Bazzite, a software overlay, significantly improves the handheld gaming experience on Windows devices like the Asus ROG Ally X. Its Steam Deck-like interface, combined with the Ally’s powerful hardware and long battery life, makes it a compelling alternative to Valve’s dedicated handheld.
The first time I installed Bazzite on a Windows gaming handheld, I laughed. It looked like such a blatant clone of Valve’s Steam Deck interface. Its many bugs kept me at bay. Now, an Asus ROG Ally X running Bazzite has all but replaced the Steam Deck in my life. For the moment, it may be the best handheld your time and money can buy — because it brings 90 percent of the Deck’s ease of use to the Ally’s more powerful hardware, larger 80 watt-hour battery, and variable refresh rate screen.
Depending on the game, it can even offer better performance and battery life than the very same handheld with Windows. I’ve been testing it for five months, and I’ve rarely looked back. This combination won’t be for everyone, because the $800 Ally X costs far more than a Steam Deck, and Bazzite still has annoying quirks. But because Bazzite can so convincingly transform a Windows handheld into a true Steam Deck rival, I believe it singlehandedly proves that handheld manufacturers are making the wrong choice if they doggedly stick with Windows, and that others should join Lenovo in hedging that bet as soon as possible. Bazzite is one way — another may come as soon as next month, when we’re expecting Valve to open up its SteamOS to more partners. In review after review of handheld gaming PC, I’ve tried to explain: Windows isn’t a good portable gaming experience. It’s bloated, full of self-serving prompts to share your data with Microsoft, subscribe to Microsoft’s services, and use Microsoft’s apps. It’s not designed to let you navigate with gamepad controls or even do simple keyboarding on a 7-inch touchscreen display. It’s not good at making sure games launch full-screen, and worst of all, I’ve never been able to trust a Windows handheld to sleep and resume properly when I drop it into a bag. The Steam Deck, with its Linux-based SteamOS, has no such problems. It’s far closer to the “it just works” experience of a Nintendo Switch or PS
HANDHELD GAMING STEAM DECK BAZZITE WINDOWS STEAMOS
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