Best handheld gaming consoles 2023

After careful hands-on testing, we feature our favorite gear and gadgets as Mashable Selects products in our dedicated shopping guides.

> Tech > Gaming Consoles

The Nintendo Switch has dominated the conversation around handheld gaming consoles for several years now thanks to its innovative hybrid design, relatively accessible price point, and monumental, still-growing lineup(opens in a new tab) of games. (Who needs horsepower, anyway?) It's now one of the bestselling consoles of all time — but it's not the only handheld worth buying these days.

After dozens of hours of hands-on testing, our favorite handheld consoles include the glitzy Nintendo Switch – OLED Model(opens in a new tab) ($349.99), the compact Nintendo Switch Lite(opens in a new tab) ($199.99), the slick Valve Steam Deck(opens in a new tab) (starting at $399), and the delightfully nostalgic Analogue Pocket(opens in a new tab) ($219.99). These are four unmistakably different systems in terms of their overall designs, features, and/or use cases, but they all excel at making great games playable on a portable level, and offer solid specs for the money.

Here's a more intensive breakdown of each console to help you figure out which one's best for you — whether you're hunting for a portable PC setup, sitting on a pile of old Game Boy cartridges, or just desperate to play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on the best system available.

Nintendo Switch – OLED Model (opens in a new tab)

Best display

a white oled nintendo switch displaying its homepage in front of a window

Credit: Adam Rosenberg / Mashable

Specs

Type: Hybrid
Size: 9.5 x 4 x 0.55 inches (with Joy-Con controllers attached)
Screen: Seven-inch OLED multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, 1280 x 720 resolution
Weight: 0.93 pounds (with Joy-Con attached)
Storage capacity: 64GB; expandable using microSDHC or microSDXC cards up to 2TB
Battery life: 4.5 to nine hours
Bluetooth connectivity: Yes

Buying Options

$349.99 from Amazon

The 2021 iteration of Nintendo's bestselling multi-use console doesn't reinvent the handheld experience with any earth-shattering upgrades, but it's still a stellar device for solo or group play and arguably the best Switch to date.

Its biggest selling point is right there in its name: The Nintendo Switch – OLED Model(opens in a new tab) has a flashy seven-inch OLED touchscreen display with a minuscule bezel, sharp contrast, and a "vibrant palette of colors," said Mashable's former senior games reporter Adam Rosenberg. It excels in handheld mode, where you play with both Joy-Con controllers attached to its sides, and in tabletop mode, where it gets a boost from a wider, sturdier kickstand with an adjustable hinge. (Compared to the standard, non-OLED Switch, this feels more like a "natural extension" of its hybrid design than a "flimsy accessory," to quote Rosenberg again.) Thanks to some onboard speakers with "enhanced audio," it sounds just as good as it looks.

Nintendo further justifies the OLED Switch's $50 price bump from the standard model(opens in a new tab) ($299.99) with double the onboard storage capacity — you get 64GB of space instead of 32GB. You can also expand that storage with a MicroSD card.

This console didn't quite deliver on what players really wanted in a successor to the standard version, which was a next-generation "Switch Pro" with more horsepower and 4K graphics. Its screen's resolution still clocks in at 720p, and it still has an output of 1080p when docked in TV mode. It's powered by the same NVIDIA Custom Tegra processor, so you might still run into frame drops(opens in a new tab) in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's dense Korok Forest. And its battery still lasts 4.5 to nine hours per charge, depending on the game. Functionally, it's the same system we've had for several years — just in a shinier, prettier package.

All of that being said, the OLED Switch remains a fantastic, uniquely versatile console in its own right. You probably don't need it if you bought a standard Switch anytime after 2019 when it got a better battery(opens in a new tab), but owners of the now-discontinued 2017 launch model could benefit from the upgrade.

Recommended games:

Read our full review of the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model.

