A
gaming handheld is a fairly generic term covering a range of uses and devices. But they play some form of games on a portable device. This can for example be the latest AAA blockbuster game, older Windows and
DOS games, and even consoles and computers via emulation.
Lets first take a look at one of the categories of
gaming handhelds, a windows gaming handheld. The Windows handhelds have been growing in popularity over the past 5 years, starting with the Win 1 from
GPD. Since then the handhelds have seen amazing progress in terms of performance and features from more companies such as
ONEXPLAYER and
AYANEO.
The latest
gaming handhelds from these companies run Windows and can play many of the latest games at varying levels of resolutions and graphics settings depending on the game. And because of their high performance, they are also excellent for older games as well as retro gaming. You will often find them supporting the more recent systems including current generation handheld gaming consoles.
The most popular Windows based handheld is the
AYA NEO Next Pro with powerful AMD Ryzen 5825U processor, 32GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage. It is a beast of a handheld and can play the latest Windows games as well as supporting high level emulation.
Android and Linux based
gaming handhelds are tailored more towards the retro side of gaming. Although with Android you do in most cases have access to the
Google Play Store to download and play the latest Android games. These handhelds have lower performance than the Windows handhelds as there is less processing overheads which is reflected in the lower cost.
[embed width= "400" height ="400"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQuCTVnuB8s[/embed]
The best Android
gaming handheld is the
GPD XP Plus which is the updated model with a newer faster MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor, faster storage and output to a TV or monitor. It has great performance, supporting many retro consoles up to more recent systems. It can also play Android games and has built in screen mapping to simulate screen presses when the controls are used.
There are many types of devices in all configurations to choose from which is why we have created a
guide to the best gaming handhelds for your reference. The guide covers what you should be looking for in a handheld as well as price range, operating system and hardware considerations.