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Handheld Showdown: Legion Go 2 vs Xbox Ally X, Steam Machine Rumors & What’s Next In Handheld Gaming
Dec 30, 2025
In this special episode of Tom's Guide's Handheld Showdown, Tony and Paul break down everything new in handheld gaming since the dust settled on our Best Handheld of the Year bracket competition. They dig into the mixed reactions to the Lenovo Legion Go 2 and ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X, which were two of the most hyped up handheld gaming console launches of this year. Plus, they look ahead to what’s coming next, including the MSI Claw A8, the Steam Machine rumors and what all this means for the future of PC gaming handhelds.
To wrap things up, Tony and Paul jump into a rapid-fire Q&A, answering your biggest questions about battery life, performance, pricing, and whether now is the right time to buy a handheld gaming PC!
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0:00
A lot of people have been saying that they bought this and like instantly returned it within like that day
0:05
Instantly returned it. The Legion Go 2, is it worth getting it over the first Legion Go? Yes
0:09
Maybe. If you've paid a thousand dollars for this, you don't want to hear it's getting there
0:13
Welcome to a special episode of Tom's Guide Handheld Showdown, where earlier on in this year we pitted the best gaming handhelds available
0:20
and ask you guys to vote on the winner. Excitingly, you guys voted for the Asus ROG Ally X as the 2025 champion
0:27
But before the confetti had settled, new devices had been announced. And now we have three new consoles to talk about
0:33
The Lenovo Legion GO 2, the ROG Xbox LIX, and the MSI Claw A8
0:38
In this episode, we want to get into all the fallout and reaction to these new devices
0:42
preview the MSI Claw A8, and answer some of the questions from you, the audience
0:46
and see what you guys want from your handhelds in 2026. So let's get into it
0:57
Okay, so the first handheld release post our tournament was the Lenovo Legion GO 2
1:07
We previewed this on the final episode, and now it is available to buy with its gorgeous 8.8-inch OLED display
1:14
Tony, you were a little less impressed when it actually came time to reviewing this
1:19
What disappointed you most? The main thing that disappointed me was the price. As configured, this is $13.49, which is super expensive
1:27
So, you know, very hard to actually recommend it to people. And then, of course, as you guys know, I'm always complaining about this
1:33
Windows 11, this is running stock Windows 11. And even before we started shooting, like, this video
1:38
Already more updates. Updates, all this stuff, very frustrating to deal with. And then the battery life was not great, 2 hours and 15 minutes per hour testing
1:46
So, it's, like, all these things. Like, I really wanted to like this. It's hard to recommend
1:51
It's just Windows love and it's annoying and the price is too much. So the other really big thing is it's big size
1:57
So are you willing to compromise portability for that better display? In some cases, yes
2:04
Like if you're trying to just hold it like this, like just straight up, you are going to get tired quickly
2:09
But one trick I usually do, by the desk anyway most of the time, just pop the kickstand like this, just play it so it's a little easier
2:16
But I agree, like if you're on a plane or something, like it's going to like really weigh down
2:21
When you're doing the kickstand trick, are you usually playing with the controllers attached or are you actually playing
2:26
No, I play with the controllers attached. I know it kind of scratches up on the table, but I don't really like playing them detached
2:32
It just kind of feels weird to me. It's not something about the system. I don't do that with the Switch either
2:37
I just like the controls to be on something. So let me get your thoughts on this
2:41
I went through our comments on our various videos. This one kind of applies to all three of our handhelds
2:47
I love my Legion Go 2. I have had the ROG Ally X, so our winner, and they also have the MSI Claw 8 AI+, so not the new one
2:57
They didn't go for the ROG Xbox Ally because it's just a slap of branding and interface
3:02
Hands down, the best handheld of the year goes to the Legion Go 2
3:05
Yeah. No, I mean, I said this in my review. If you're willing to stomach the price
3:11
And the size. Yeah, and the size. This is an admittedly fantastic system
3:15
And, you know, as I also said in the previous video, if I could get that leaner version of Windows 11 on this, it'll be really enticing
3:23
