in the screen quality, especially if you're just, like we said last time
4:31
trying to get your feet wet in PC gaming. the Steam Deck LCD is still a really great deal
4:37
Yeah, I know. Again, it's easy for people to maybe overlook the LCD because OLED's all nice and fancy or whatever
4:44
but it's still a great system. You're still getting the same basic experience
4:48
as far as performance and battery life. So I'm not surprised by that at all
4:52
So with that, which one do you think is going through? I think it's going to be the OLED
4:57
Again, that screen really grabs people. Okay, so after tallying the votes
5:01
with a dominating 91%, the Steam Deck OLED takes it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah
5:08
That's no shock there. 91% though, Paul. That huge though 91 See I even I would have thought we would have been like 75 to 25 no 91 Telling you man people like their OLEDs OLEDs great though but like you can deny that this offers great
5:25
value still. Yeah I mean I still use my original one but the people I've spoken. Next up I know
5:32
this is your baby we've got the Legion Go S with SteamOS versus my baby the ROG Ally. You nervous
5:40
Yes, because I don't think my baby's going to make it through. But we'll see
5:44
Okay. This is the first vote that was split between YouTube and the website. And narrowly, with just 53% of the vote. Whoa
5:54
Give me the hour. The Lenovo Legion go out. Whoa, let's go
5:59
Yeah. I'm surprised. That's disappointing. Look at that. Oh, you guys made my day
6:05
Thank you for that. I was, like, scared, bro. Woo. No, let's look. We need we need a recount. Look how reluctant he would have put it on there, bro
6:16
Yeah, you did that with such hesitancy man. You really hurt you. I'm not happy
6:21
And I honestly thought I was gonna lose because it's like the newest kid on the block, right
6:25
But again, I think that's only one one. Yeah No, I think it's because the steam OS
6:30
It's just the price difference and the performance is basically the same and a lot of people agreed with
6:34
they're like, hey, you can install SteamOS on here in like 20, 30 minutes
6:38
Yeah, but you still have to go through that, though. Yeah. I don't want to go through that
6:42
I mean, I would love for someone to pay me $300 for 30 minutes of work
6:46
I'd be happy to do that. Yeah, sign me up. And finally, that leaves us with the Lenovo Legion Go and the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus
6:56
Two Windows machines, a lot of love out there for both devices. Which one do you think is going through
7:01
Even though the Lenovo Legion Go is the most unique handheld we have out here
7:05
I don't even think this one's a contest. I think it's going to be the MSI Claw. Let's see
7:10
Okay. This vote is split again between YouTube and the website. What
7:14
With the same slim margin of 53%, the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus defeats the Lenovo Legion Go
7:25
Okay. Humanity, our hope in humanity has been restored. Well, you finally got a win, Paul
7:31
I'm happy for you. I think that's a well-deserved win, but I'm surprised that it was that close
7:38
Yeah, I'm very surprised. I would have thought that people would be like, oh, I thought more people would lean towards better performance
7:45
Yeah, no, apparently. But with a larger gap. No, I think just, again, the MSI claw just looks like a regular standard handheld
7:52
You know, the detachable controls may be a little too weird for people. and it's also possible we know the lenovo legion go 2 is going to be coming out later this year so
7:59
maybe they're like nah let's not do that but i'm still surprised it was that close do you think
8:04
there's a bit of recency bias to this yeah there is but i'm actually not surprised right because
8:09
all these systems like they took what the original console did and just made it better right so i i
8:15
get that and maybe it's just me actually it's not just me i i've seen a couple of you in the
8:19
comments also agreeing with this but like i'm i come to this from the the value perspective okay
8:24
So when I look at these handhelds, like, okay, this is the best value with the best screen, like overall for like a lot of people
8:31
This one, the reason I thought this would go through is like, yeah, for bang for my buck, this is the best performance I can get for like $400
8:38
Like nothing else is going to come close to it. Yeah, but this is why I think we got such different responses, because it depends on what you're coming at it from, right
8:46
You're looking at like best value. I'm looking for best experience. Even that experience costs you a little bit more
8:52