Nintendo Switch Lite (opens in a new tab)

Best portable console

a close-up of a man's hands playing "stardew valley" on a gray nintendo switch lite

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Specs

Type: Portable
Size: 8.2 x 3.6 x 0.55 inches
Screen: 5.5-inch LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1280 x 720 resolution
Weight: 0.61 pounds
Storage capacity: 32GB; expandable using microSDHC or microSDXC cards up to 2TB
Battery life: Three to seven hours
Bluetooth connectivity: Yes

Buying Options

$199.99 from Amazon

Nintendo's smallest, slimmest, and cheapest system is the Switch Lite(opens in a new tab), a handheld-only console from 2019 that ditches the detachable Joy-Cons for built-in controls. It can't be used for TV or tabletop play, and it lacks any sort of revolutionary specs, but that's not the point here: Its chief purpose is to offer a friendly, approachable portable gaming experience, and it totally delivers.

Our testing included several fun sessions with Hades and Breath of the Wild, and it really is incredible that you can get titles of that caliber on a device that's the size of a small clutch. Plus, you're technically not missing out on any power: It runs on the same NVIDIA CPU as Nintendo's other Switches, and its LCD touchscreen (while not OLED-pretty) is plenty bright and colorful.

You won't have access to the entire Nintendo library from the get-go, mind you. Some games are incompatible with the Switch Lite out of the box because it doesn't natively support HD Rumble and IR motion controls. The good news is that it's only a handful of titles(opens in a new tab), and the problem is easily remedied by pairing the console with a separate Joy-Con.

The other thing about the Switch Lite that blew us away in our testing was its feather-light build: This thing weighs just over half a pound. (For comparison's sake, the standard Switch weighs 0.88 pounds — it doesn't seem like much, but it makes Lead Shopping Reporter Haley Henschel's hands get cramped and numb after an hour or so.) It's extremely comfortable to hold for long periods of time, with a familiar layout that features a traditional D-pad instead of a four-button setup like the other Switches. We'd play the Switch Lite all day if it let us — its battery sadly maxed out around four to five hours in our testing. If you're going to take it with you on an extended bus ride or flight, make sure you juice it up beforehand.

Finally, the Switch Lite's onboard storage is capped at 32GB, just like the standard model, so you'll definitely need to buy a separate microSD card if you want to load it with more than a couple of games. But as with all of its shortcomings, the Switch Lite's exceedingly reasonable $200 price point makes this easy to swallow.

Recommended games:

Read our full review of the Nintendo Switch Lite.

Valve Steam Deck (opens in a new tab)

Best for playing PC games

a valve steam deck resting against pillows in front of a window

Credit: Dylan Haas / Mashable

Specs

Type: Hybrid, but dock sold separately
Size: 11.7 x 4.6 x 1.9 inches
Screen: Seven-inch IPS LCD, 1280 x 800 resolution
Weight: 1.47 pounds
Storage capacity: 64GB emmC, 256GB SSD, or 512GB SSD; expandable using microSD cards
Battery life: Two to eight hours
Bluetooth connectivity: Yes

Buying Options

$399 from Steam

The 2022 Valve Steam Deck(opens in a new tab) is unlike any device that has come before it. Simply put, it's a handheld that shrinks the PC gaming experience down into a conveniently portable package.

Using Steam's built-in OS, the Deck gives you access to the entire Steam Store library (including your own account, if it's already attached to a PC rig). Not every game in there is compatible with the Deck, but Steam kindly labels the ones that can run on it within their storefront — and the selection is enough to keep you busy for a while. From there, you can install games directly onto the device and start playing.

The power of the Steam Deck is remarkable. We had multiple "pinch me" moments as we booted up demanding games like Elden Ring, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and God of War and experienced zero performance issues. Even games that aren't "Deck Verified" ran smoothly after we messed around with some graphics settings. (Playing Red Dead Redemption 2 on a handheld was surreal.)