So commenters said they like it as is. So, you know, there is a market for the system
3:29
You know, it was sold out on Lenovo's website for a reason. Then next, there was a ton of excitement as the rumors of Xbox partnering with Asus for a handheld got a lot of buzz in our community
3:44
These rumors came true with the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X, which launched back in October
3:50
People were stoked about getting a console experience on a handheld. But honestly, the reception's been a little bit mixed, with people pointing to one major caveat
3:58
This is not an Xbox. But Tony, why do you think this is or isn't an Xbox
4:05
Well, it's not a matter of thinking. I know it's not an Xbox because you can't play all your Xbox games on it
4:10
original Xbox games, Xbox 360 games, and even some Xbox One games cannot run on this
4:15
Basically, whatever runs on Xbox PC Game Pass will run on this
4:19
If it's not on PC Game Pass, it ain't running on it. Let's just be honest. It is an Asus ROG ally with, like, Xbox controllers slapped to the side
4:27
This is our winner. This is our winner, the Ally X. With batter controllers and a new interface
4:33
Yeah, but I want to completely, like, dunk on this because there are some good things. I really love the leaner version of Windows, which actually does make a big difference when it comes to performance and battery life
4:43
It's just really good. And if you're familiar with the Xbox interface, it's easy to navigate
4:48
And I really enjoy the ergonomics. It looks weird, but when you hold it, it's like, oh my God, this feels so good
4:55
I want other handhelds to do this. The handhelds, the handhelds specifically, just feel so good
5:01
When this was first rumored, I'm like, this looks way too big. But when I finally got it in hand, I was a bit of a believer
5:08
I'm like, okay, I get it. Like, this actually feels like the closest
5:11
It's really good, yeah. To a full, like, a traditional Xbox controller in a more portable form factor
5:18
Yeah, you wouldn't think, like you said, it looks very heavy, but the weight distribution is really smart on you
5:23
It helps so much. Like, even though this is, like, this is a chunky boy, this is heavy
5:27
But the way you're holding this, it distributes the weight a lot better. It makes it more ergonomic
5:31
Like, I can play my games for a lot longer. Even though my original Asus ROG Ally, like two years ago now, it's smaller, it's lighter, but this helps distribute the weight a lot better
5:42
I can play much longer with this new design. Super comfortable design. Again, I want more handhelds to literally just copy that design
5:50
It's so good. But before we get too far into these other handhelds I want to make one thing clear right now This full screen experience it available on all these other Windows 11 gaming handhelds right now You can actually update your Windows 11 to one of the
6:04
preview versions and you can install it right now. And by the time you're watching this video, it actually might be part of the public release. So you can actually launch into the full screen
6:12
experience. You can get that more optimized, less Windows 11 happening in the background to get
6:17
slightly better performance. But the important thing and the reason Tony and I love it so much
6:22
is that you don't have to deal with the Windows 11 desktop experience as much anymore
6:26
You can jump into your games a lot quicker, very similar to SteamOS, which, you know, the fact that Windows 11 is now playing catch-up is really great
6:34
But while this was an exclusive feature with the ROG Xbox Ally X at first
6:39
it's, you know, it's coming to every other handheld right now. Now, let me get your thoughts on this
6:44
So I've been reading throughout our videos, whether it's like the Setup Essentials, your original review, or even some of our other handheld videos
6:49
A lot of people have been saying that they bought this and instantly returned it within that day
6:54
Instantly returned it. Yeah, they were disappointed. I'm finding out about this right now. That's crazy
6:58
And I think it really does have to do with the expectation that this is an Xbox
7:04
And them opening it up and being like, why am I dealing with Windows 11
7:08
This is a computer. Yeah, that's a good point. Because if you buy a Legion Go 2, you know you're going to have to go through that whole process
7:15
If you think this is a real Xbox, you're not expecting that. You're expecting to log into your Xbox account and play
7:21
And you have to deal with, I'm not exaggerating, an hour of Windows updates
7:25
I could see why people, they may have even returned before finishing the updates. Like, I wouldn't blame them
