Asus and Lenovo’s handhelds get price hike as Valve pauses some Steam Deck sales

And, individually, Valve has briefly 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 briefly 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 have now extra readability on what the timeline finally appears like.

Thoughts you, the $549 512GB Steam Deck OLED is the mannequin I’d suggest anyhow. However mixed with the truth that the Intel-powered MSI Claw AI 8 Plus additionally bought a $100 value hike shortly after launch, it seems like Home windows makers are not meaningfully competing with the the Steam Deck or Change 2, and I’m starting to marvel if Microsoft can be ready to take action when the Xbox Ally launches later this 12 months.

It’s not clear if Trump’s commerce battle with China is accountable for any of those particular value modifications, although it appears possible within the case of the Asus ROG Ally X. The $800 handheld now begins at $900 at Greatest Purchase within the US, however nonetheless prices the equal of $800 at Best Buy Canada, and hasn’t gone up in value in Mexico both.

Asus wouldn’t inform us why the value has gone up, and even affirm the value enhance 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 Could twenty fifth. It told us about the primary $50 value enhance in March, and quietly raised the value one other $50 earlier than launch.

Consequently, 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 decide than it in any other case might have been. Whereas the SteamOS model is way improved over the Home windows one, it’s not a transparent winner over the Steam Deck in efficiency, battery life, display high quality, or consolation in my exams.

I plan to have a full evaluation 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 would not recommend buying the Windows Z2 Go version, 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 evaluation, after I warned readers to not purchase its disappointing predecessor, and the corporate not solutions my emails.

If these costs all appear too excessive for you, there’s one deal I maintain seeing anecdotally: apparently, some retailers are providing YMMV closeout offers as little as $349 on the original Lenovo Legion Go with removable controllers. I discovered it cumbersome and uncomfortable to carry, and a sequel is on the way, but it surely’s extra fascinating at that value, and its Z1 Excessive chip makes it extra highly effective than any Z2 Go handheld.