We also appreciated the Deck's desktop mode, which basically turns it into a pint-sized computer that you can use for web browsing and more. If you're patient enough, you can even program it to boot up non-Steam launchers like EA Origin and Ubisoft Connect, but it's a complicated process that requires some Linux know-how. It's a downside for those who want an all-encompassing PC experience with no limitations, but there's still so much here to enjoy that it's not a dealbreaker by any means.

The hardware itself is also great, but not without some minor faults. We really enjoyed the Deck's form factor and the layout of its controls, especially the rear-mounted buttons and dual trackpads on each side of its screen. It's comfortable to hold, and reaching each button is never a struggle. The device is on the heavier side, though, and you start to feel that weight after a few hours into play. That is, if you can get a few hours of play — unfortunately, the battery life of the Steam Deck isn't the best. Its quick drain is understandable when you consider how much power is required to run some of these games on a handheld level, but that doesn't make it any less annoying. Thankfully, you can still play it while it's plugged into the included charger.

PC gaming has traditionally been inaccessible to a large swathe of people because of the steep financial investment and need for constant troubleshooting. The Steam Deck is able to democratize it for all players, and to us, that's a gigantic feat.

Recommended games:

Read our full review of the Valve Steam Deck.

Analogue Pocket (opens in a new tab)

Best for playing retro games

a top-down view of an analogue pocket sitting on a table next to candles, a jar of matches, and a plant

Credit: Dylan Haas / Mashable

Specs

Type: Hybrid, but dock sold separately
Size: 5.86 x 3.46 x 0.86 inches
Screen: 3.5-inch Gorilla Glass LCD, 1600 x 1440 resolution
Weight: 0.6 pounds
Storage capacity: N/A
Battery life: Six to 10 hours
Bluetooth connectivity: No

Buying Options

$219.99 from Analogue

Succumbing to nostalgia sometimes isn't worth it, but that's not the case with 2021's Analogue Pocket(opens in a new tab). It isn't just a handheld that plays classic Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games — it's a marvel of game preservation and a shining example of how something old can be refreshed in a way that amplifies what made it special in the first place.

To be clear, the Analogue Pocket is not an emulating device. The Pocket actually runs classic Game Boy cartridges, bringing that retro experience to a brand-new console — one with much better build quality, a stunning display, and a bevy of fun extras.

The Pocket's screen is extremely sharp, boasting 10 times the resolution of the original Game Boy and rivaling some of today's other handheld gaming devices. It even looks great on a TV when you hook it up with the Analogue Dock (sold separately for $99.99) à la the standard Nintendo Switch, which pleasantly surprised us. The audio quality is immaculate and expertly recreated some of our favorite gaming moments of the past. The hardware itself is also incredibly well-made — it has a true "premium feel," and each of its buttons is super responsive.

The Analogue Pocket features a lot of cool extras, too, like the ability to develop your own games using openFPGA, and even create 8-bit music. We don't have experience with game development ourselves, but knowing that anyone with a Pocket has access to free programming software is an exciting prospect for us as players. You've got the option to apply screen filters that make your games look like they would on original Game Boy consoles, and to pair the device with separate adapters for Game Gear, Neo Geo, Atari Lynx, and TurboGrafx-16 cartridges. We wish the cartridge slot wasn't fully exposed, but it's not a big problem at the end of the day. (Just leave a cartridge in there — easy fix!)

The Pocket is truly a one-of-a-kind device and one you need to get your hands on if retro gaming or game preservation is of any interest to you. Now, the debate can finally be put to rest: The best Game Boy is, in fact, the Analogue Pocket.

Recommended games:

Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Tetris
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Any old Game Boy cartridge you can get your hands on

More in Gaming, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch

How we tested

We spent at least 10 hours apiece with the Nintendo Switch Lite, the Valve Steam Deck, and the Analogue Pocket, playing at least three different games on each console throughout our testing periods. Former senior games reporter Adam Rosenberg previously reviewed the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model for Mashable, so we synthesized his experience for this guide.