7:29
That's not good. It's not a great first impression. I will say this. Like, once you can get past that, not to say that Windows 11 won't be annoying in the future because it definitely is
7:38
Yeah. It is so much better. It is a lot closer to SteamOS. Yeah
7:42
The thing is, it's not perfect yet. Like, the Xbox full screen experience sometimes just crashes
7:47
Sometimes it's slow. sometimes buttons don't do what they're supposed to do. And here's the other thing
7:51
Sometimes when games are supposed to open up and you would think it would just open up full screen
7:56
and I'm running into my games. I've had that happen to me. I know what you're talking about. It'll take you back to the Windows desktop experience
8:03
for some reason because it has a weird third-party launcher that you have to go through that first
8:07
Again, it's just not as seamless as it could be. Is it getting better? Yes. Is it there yet? No
8:11
Is it an Xbox right now? It's Xbox-ish. But if you've paid $1,000 for this
8:17
you don't want to hear it's getting there. You want it to be there already. We actually have had a number of people
8:22
bring up the Windows 11 experience on this, the full screen experience on this
8:28
Yeah, so some people have said, I wouldn't actually consider this in the Xbox ecosystem. It's a PC
8:32
Can't even play your Xbox collection of games on this. We kind of explained how you can determine
8:38
if your games will or will not play on it. That's a fair thing to say. But I do kind of think Microsoft
8:42
kind of stuck their foot up their mouth when calling an Xbox is going to make a lot of people assume
8:47
that this is the exact same as an Xbox, but in a portable form. So they're going to think, oh, I can play my Xbox games on there
8:55
There's a good chance you can. There's a good chance that those games and their cloud safes will transfer over
9:00
but it does not automatically mean all those games will be available on here
9:04
Yeah, exactly. Games that are released in the last five years are reasonably safe
9:08
to be able to play on this. They're doing a good job on that. But anything before that, like I said, I can't play my Gears of War 2 on this, for example
9:15
you know, from the original Xbox 360. Does it play any Xbox Play Anywhere titles on it
9:21
Does it? It does. So an Xbox Play Anywhere title are games that are available
9:25
both on Xbox and PC. However, just because it is an Xbox game
9:30
doesn't automatically mean that it's also a PC game. So I actually made a full video, like a Setup Essentials
9:35
talking about things and tips and tricks and settings that you should know about the ROG Xbox Ally X
9:40
and in that I kind of help you figure out what games are actually playable on there
9:44
So if you want a better explanation, go ahead and check out that video. Now, I'm excited to share this next device because I've always appreciated MSI working with Intel
9:58
to shake things up in the handheld market. It didn't always work, especially with the original Claw 7, but I appreciated that option
10:05
That being said, here I have their latest device. This is the MSI Claw A8, and this is actually MSI's first version of a handheld with an AMD chip
10:14
So what this means is it's putting this more in line with the other handhelds that we've seen released over the past year and even before that
10:21
Which all have an AMD chip. The ROG Xbox Ally X. The Steam Deck. Even the Steam Deck, yeah
10:26
So the fact that MSI now has a variant with AMD poses a lot of interesting questions
10:32
So at first glance, besides the color difference, actually the body itself looks and feels pretty similar to the original 8 AI Plus
10:41
although a little bit more ergonomic, and I'll get into that. But at its core, we still have the same display, a 1920x1080 8-inch display
10:49
Not OLED, but actually still really nice. Gets pretty bright, good colors. Inside, instead of 32 gigabytes of RAM, it's actually now just 24 gigabytes of RAM
10:57
So a little bit of a, not a spec bump, what would you call that? Spec down
11:01
A little bit downgrade there. So here's what's interesting. This is basically the same specs as the ROG Xbox Ally X, but with a larger display
11:11
What do you think of, and I'm just going to ask very bluntly, what do you think of MSI caving in
11:16
He's going, forget it. We're putting an AMD chip on this. So when I first heard the rumors that MSI was going to be introducing a new handheld with AMD
11:23
I'm like, does that mean the game is over with Intel? Like, does that mean we're not getting another, like, Claw 8 AI Plus 2 or whatever it would be
11:31