So the final four is set. we have the ASUS ROG Ally X versus the MSI Claw 8 AI+
8:58
and the Steam Deck OLED versus the Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS
9:02
With SteamOS. All right, let's kick things off with the ASUS ROG Ally X versus the MSI Claw 8 AI+
9:09
For this round, we're going to get more into the device specs
9:16
as well as some of the intangibles that we think make it better than its opponent. So, Tony, take us through the benchmarks with the Asus ROG Li-X
9:24
Right, so the big story here is the weight and the display. Display on the ROG Li-X is 7 inches, and this in turn gives you a smaller handheld, which is easier to hold
9:35
It weighs a pound and a half, which is like perfect. Not only will you not feel it too much when you're holding it, but also if you slip it into your backpack
9:42
you're not going to feel it while you're carrying it around. Good point. And the other big difference is the chips that they have
9:47
This has the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which I found has pretty good performance overall
9:52
I usually like to set games at medium settings, 720p, and I generally get between 30 and 45 frames a second
9:59
depending on the game. Sometimes I actually get a little bit higher. So I found the performance is pretty good
10:03
80-watt hour battery, which is kind of standard now, but that also gives you decent enough battery life
10:09
Battery life that's at least comparable to a gaming laptop. Like when we tested it, it lasts roughly around three hours
10:15
but in real world testing really lasts around too which is kind of what you would expect but
10:21
you know above average still above average you know but again depends on the kind of game uh cyberpunk will drain a lot faster than something like ninja turtles for example but here's where it
10:29
gets interesting price wise this might have been the winner before because it was 7 but currently at the time of this recording it is so a little bit more The main reason I would actually suggest this recommend this console is because of the battery life and the portability
10:46
100%. I think when it comes to playing these two handhelds side by side, the first thing you'll notice is that size and weight difference
10:53
even just like 30 minutes in. You definitely notice the extra weight here, but with great
10:59
weight comes great performance. And I mean, that really is the story with the MSI Claw 8AI Plus
11:06
So let's first look at the design. Yeah, it's about 1.75 pounds. So like I said, a little heavier
11:13
but we've also got a larger eight inch 16 by 10 display. So not only is it larger by an inch
11:20
you actually have a little bit more screen real estate at the bottom there. And some games do support that extra resolution
11:26
but it's also more immersive when you're using this as, you know
11:30
like a laptop replacement on the go, if you're crazy like that. You can actually see more of your icons and your desktop
11:37
But in addition to that, like I said, we're getting more performance
11:40
So you touched on this already, Z1 Extreme versus the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
11:46
When this originally came out, like there were only like a few titles where it was barely getting a little bit more frames per second than the Ally X
11:56
Now it's consistently across the board. It's either on top or even better than the ASUS ROG Ally X
12:02
and that's the main point here. The fact that they both cost the same is really like
12:07
you've got to get down into the nitty-gritty of what you really value. If you want to get better performance
12:12
you may want to bump the games down to 720p resolution, which actually looks, I would say, decent on the 7-inch screen versus an 8-inch screen
12:20
where it could start looking a little bit muddy. I would disagree
12:24
I don't think that inch difference is going to be too noticeable
12:28
when it comes to playing the games, maybe in your experience. I notice it. I know some people may, but I notice
12:34
I personally haven't. I think when it comes to me playing on the go, I do prefer having the larger screen at the end of the day
12:40
For a lot of the games, I feel like I'm able to get 1080p medium settings as well
12:45
and I'm still able to consistently hit that sweet spot of like 30 to 45 frames per second
12:50
Yeah. And especially with frame gen on, like you can easily get to like around 60 now in a lot of great titles
12:56
Yeah, with the games that support it. When you're comparing these two consoles, do you want something that's a little bit smaller
13:02
Easier to travel with. Easier to travel with, still really great battery life? Or for the same price now, especially now that this has gone up $100, do you want the ultimate performance
