We’ve seen plenty of competitors for Valve’s Steam Deck pop up within the practically two years because it hit the market. While firms like Asus, MSI, and Lenovo have all put their spin on the hand held gaming PC kind issue, all of them diverge from the unique in a single main means: They run Windows as a substitute of the Linux-based SteamOS. Ayaneo, a Chinese producer that was one of many first to get a Steam Deck competitor out the door, is trying to fill this area of interest with its newest machine, the Next Lite.

Based on the company’s promotional page, coming with SteamOS built-in is certainly the most important differentiator for this mannequin, which in any other case appears practically similar to the original Ayaneo Next from 2022. The promotional web page says that the gadget makes use of a 7-inch, 800p display screen (similar to the unique Steam Deck) and a 47 watt-hour battery. Other {hardware} particulars haven’t been revealed, however it looks as if it’s a protected wager that that is operating on the identical Ryzen 7 5825U {hardware} because the Next, or one thing similar to match into the identical case. More particulars could also be revealed tomorrow, when “subscriptions open.”

Ayaneo

Running SteamOS is likely to be an enormous plus for potential players. Integration with Steam and its ubiquitous retailer is a big a part of the console-style all-in-one expertise of the Steam Deck. Despite needing to run many video games by way of the Proton Linux compatibility layer, most AAA video games appear to carry out superbly on the comparatively low-power {hardware}. Having that ease of use and integration on one other machine could possibly be an enormous mark in its favor. Valve has been growing SteamOS since 2013, when it tried and didn’t make Linux-based “Steam Machines” opponents to consoles just like the Xbox and PlayStation.

Ayaneo is de facto stressing the “Lite” a part of the machine’s title right here, saying that it’s a “cost-effective choice” and it’s “lowering the entry barrier.” But think about the context. The Ayaneo Next at the moment prices $1,315 from the corporate’s official retailer, and in accordance with promotional graphics, that’s already “$966 off.” So nevertheless little the Next Lite prices, it appears extraordinarily unlikely that it’ll be aggressive with the Steam Deck or different handhelds from main gamers, all of that are nicely under the $1,000 USD mark.