If you like video games, a gaming laptop or a tablet can be a good bet, but nothing's more attractive nowadays than a gaming handheld. The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular handhelds out there, which makes the recent announcement of the Switch 2 all the more exciting.
However, since the Switch launched in 2017, a ton of competitors have popped up, from the Steam Deck to the ROG Ally. What's more, in many ways, these handhelds are much better devices than the Switch, and they may well be better buys than the Switch 2.
Read on for our top seven reasons why you should get a gaming handheld instead of a Switch 2.
7 They're more comfortable
Can Switch 2 feel as good as its competitors?
While the Switch 2 is bigger than the original Switch, it's still on the smaller, thinner side of gaming handhelds. Make no mistake, that's good for portability, but the extra space between buttons on competitors like a Steam Deck makes the handheld gaming experience a lot more comfortable. This is especially true if you're cursed with bigger hands — no need to worry about fat-fingering.
If you plan on long gaming sessions in handheld mode or on playing high-intensity games that require speed and skill to excel, it's hard to imagine you'll perform better on a Switch 2 over another handheld. Plus, considering the Switch line targets a budget price point, more expensive handhelds tend to have better build quality, contributing to greater comfort.
6 They come with as much storage as you want
A 1TB Switch 2 might not be in the cards
The original Switch came with just 32GB of internal storage, while the OLED version bumped that up to 64GB. You can expand that further with a slower microSD card, but that's not the same. We expect the Switch 2 to have more storage capacity. However, even if it doubles or quadruples, that leaves you with just 128GB or 256GB at the very most. Other handhelds have a lot more.
Competitors can easily be outfitted with 512GB or even 1TB of internal storage, allowing you to keep as many games as you'd like installed without having to sacrifice speed by way of moving them to a microSD card. Switch 2 will most likely be priced affordably, too, so it's tough to imagine we'll see pricier models with more storage, at least until there's an OLED-esque refresh.
5 They have bigger libraries
And that's counting backward compatibility, too
We don't know all the details about Switch 2 backward compatibility just yet, but even if every single Switch game works on Switch 2, a handheld that runs Windows, like the ROG Ally, can play tens of thousands of games spread across a variety of different launchers. You aren't limited to games that came out in 2017 or later with a gaming handheld; you can go much further back than that.
Plus, there's a greater variety of games, too. Whether it's RTS games that traditionally weren't built for console play or simply games that were too complicated for the Switch to run all that well, competitors like the MSI Claw or Legion Go can run pretty much anything. And that includes all the big competitive, free-to-play games of the day, like Warzone, Apex Legends, or Valorant.
4 You get your experience, your way
Tweak and customize to your heart's content
On consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X, you can choose between different graphical modes, like quality and performance, but that doesn't even scratch the surface of what's possible on a machine like the Steam Deck. You can adjust everything to your heart's content, whether it's shadow quality, texture resolution, effects, or anything else, blending fidelity and framerate.
We don't know exactly what sorts of graphical modes will be offered on Switch 2. Still, it's safe to say that there won't be anything like the customization available on PC-based handhelds, just like the original Switch and other consoles from Microsoft and Sony. If you want to fine-tune your games to suit your preferences, there's just no reason to opt for a Switch 2.
3 They have emulators
Play all your favorite Nintendo games
A Switch 2 might be able to play Switch games and whatever Nintendo classics from older consoles Nintendo brings to it, but a Windows handheld can play PlayStation 2 games, GameCube games, DS games, PlayStation 3 games, N64 games, and NES games. The list truly goes on and on. The world of emulation is as wide as it is deep, and you can play anything.
Even modern consoles have been made emulatable in recent times, like the PS4. Plus, emulation doesn't just let you play games; it lets you play games in higher resolutions and frame rates than ever before and even lets you modify them. You can do more with a game on an emulator than you can with the game itself, but unfortunately, Switch 2 isn't going to offer the same experience.
2 They have modern online features
Like achievements and party chat
As it stands right now, Switch doesn't have achievements or party chat without a smartphone. It doesn't have built-in screen sharing or streaming. It doesn't even support direct messaging. But with a portable PC handheld? You can do all of this and more. If your handheld runs Windows, you'll have access to the entire library of Windows applications out there, and those numbers are in the millions.
Whether you're looking to unlock achievements on Steam or talk to your friends on Discord, whether you want to stream to Twitch or share a clip on Google Drive, pretty much anything is possible. Naturally, we expect some online service upgrades with Switch 2, but if we had to guess, Nintendo probably won't give us everything you can do on a PC-based handheld.
1 They have much better hardware
More features, better graphics, and higher framerates
It's true that we're mostly going off leaks when it comes to the specifics of Switch 2 hardware, for now, but all signs point to a familiar $399 handheld gaming experience, and simply put, this just won't be able to compete with significantly more expensive, more premium handhelds out there. Plus, a lot of companies make handhelds, so you can expect more powerful ones regularly.
If you're looking for top-tier technology, like an OLED display, or the best storage capacity, like up to a TB, or simply the highest framerates and best graphics you can get, well, that likely means you're better off with something that isn't the Switch 2. This isn't to say the Switch 2 won't be a major upgrade over the original, but that doesn't mean it'll have best-in-class hardware.
Still, some may end up preferring the Switch 2
In many ways, the Switch 2 is slated to be out-competed by competitor handhelds, and that's just inevitable. However, all the competitors out there won't have at least one thing the Switch 2 will: Switch 2 games. Over the course of the next, perhaps, eight years, Switch 2 will definitely get some legendary exclusives from a ton of legendary franchises, which makes for a pretty good deal.
That being said, if you aren't obsessed with playing the latest Zelda, Mario, Pokémon, or Animal Crossing games, well, you may not want to wait for a Switch 2 and instead pick up one of the many gaming handhelds out there, like the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Legion Go, or MSI Claw. Of course, though, these devices can get expensive, and Switch 2 likely won't be, so keep that in mind.