13:12
And that's exactly what you get with the MSI Claw 8 AI+. Even though I think the RG AlliX has a lot of things going for it, at the end of the day, if I'm being honest, I got to go with the MSI Claw
13:22
Like, on paper, like, it's, like, just better. And even using it, it's just better
13:29
No shade to Asus here, but, you know, that's what I would pick. I would pick the MSI Claw
13:33
Better hardware. Yeah. Okay, so I think it's pretty clear which handheld we think should go to the final stage, but do you agree with us
13:40
Head to the poll in the post tab in the channel after you watch the video to cast your vote
13:43
Has Tony made the better argument for the ASUS ROG Ally X? Are you going to side with me and send the MSI Claw 8AI Plus through
13:50
I think this one's an easy vote. And second, we have the Steam Deck OLED versus the Legion OS with Steam OS
14:00
The Steam Deck OLED is the higher seat, so let me give you the benchmarks here. So right off the bat, we have one of the strongest reasons to buy the Steam Deck OLED, the OLED display
14:08
OLED, yep. Yeah, so it's got a 7-inch 720p display, which, yes, is maybe a little bit underpowered compared to some of these other devices here
14:18
But that OLED, man, I mean, you made me try it out not too long ago and side by side with these other devices
14:24
It just has so much more pop. It looks incredible. And it's only 1.4 pounds, so it's also one of the lightest that we've had in our bracket
14:32
And in hand, I do think this is a really great device to play for a long period of time
14:38
Just all the buttons are in the places that I'd want them to be. And let me ask you this
14:43
Do you use the trackpads a lot? I don't, but it actually is very responsive
14:48
especially if you're playing, like, an RTS game. You've got to, like, scroll around and stuff. It's pretty responsive
14:53
And it also has trackpads, which some of the other devices we've been talking about don't
14:58
In terms of performance, this is where things might be a little bit lopsided
15:01
We've got the AMD custom APU, which you'll only find in the Steam Deck. And, yeah, it's starting to show a scene
15:08
Yeah, that APU is pretty, it's a grandpa APU at this point. It's starting to show its age
15:12
It's still good for more indie titles, some AAA games, but you're definitely going to have to dial down the settings quite a bit
15:18
I mean, it's not going to change, like, the pop or brightness of your display
15:23
It's going to mean the actual graphics in your games aren't just going to be as high quality
15:28
So in terms of the immersive experience, you do lose out on that, but if your games don't require those high settings
15:35
AND YOU PRIORITIZE HAVING JUST LIKE AN INCREDIBLE DISPLAY THAT'S NOT ONLY GOING TO LOOK GREAT INDOORS
15:39
BUT ALSO OUTDOORS, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S A REALLY BIG BENEFIT WITH OLEDS
15:43
AND IF IT MATTERS TO YOU, THAT ALSO MEANT WE COULD SHAVE OFF 0.1 POUNDS
15:47
FROM THE ORIGINAL LCD. YEAH BECAUSE OF THE OLED WHICH IS REALLY COOL EVER SO SLIGHTLY MORE PORTABLE LISTEN IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IT DOES WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE MOVING ON TO BATTERY IT KIND OF A MIX Yeah because of the OLED which is really cool Ever so slightly more portable Listen it makes a difference It does What makes a difference Moving on to battery it kind of a mixed bag here
15:58
We've got one of the smallest at just 50 watt hours. Yeah, smaller capacity. But again, you're probably playing games at lower settings
16:06
And the optimization that you get with SteamOS and running Steam Deck verified games
16:10
you're probably not drawing as much power from this. 6x RAM was fine when the Steam Deck originally came out, but now we're getting 24
16:18
With a lot of these AAA games, you need more RAM. I think 24 gigabytes is starting to become the minimum
16:26
32 gigabytes is a really nice spot. But one maybe redeeming factor about this is the price is still relatively affordable
16:34
even though we have the nicer display. Pricing for the one terabyte model is $649
16:39
Which is still very affordable compared to some of the others. Relatively, yeah. I'd say so
16:44
Okay, so you made some great points. I'm going to just beat you on some of those. but at the end of the day it is aging hardware despite how great the os is and if you do want
16:54
steam os you actually have a better machine with the lenovo legion go s i said this before many
16:59
times that i want uh the specs of the rg ally x in a you know with steam os and this is literally
17:06
that let's start off with the display which is eight inches versus seven inches for the steam
