The Steam Deck won’t be the only handheld gaming PC running SteamOS in the near future thanks to Ayaneo

(Image credit: Ayaneo Next Lite)

Up until this point, the only way to use SteamOS on a portable gaming PC is to fork out some dough for a Steam Deck directly from Valve. However, a new company has thrown its hat in the ring and has just announced its plans for its own SteamOS handheld PC.

Ayaneo has previously released Windows-based handheld gaming PCs - like the Ayaneo Geek or the Ayaneo Air - and has just announced a new product that will be shipped with Valve’s SteamOS pre-installed, the Ayaneo Next Lite.

This very pretty handheld PC looks very similar to the Nintendo Switch Lite. According to the official blog post, it will be offered in a variety of colours and offer an ergonomic design that is easy on the hands for longer play sessions, but still features incredible portability.

Competition is good

The Ayaneo Next and the Ayaneo Next Pro retail for well over $1,000 normally, but the Ayaneo Next Lite will be aimed at providing handheld PC gaming that’s more affordable than the rest of its lineup - and possibly the rest of the competition.

It’ll offer a 7-inch display with an 800p resolution screen, a joystick that uses magnets to avoid drift issues (something some models of the Nintendo Switch can be affected by) and X-axis linear motors. In terms of specifications, we haven’t been given much more information than that, though as orders for the PC go live on Ayaneo’s official site at 9.30 PM Eastern time on January 11.

It’s super exciting to see another company offer SteamOS handheld PCs from a company other than Valve, hopefully opening up the door for better products and more variety for users according to their budget or even desired aesthetic. You may want to give handheld PC gaming a go but might not want to put down the money or a Steam Deck, want something smaller or just a more unique device.

Muskaan is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing writer. She has always been a passionate writer and has had her creative work published in several literary journals and magazines. Her debut into the writing world was a poem published in The Times of Zambia, on the subject of sunflowers and the insignificance of human existence in comparison. Growing up in Zambia, Muskaan was fascinated with technology, especially computers, and she's joined TechRadar to write about the latest GPUs, laptops and recently anything AI related. If you've got questions, moral concerns or just an interest in anything ChatGPT or general AI, you're in the right place. Muskaan also somehow managed to install a game on her work MacBook's Touch Bar, without the IT department finding out (yet).