Handheld Gaming Is Having a Renaissance—These 5 Devices Prove It

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What a ride handheld gaming has been on. For the longest time, Nintendo was the only company that really, really cared about handhelds. Sony dropped the PSP in 2005, but after waning interest, it folded. But, now that developers are putting out app-store titles, mobile gaming has taken off, and everyone wants to jump in.

Our phones are more game-capable than ever. Apple even announced that the new iPhone 15 Pro is going to be able to run Assassin's Creed Mirage. That's a huge AAA title that'll be running on the most popular phone in America. It's a big statement from Apple, and one that's going to push this whole space forward. Nintendo is chugging along, but the other console big-boys are trying to get a foothold in mobiles too. The future looks bright for the on-the-go gamer.

Only downside? That means there's so much out there. Seems like every couple of days, there's another massive launch, and someone else is claiming to be at the forefront of handheld gaming. Our take? A lot of it isn't as good as it seems, but it's still fucking great. We're done a lot of testing, and these are the five handheld gaming devices we would actually buy right now. This is what's worth your money.

Switch OLED

The Switch is the obvious place to start here. Now almost five years old, and with 2021's release of the OLED version, Nintendo’s combination portable/home console has thoroughly stamped out any suspicions of being yet another Nintendo gimmick (sorry, Wii U). We’ve had Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe—but not just first-party games. Fans of Nintendo adore the Switch for its always-expanding catalog of Nindies, a fantastic cross section of indie gaming that separates itself from other catalogs because you can take it anywhere. Well, almost. As I said earlier, the Switch doesn’t exactly feel like a portable. It’s hefty. Maybe it’s just my anxiety, but I always feel a little bit scared carrying it outside, away from the safety of its dock. And not all games run too well in handheld mode.

Switch Lite

The Switch’s younger brother, the Switch Lite, is a bit more like what we expect from a handheld. But with its $200 price tag, this one is tough to justify. Sure, it’s much better on-the-go and always gets the job done in a pinch (especially for younger gamers!), but the Lite kind of defeats the purpose of the console—it loses the feature that gives the Switch its dang name. Still, there’s a certain thrill that comes from playing hugely expansive titles like Breath of the Wild on a machine the size of a flatbread. I’d tell you to go pick up a Switch instead, but you probably already have one.

Edge Gaming Tablet

We've written at length about this Razer handheld. Essentially, it's not the revolution it promised, but everybody needs to chill with the hate. It's an incredible handheld that takes some work to get perfect. It's in one of those weird Android spaces, so if you want anything that's not included on-device, it's going to take a bit of tinkering.

Other that though, it has unparalleled visuals for a handheld, and with Steam Link and Xbox Game Pass installed, you're going to want that for the console-sized games you'll be running.

Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra

We had to list a tablet on this roundup because, when it comes to portable gaming, a lot of gamers ignore the crazy potential of modern tablets. With an HDMI dongle and a trusty Bluetooth controller (hell, you can even just use your Xbox controller), these things become all-in-one powerhouses.

Why pick an Android tablet, though? Why not go with the ubiquitous iPad? Well, Androids are just a lot easier for emulating and all the other shit you'll need when gaming. This new tablet from Samsung can get so many retro consoles running that we'd need a whole separate article to list them all. That’s not even the main attraction, though. Fans of Xbox know that the Xbox One, Series S, and X can all be streamed directly onto smart devices via the Xbox app. Together with services like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna, this Galaxy Tab feels like the equivalent of an entire garage full of gaming paraphernalia.

15 Pro Max

One of the big announcements from Apple's 2023 event was the A17 Pro chipset that's powering the new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. It's so powerful, such a leap for Apple, that this phone is going to be able to handle AAA console titles with a 120Hz refresh rate. Assassin's Creed Mirage is going to be available natively on this phone. It's actually insane, given Apple's underperformance in gamine previously.

To be fair, there have been early reports that the phone isn't having the easiest time running console-sized titles. But! It's a big declaration from Apple.

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