Yeah, yeah. Because here's the thing. The Claw 8 AI Plus is arguably, out of all the handhelds that we've had in our showdown
11:39
the most powerful and one of the most unique because of that Intel chip. It can get, in some games, an extra 5 to 10 frames per second, which is pretty significant
11:48
And it was, at the time, the most expensive. But right now it sitting at the same price as like the ROG Xbox Ally X it cheaper than the Lenovo Legion Go 2 But no apparently this is going to be another variant They want to appeal to both gamers who want AMD or if they still want to stick around with Intel
12:05
They're giving both options right now. But what is it about this specific system that really makes it stand out for you
12:11
Because this isn't your first time with it. You actually got to play this. You got to try it. Can you tell me, do you actually notice a difference in performance
12:18
Overall, it's not that much different than the Z1 Extreme. and that's kind of been the story with other handhelds that have gone from Z1 Extreme to Z2 Extreme
12:27
I think the real benefit really comes from the added efficiency. So when it comes to actually playing this on the go unplugged
12:33
you're getting a little bit more runtime with it. That's the real benefit with the new chip there. How much
12:37
Pricing? Yeah. It's probably going to be around $1,000 to $1,100, but I don't think that's been locked in yet
12:43
So it's definitely on the higher end, but still a little bit more affordable than the Legion Go 2
12:48
and kind of like right in the same space as... On par with the Xbox Ally, yeah
12:51
Ally X. Did we get any comments about this guy? Yeah. A lot of people are now interested, which one should I get
12:57
Should I get the 8 AI Plus or should I get the newer 8? And, you know
13:03
The names just roll off the tongue, don't they? Not really. But in reality, look, the original 8 AI Plus is still going to have better performance than this, I think, in most games
13:11
In reality, it's probably going to be like neck and neck in a lot of things. But the Intel chip still has an extra maybe like five frames per second added performance over this
13:20
So why would you want this over the previous one then? I think if you're just like Team AMD, like if for whatever reason, like there are certain games that for whatever reason are just better optimized for AMD chips
13:31
If you find that most of your games are better optimized for AMD chips, that would probably be the biggest reason you'd want the AMD version here
13:38
One thing that really stuck out to me is that MSI is going to have variants, not only in terms of colors, but chips, AMD and Intel
13:44
And we know Panther Lake is coming. So do you think it's possible we could see that variant
13:49
I think it would be a no-brainer. Hopefully we do because if the past iterations have shown anything
13:57
it's like you can get really great performance and efficiency out of them. The drivers are there now
14:02
There's game developer support for them. Upscaling is on par with AMD and Nvidia right now
14:08
So I want to see Intel stay in the mobile gaming space
14:13
and I think it would be a no-brainer not to see another update to this with an Intel variant
14:18
Yeah, especially since we actually saw a noticeable increase from going from one Intel chip to the next generation
14:23
So, you know, now that we know Panthalink is on the way, I think it'll be a no-brainer for sure
14:32
So look, everyone loves the Steam Deck. It's one of the most popular, and even though it lost��
14:37
I've been standing for this forever. But we can't, like, go on without talking about the surprise release or announcement of the Steam Machine
14:45
a.k.a. the Gabe Cube. The GameCube. Yeah, I love that name. Yeah, and you're kind of underselling it
14:52
That was a megaton announcement. No one saw that coming. Out of nowhere
14:55
Why do you think the Steam machine is so special? Like, why are they releasing this now
15:00
So that's the million-dollar question. Why now? If I had to speculate, which I am obviously in this video
15:08
PC gaming, thanks to handhelds, has become more popular than ever. And people just want simple solutions
15:15
This is probably the simplest handheld to get into. But if you want something with more power, which the Steam machine is promising
15:21
and something you just stick under your TV and just play in your living room
15:25
that could be a possible solution instead of lugging a big PC around
15:30
Me personally, I do have a big rig, and I'm tired of looking at it
15:34
It just takes up so much space in my studio apartment. So if I could have something that plays most of my Steam games