17:11
deck um which could be a deciding factor right there it is still lcd uh whereas that's oled so
17:18
yeah this still looks way better yeah so yeah in some cases it will look better but this is a lot
17:23
bigger you have more room just to play with um and also 16 by 10 display which is really good
17:28
just like the claw which is really good this is actually very reminiscent of the claw in a lot of
17:33
ways it's just it's running steam west it is a little bit heavier though at 1.6 pounds you will
17:38
feel that after a while, but I also really love the design, despite the
17:42
fact that it's so heavy. The D-pad is really cool. It's like raised
17:46
the og sticks are great, and this also has like trigger locks on the back
17:50
so if you're playing a first-person shooting game, you could get more precise shooting there, which is really cool
17:56
I don't think we've touched on that yet, but this is the only handheld on the
18:00
list that has that. Yeah, it has trigger locks. Yeah, it's a very unique
18:04
thing. It's a must for playing shooters for me now, so I'm glad that it has that. Yeah, but
18:08
obviously if you're playing a racing game you don't want the trigger lock so you can just depress it
18:12
really cool feature this also has a touch pad but as you can see it's very tiny so i i wouldn't
18:18
recommend it i love this system but i wouldn't recommend using that tiny little thing but what
18:22
kind of performance can get out of it right no performance is great you have the md ryzen z1
18:27
extreme chip which is like you know it's it's been around for a while but it's way more performing
18:32
than than this what is that four years now yeah you know zen 2 chip so um you also have 32 gigs
18:38
which you admit is like the bare minimum standard they have now
18:42
And, you know, in my play testing, like you have to play around with the settings a little bit
18:46
Generally, at medium settings and 1080p, I could get like between 40, maybe 50 frames a second
18:53
depending on the game. So the performance is just fantastic. This has a 55 watt hour battery, you know, battery capacity compared to 50
19:01
So that's not a lot on paper. It's also kind of disappointing when you look at like the Ally X
19:06
Yeah, no. And some of the other ones we've tested, right, they're 80 watt hours, and you would figure they could fit that in here
19:11
But I guess, you know, maybe to keep the cost down, they have a smaller battery capacity, which is kind of troubling
19:18
And even in my testing, it generally lasted about like an hour and a half, two hours tops
19:24
So not the greatest. I'm kind of disappointed by that. So when talking about like, obviously, we've got roughly, I mean, 50 versus 55.5
19:33
I feel like that's pretty equal, but we've got a smaller but OLED display here, but an older, a four-year-old chip versus a two-year-old chip that maybe is a little bit more efficient
19:42
Yeah, I will say that, though. Even though the battery life may be somewhat on par, this is a bigger machine with a different chip
19:49
So I'm actually kind of, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe the battery life isn't as bad because you would think with a bigger machine, the battery life might drain even faster than on that
19:58
So that's something to keep in mind. Now let's talk about price. This is marked at $829, but currently at the time of this recording, it's $50 less, so a little bit less expensive
20:08
But that is still way more than this guy. Even though this configuration is expensive at its price point, the combo of the Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip and SteamOS just senses over the top
20:20
This is the handheld to get, in my opinion. All right, so there you have it
20:25
Which two devices do you think are going to make it through to the final? Now it's all in your hands
20:29
So check out the poll posted on the channel and at Tom's guide.com to vote for which device you want to send through
20:34
Keep the comments coming as well. It's been great to interact and see all the discussion happening around the handhelds
20:40
Don't forget to come back for the next episode of Handheld Showdown. And until then, you can find us everywhere at Tom's Guide
20:45
And you can follow Tony and me if you want to see what other gaming tech we're checking out
20:49
Until then, we'll catch you later. Okay. Under the hood, you are actually getting more. Yeah. Yeah
21:02
I mean, again, for the camera, I was trying to prop this up, but as I was looking through this
21:06
I was just like, this is the clear winner. Yeah. Better value too. Yeah
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