Steam Deck OLED vs ROG Ally X vs Legion Go S: which handheld should you buy after the 2026 price hikes?

Short answer (Nov 3, 2026): buy the Steam Deck OLED unless you need Windows. Even after Valve's May price rise it is the cheapest of the three at $789 for 512GB, and the lightest. The ROG Xbox Ally X ($999.99) is the one to pay more for if you play Game Pass or other PC stores, or want the 1080p 120Hz screen and the biggest battery. The Legion Go S with SteamOS now costs the same $999.99 as the Ally X, which makes it hard to recommend over a $789 Deck. Every price here was read on the maker's own US store on November 3, 2026.

How much does each handheld cost now?

Here are the US list prices on each maker's own store, read on November 3, 2026. Retailers run their own sales, so check the store before you buy.

• Steam Deck. Valve raised the OLED models on May 27, 2026 "due to rising memory and storage costs", per Gematsu's report that day: the 512GB went from $549 to $789 and the 1TB from $649 to $949. Valve's Compare Steam Decks table still shows those two prices today, and the 256GB LCD is listed with no price, so the cheaper LCD Deck is not an option from Valve right now.
• ROG Xbox Ally. Pure Xbox reported on Feb 17, 2026 that the Ally X had gone up in Japan but that "this price hike hasn't happened in the US". ASUS's US store and Microsoft's Xbox page both still list it at $999.99 today, and the base ROG Xbox Ally at $599.99.
• Legion Go S. GamingOnLinux reported on Apr 21, 2026 that the SteamOS Z1 Extreme model launched at "around $829.99". Lenovo's store lists it at $999.99 today. The cheaper Z2 Go model's page says it "is no longer available".

Steam Deck OLED vs ROG Ally X vs Legion Go S: what's different?

All three play your PC library. The spec sheets below are copied from Valve, ASUS and Lenovo's own pages, read November 3, 2026.

The Steam Deck OLED is the only one of the three with an OLED screen, and Valve lists it at 1,000 nits peak HDR brightness. Its resolution is the lowest at 1280 x 800, which is also why its 4-core chip copes: there are fewer pixels to draw. Valve rates its battery at "3-12 hours of gameplay", depending on the game.

The ROG Xbox Ally X has the strongest chip on paper (ASUS lists the Z2 Extreme at 8 cores and 16 threads), the largest battery at 80Wh, a 1080p 120Hz screen with variable refresh rate, and Windows. Microsoft says it powers on "directly into XBOX mode", a full-screen launcher, and that you can reach games "from XBOX and other PC game storefronts". That is the reason to buy it over a Deck: Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Epic, EA or Battle.net games without workarounds.

The Legion Go S has the largest screen (8 inches, 1920 x 1200) and the most RAM at 32GB, and it is the only one sold with SteamOS or Windows. It is also the heaviest at 730 g per Lenovo, and at $999.99 for the SteamOS version it costs $211 more than a Deck OLED that runs the same operating system.

Which handheld should I buy?

Pick by how you play, not by the benchmark chart.

• Your games are mostly on Steam: Steam Deck OLED 512GB, $789. It is the cheapest of the three, the lightest, has the best screen for dark scenes, and SteamOS is built for it. Valve's Deck Verified program rates how well each game runs on it.
• You play Game Pass, or buy on Epic, EA, Ubisoft or Battle.net: ROG Xbox Ally X, $999.99. Windows runs those stores natively. Microsoft runs its own Handheld Compatibility program for the Ally, so you can check a game before you buy it.
• You want the biggest, highest-resolution screen and you're on SteamOS: Legion Go S, $999.99, but only if the 8-inch 1200p screen matters more to you than $211 and 90 g.
• You have $600, not $800: ROG Xbox Ally, $599.99. ASUS lists it with a Ryzen Z2 A (4 cores / 8 threads), 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, a 60Wh battery and the same 7-inch 1080p 120Hz screen as the Ally X. It is the cheapest new handheld from these three makers today.
• You want OLED and Windows: the ROG Xbox Ally X20 adds a 7.4-inch OLED 120Hz HDR screen to the Ally X's chip and memory, at $1,299.99 per Microsoft's page.

Game Pass and other PC stores

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X

Windows handheld with a 7-inch 1080p 120Hz screen and an 80Wh battery. The Steam Deck OLED is sold only by Valve, so it isn't here.

Best for: Game Pass, Epic, EA, Ubisoft or Battle.net libraries.

Check price on Amazon

Today's price shows on Amazon

The cheapest new handheld of the group

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally

Same 7-inch 1080p 120Hz screen as the Ally X with a Ryzen Z2 A, 16GB of RAM, 512GB and a 60Wh battery, per ASUS.

Best for: a $600 budget, lighter games and older titles.

Check price on Amazon

Today's price shows on Amazon

Is the Steam Deck still worth it at $789?

For most people, yes. The rise took away the Deck's biggest selling point, the low price, but its rivals got more expensive too: the Legion Go S on SteamOS went from about $829.99 at launch to $999.99, and nothing from ASUS, Lenovo or Valve with SteamOS costs less than $789 today. What you lose against the $999.99 machines is resolution (800p against 1080p and 1200p), raw chip power and battery capacity. What you keep is the OLED screen, the lowest weight and the software Valve tunes for one device.

If $789 is more than you want to spend, the honest options today are the $599.99 ROG Xbox Ally (Windows, not SteamOS) or waiting. We don't know of a cheaper new Deck from Valve right now: the LCD model has no price on Valve's page.

Why did handheld prices go up in 2026?

Memory. Valve gave "rising memory and storage costs" as the reason for the May rise, per Gematsu. The same shortage of DRAM and flash pushed up the ROG Xbox Ally X in Japan in February, per Pure Xbox, and the Legion Go S at US retailers in April, per GamingOnLinux. The Steam Deck, the Legion Go S and the Ally X all carry 16GB to 32GB of soldered memory and 512GB to 1TB of storage, which is exactly the part that got dearer. The same shortage is behind the $1,049 Steam Machine.

What we didn't check

• Performance in specific games. We haven't tested these handhelds ourselves, so this page compares makers' specs and prices, not frame rates. Check the game's Deck Verified or Handheld Compatibility rating.
• Retailer prices. Best Buy, Amazon and others sell these at their own prices, which change often. We read only the makers' own stores.
• Prices outside the US. All prices here are US dollars on the US stores.

Older games are a different question: if you mostly want to play your old consoles' library, a retro handheld costs far less, and our emulator guide covers what runs where. If you're also weighing the Switch 2, see Steam Deck OLED vs Switch 2 on price.