15:40
and I could just keep it under my TV, and something that won't destroy my electricity bill
15:45
I think it's great. I'm kind of torn because all rumors are pointing to this being, yes, much more powerful than the Steam Deck, which is great
15:53
Valve claims six times more powerful. Six times is good. Claims, yeah
15:57
But it also seems to be that it's going to be less powerful than the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, which came out four, five years ago
16:06
Five years ago at the time of this recording. And our friends over at Digital Foundry who, you know, they went to an event to check out
16:12
They said PowerWise, it's between an Xbox Series S and a PS5, but closer to the PS5 end
16:20
Regardless, less powerful. For a machine that's already five years old. Five years old, yeah
16:26
So is it already dead on arrival? Do people just not care about the performance when it comes to a device like this
16:31
They may not, and it's something I'm just going to throw out there. We obviously don't know the price of it, but given how much money Valve makes
16:41
They could theoretically sell that at a loss and undercut the PS5
16:45
Just throwing that out there, it's probably not. Some people have speculated this could be priced like a PC, which would mean over $1,000
16:52
Didn't they actually say that? Didn't they say, like, expect pricing to be like a PC, not a console
16:56
Yeah, they did say that. Doesn't that just make it, okay, if a console's already with the price hikes, like, what, $700 now
17:03
It's $750 for the PS5 Pro at the moment, yes. So what is not a console
17:07
If it's going to be priced like a PC, so would that mean closer to $1,000? for something that's less powerful than PS5 and an Xbox Series X
17:16
Yeah, but I think, no, you're right about that, but the convenience of having your entire Steam library available to you
17:24
just at the press of a button, just as easy as this is, I think that might be a good enough lure for people
17:29
But at the same time, that is a lot of money. Again, we don't know the price yet, and we were talking off air
17:35
I said my personal limit would be $899. even that's still a lot for something more you know that's not as powerful as the ps5 but you
17:43
know given what i've seen on twitter it's anecdotal obviously a lot of people are very excited about
17:47
this here's the thing that i think might be a deal breaker for some people especially those who are
17:51
again coming from that pc side and looking for that pc experience but like on you know a more console experience right The same issue that this runs into this is running Linux
18:04
and that means a lot of anti-cheat software, like we kind of touched upon
18:09
You can't play those multiplayer games on here as easily, or if at all, without running, like, Windows 11
18:15
With the Steam machine, it's also going to be running Linux, because it's going to have that Steam OS. If you want to have that, again, the whole point of buying this thing
18:22
I think for a lot of people, you're not going to be able to play like a big catalog of library
18:26
like a big catalog of games on this new machine. Yeah, that's going to be a lot of problem for quite a few people that play multiplayer games
18:34
I'm just being honest, it won't affect me. I don't play a lot of multiplayer games. I don't care. You know, no, but the thing is, a lot of my friends, yeah, no, but a lot of people do care
18:41
So that's a problem. And yes, like you said, you can just install a Windows 11 on it
18:47
but then it defeats the purpose of having an easy to use console. So that's going to be an issue
18:51
I know there's been rumors that Valve may be considering a solution
18:56
but we've heard those rumors forever. Have you heard anything? Here's what I've heard, right
19:02
Didn't Xbox say that they're going to be trying to bring other game stores
19:06
like Steam to the Xbox? Yes, they did. Okay. I have an Xbox that's more powerful than the Steam machine
19:12
that might also be able to play my Steam games, assuming that it does come to current console lineups
19:19
like maybe that's why they're rushing this out right now or the surprise release they're like
19:24
we need we need to create our own steam console now before everyone else does yeah i'm glad you
19:30
bring that up because that was the first thing i thought of when i saw the steam machine i'm like what's xbox gonna do now like this is basically what we've seen so far of the steam machine
19:37
it's what the next xbox promises to be uh if you guys haven't heard the rumors are suggesting that
19:44
