And, individually, Valve has quickly stopped promoting the $649 1TB mannequin of its Steam Deck OLED within the US and Canada, citing unspecified provide chain constraints:
Steam Deck OLED 1TB fashions are quickly out-of-stock within the US and Canada as we adapt to current provide chain constraints. We anticipate being again in inventory by finish of summer time, and at present count on costs will stay the identical. We’ll replace right here as quickly as we’ve extra readability on what the timeline in the end appears to be like like.
Thoughts you, the $549 512GB Steam Deck OLED is the mannequin I’d advocate anyhow. However mixed with the truth that the Intel-powered MSI Claw AI 8 Plus additionally obtained a $100 worth hike shortly after launch, it seems like Home windows makers are now not meaningfully competing with the the Steam Deck or Swap 2, and I’m starting to marvel if Microsoft might be in a position to take action when the Xbox Ally launches later this yr.
It’s not clear if Trump’s commerce conflict with China is answerable for any of those particular worth adjustments, although it appears probably within the case of the Asus ROG Ally X. The $800 handheld now begins at $900 at Finest Purchase within the US, however nonetheless prices the equal of $800 at Finest Purchase Canada, and hasn’t gone up in worth in Mexico both.
Asus wouldn’t inform us why the value has gone up, and even affirm the value improve to The Verge, after repeated emails.
Lenovo, in the meantime, raised its costs on the entry-level Legion Go S with SteamOS twice earlier than it put the hand-held on sale Might twenty fifth. It advised us in regards to the first $50 worth improve in March, and quietly raised the value one other $50 earlier than launch.
In consequence, the $599 Legion Go S now prices $50 greater than its closest competitor, the $549 Steam Deck OLED, which makes Lenovo’s handheld a harder choose than it in any other case may have been. Whereas the SteamOS model is far improved over the Home windows one, it’s not a transparent winner over the Steam Deck in efficiency, battery life, display screen high quality, or consolation in my assessments.
I plan to have a full evaluate of the SteamOS model of the Legion Go S quickly, now that I’ve examined each the Z2 Go and Z1 Excessive configs. I nonetheless wouldn’t advocate shopping for the Home windows Z2 Go model, which has been discounted all the way down to the identical $599. In case you’re questioning, MSI nonetheless has not despatched The Verge an MSI Claw 8 AI Plus for evaluate, after I warned readers to not purchase its disappointing predecessor, and the corporate now not solutions my emails.
If these costs all appear too excessive for you, there may be one deal I preserve seeing anecdotally: apparently, some retailers are providing YMMV closeout offers as little as $349 on the unique Lenovo Legion Go together with removable controllers. I discovered it cumbersome and uncomfortable to carry, and a sequel is on the way in which, but it surely’s extra attention-grabbing at that worth, and its Z1 Excessive chip makes it extra highly effective than any Z2 Go handheld.
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