The best mobile gaming consoles are those that offer you an excellent portable gaming experience when you’re on the road. By the time the second half of 2023 rolls around, there are more possibilities than ever before, such as a variety of mobile gaming PCs, retro computers, and dedicated consoles.
Even if we love some of the best game consoles—like the PS5 and the Xbox Series X-for their powerful performance, you are dependent on a gaming TV or one of the best gaming monitors. The biggest benefit of the finest portable gaming consoles is that you can take the best PC and Nintendo Switch games with you everywhere you go.
That latter element is maybe the most intriguing development to date. We also have computers like AyaNeo that rock mid-range to very cutting-edge specs, in addition to the Steam Deck and the Asus ROG Ally. Here are all of our best picks, which also include great portable game systems and consoles from well-known manufacturers like Nintendo.
Even though the hardware is the same as the base model from more than five years ago, the new screen is revolutionary for gaming on the go. The OLED appears very sharp and adds to the brilliant colours of the best Nintendo Switch games, bringing the ultimate portable system, the Nintendo Switch OLED edition, into 2023 and making it your year of mobile gaming.
You can now brose the internet via the Nintendo Switch OLED edition, this means you can access a full array of online games. You’re not limited to games specifically designed for the device, you can take advantage of a poker no deposit bonus and challenge yourself against players around the world as long as you’re connected to the Wi-Fi.
Qualities and layout: There are some obvious modifications in the OLED design when compared to the regular 2017 model. The portable’s screen is now 7 inches instead of the original’s 6.2 inches. This suggests that the brilliant OLED screen takes up more surface area on the console, which improves its aesthetics. Two further improvements are wider kickstands and upgraded speakers.
Cost and availability: At $349.99 / £309.99 / AU$539.95, the Nintendo Switch OLED is not the least expensive portable. However, its library of games is one of the largest and most varied, and its improvements to quality of life extend beyond the redesigned screen.
Performance: The Nintendo Switch OLED boasts twice as much internal storage as the other Switch variants, with 64GB available. Still, we recommend you consider purchasing one of the top SD cards for Switch to make sure you have adequate capacity. The new brilliant mode’s downside is that it considerably reduces overall battery life while displaying the OLED screen’s brilliant colours. Overall battery life is marginally improved, though.
Overall, it’s a big improvement over the base model for portable play, however some games might cause the tablet to become a little warm.
If you’re on a tight budget, the Nintendo Switch Lite is the best portable gaming system in terms of value. Its compact design makes it highly portable as well, fitting neatly in a bag or carry case for gaming while on the road.
Appearance and features: The Switch Lite’s more compact design may be more appealing to younger audiences or those with tiny hands. However, not everyone will find it appealing. Because the Joy-Cons cannot be removed or utilised in docked mode, it is also less flexible.
However, the Nintendo Switch Lite’s lightweight construction and compact 5.5-inch screen may someday make using it in portable mode more pleasant. The Switch Lite comes in a range of eye-catching colours for those who like something a little more vibrant than the standard white or black.
Price and ease of access: For $199.99 / £199.99 / AU$329.95, you get the same experience in a more portable and aesthetically pleasing style than the Nintendo Switch, and it costs $60 / AU$105 less than the standard model.
Operation: Games become sharper to the eye and have more pixels per inch at this resolution, which is equivalent to 720p. As a result, the overall image quality is marginally better than it was with the original model. On the other hand, text-heavy games do poorly, especially when the font is small.
Though it works more like a pocket-sized PC than a dedicated mobile gaming console, the Steam Deck provides all the capabilities you need to play games on the move. This is because, because of its robust technology, this small but mighty device can play hundreds of games from your existing Steam library directly, negating the need for streaming or a separate gaming PC.
Prominent titles like Death Stranding, Elden Ring, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales are just a few instances of the potent games you can play on a home console directly from your palm.
Features and design: You might think that the Steam Deck is rather large at first. It will take some getting accustomed to at first because this potent PC-ready device is bigger and heavier than the Nintendo Switch. However, the way the D-pad, face buttons, and sticks are arranged in relation to the triggers is very brilliant. It also includes two touchpads on the front that are similar to the controller from Steam.
Pricing and availability: The Steam Deck is far less expensive than many other handheld PCs available on the market. The lowest priced version starts at $399 / £349. That comes with 64GB of eMMC storage in addition to a basic carrying cover. You’re better off choosing the $529 / £459 or $649 / £569 models, which feature 256GB and 512GB NVMe SSDs, for better, faster game loading times.
As of right now, it may be bought straight from Valve’s Steam client as well as a select few retailers in the US and the UK. The Australian launch is still scheduled for the future, and no official price has been revealed just yet.
Operation: As mentioned before, the Steam Deck is capable of handling certain visually demanding games. But be ready to forfeit resolution to compensate for it. With a resolution of only 1280 x 800, the seven-inch IPS display on the Steam Deck isn’t nearly Full HD. Though many of the tested and ‘great on Deck’ games work quite well on the gadget, and the small screen size helps, a relatively modest resolution loss isn’t disastrous.