the next Xbox will actually be more like a PC. So that could run Steam and everything
19:49
So if you have a Steam machine now, remember it's coming in spring 2026
19:53
that could seriously undercut the Xbox. But like you said, if the Xbox doesn't have all those anti-cheat restrictions
19:59
that might actually be a better deal. So given how Valve is not really going hard with hardware
20:05
because remember, they also announced the VR headset. Those have a new Steam controller, which is very cool
20:12
What about the Steam Deck 2? What about the Steam Deck 2? What's going on with that? What is going on with that
20:16
Yeah, so when we spoke with them during CES 2025, they said that they're waiting for somebody
20:23
Maybe they'll do it. I doubt it, though. They're waiting for a chip that is between 8 and 15 watts because they really want to prioritize battery life
20:33
They don't want something that's super powerful that's going to die in 15 minutes
20:37
So that's what Valve says. But how long are we going to wait
20:41
You know, this thing, as much as I love it, it is aging fast. And the new Steam Machine, I'm rocking it up to make this seem even older
20:48
So, I don't know. If you're liking our discussion so far, go ahead and check out our reviews on these latest handhelds on the channel
20:55
And keep an eye out for our video on the MSI Claw A8 and the Steam Machine when those launch
21:01
You guys do a great job interacting in the comments. So, as a special gift, we're going to do a round of quickfire questions and answer as many for you as possible
21:08
Producer, start the clock. So for the Xbox AliEx, can you use third-party chargers for this
21:13
Yeah. Yeah. I think you're best off with anything that's like 65 watts or faster for full charging speeds
21:20
Does anybody know the best thing to do when you use all 1TB memory because you installed so many games
21:24
Delete games. On most of these, you can easily expand, I think, up to 2TB
21:30
But yeah, just delete the old ones. Here's a question. Can it play 360 games or is it just Game Pass streaming
21:35
Game Pass streaming. And you can also play Steam games, correct? Yes. The new Xbox Ally X is better than the Steam Deck
21:42
No. Okay, with the Legion Go 2, is it worth getting it over the first Legion Go
21:46
Yes. Maybe. I just want to know if I can take this to work and play Warzone, bro
21:51
Don't get caught by your boss. This or the Steam Deck? Oh, Legion Go 2, right
21:57
Steam Deck. Legion Go 2 or Xbox Ally X? Help me. Ally X
22:01
Ally X. What's the best for a new-to-gaming person? A beginner? Probably the Steam Deck
22:06
Steam Deck. Probably the Steam Deck. Ah, I'm confused. Why would you get a Steam Deck when you can play all Steam games on a ROG anyway
22:13
Budget? Yeah. You don't, like, if you're playing mostly indie games and you don't need the added performance
22:18
just go for the Steam Deck. I'll see. It's cheaper. I just want something that are on Windows and Steam with a good battery
22:22
You could go for either the ROG Xbox Ally X or the MSI Claw A8
22:27
Both big batteries. Why does nobody put trackpads on their consoles? It's stupid
22:33
I agree. It's dumb. Hello. When I press open the Game Pass app, it doesn't open
22:38
what have i done wrong nothing yeah microsoft is wrong blame microsoft okay that was good yeah yeah
22:44
um lots of fun uh been a wild year when it comes to handhelds like we've done so many videos like
22:51
and just seen and we didn't even talk about the switch too that's technically a handheld as well
22:55
it's just a lot and it makes me wonder you know are we gonna get this much of a deluge next year
23:00
i think that's fun like it goes to show like there's a console for everyone here yeah i also
23:06
like the fact that just two years ago, even three years ago, we wouldn't have had this many
23:11
handhelds available to us. So the fact that we're getting so many questions lets you know that
23:15
you know, people are just kind of flush with choice, which is a good thing, even if it could
23:20
be confusing sometimes. And that's all we have for you for now. But we're looking forward to all the
23:24
new releases of 2026 and getting these handhelds back in the bracket to decide who will be next
23:29
year's champion. You can follow us on social at TomSky and don't forget to subscribe to the
23:34
as we're heading to CES in January, and we're sure there'll be plenty of stuff announced
23:38
You don't wanna miss out. Until the next one, we'll catch you later. I mean, I've had like
23:50
I've seen a lot of people just call it strip trash. Like this is
23:55
How do they really feel though
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