Factors we took into consideration when compiling our recommendations include:

Game library: The types of games you're interested in will probably be a (if not the) deciding factor in your purchase, since each different handheld supports wildly different titles and formats. In other words, don't buy a Pocket if you want to get into Elden Ring or Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Console type: Some handheld consoles are hybrid systems, meaning you can play them without any external setups or use a docking station (typically sold separately) to connect them to a TV or monitor. The Switch OLED takes things one step further and works in tabletop mode, where you disconnect the Joy-Con and use the console as a standalone screen while it's propped up on its built-in kickstand.
Display quality: Handheld consoles have small screens by nature, but a display should still be crisp and bright enough so that players can read small text and take in tiny details without squinting.
Storage capacity: Most modern handhelds aren't particularly well-endowed in the onboard storage department (if they have it), but they usually give players the option to expand it with a separate microSD card, which is nice. One exception on this list is the Steam Deck, which comes in 256GB and 512GB SSD variants in addition to the 64GB eMMC base model (all expandable); they're priced at $529 and $649, respectively.
Battery life: A handheld console's battery life can vary drastically depending on the games you play and your brightness settings. (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at full blast will slurp up juice way faster than Stardew Valley at half brightness, for example.) But generally, it's a huge plus if you don't need to charge it after just a couple of hours of use.
Form factor: The button layout and weight of a handheld can greatly impact your comfort. If your hands and wrists get sore or tingly while playing, consider investing in a compatible grip for your console.
Bluetooth support: This one's a must if you plan on wearing wireless headphones or earbuds while you play.
Overall value: If a handheld's price is rivaling that of a standard Xbox or PlayStation gaming console, it should have the specs and features to justify it.

One handheld we've played extensively but chose not to include in this guide was the standard Nintendo Switch from 2019. It's an excellent console that will receive plenty of support for the foreseeable future, but the OLED model has a better screen, an improved kickstand, and double the storage for only $50 more. There's no desperate need to upgrade if you already own the standard Switch, as mentioned earlier, but first-time buyers would be wise to go straight for the newer one.

There are three other handhelds we'll soon be testing for consideration for this guide:

The Logitech G Cloud is designed for playing games through cloud services like Xbox Game Pass and NVIDIA GeForce Now. It's priced at $349.99 (but often on sale for $299.99), and it's sold out(opens in a new tab) for the time being.
The Panic Playdate is a quirky little Game Boy-style console with a crank controller that supports a seasonal library of indie titles. It comes in at $199 and is currently on backorder.(opens in a new tab)
The (actually real) ASUS ROG Ally is an upcoming Steam Deck competitor that's rumored to start at $599.99 for 256GB of SSD storage. It's set for release on May 11, and you can sign up for email notifications about preorders at Best Buy(opens in a new tab).

Frequently Asked Questions

The Nintendo Switch is the most popular handheld console out there, and it's not even close. The system's standard, Lite, and OLED models have sold a combined total of 122.55 million units worldwide as of Dec. 31, 2022, which makes it the third-bestselling console of all time (behind the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 2).

In our humble opinion, the Nintendo Switch Lite is the best handheld for casual players because of its simple form factor, affordable price, and bountiful library of games across all skill levels. (Check out Mashable's guide to the best cozy games if you're not sure where to start.) It's perfect for quick pick-up-and-play gaming sessions on your commute, during breaks, or before bed.

Dylan Haas

Dylan is a reporter for Mashable Shopping. Follow him on Twitter @iamdylanhaas, or send him an email at [email protected]

Haley Henschel

Haley is a Mashable shopping reporter based in Chicago. Before joining the team, she covered politics for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, wrote about exotic pet ownership for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, and blogged for several Jersey Shore stars. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games and hanging out with her parrot (Melon) and dog (Pierogi). You can follow her on Twitter at @haleyhenschel(opens in a new tab) or reach her via email at [email protected](opens in a new tab).