Good to see someone using Linux for their platform on these handhelds. The big reason I don’t want to try the Ally or whatever the others are doing is I can’t imagine Windows is making the experience better.
I don’t really have evidence to support that, but more Linux investment is better overall.
Windows is a multi-layered abstraction hell that is the opposite of good, portable, performant software.
Competition always is good to have! Glad to see someone finally adopting this awesome OS. It’ll be interesting to see if they implement any new features that are specific to their device.
Dual USB type C is freaking sweet to see!!! More handheld PCs need that.
Honestly if it runs steamOS, I don’t even think it could be considered competition. They’re on the same team.
Because of how good Proton has become, I’m considering dropping Windows and switching to Arch for gaming at my next upgrade.
Two players developing improvements to Steam OS and Proton can only make things better.
Good call :3
Not a PC gamer myself but if you’re new to Linux arch is prolly a bad idea
I took a class regarding Linux administration, and I’ve dabbled here and there, but most importantly, I spun up a VM to practice the initial installation process.
The wiki is super helpful, but it’s a bit spaghettified at times. 😅
Though now I’m wondering if I might prefer NixOS. I have Bazzite on a laptop and my Deck, and I like its atomic behavior a lot, but Nix is kind of a unique take on atomic distros.
Cool :3
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That’s partially true, but Valve’s long term goal with SteamOS is to break their reliance on windows.
Windows previously had plans to require all new software to be installed through their Windows store, which would have destroyed Steam. Thankfully Windows backed off from this plan, but they are instead pushing windows S mode for new computers. If you buy a budget PC it will probably come locked down where it can only install Windows apps. This can be disabled, but requires you to have administrative privileges on the computer (which many kids/etc won’t have). It also requires you to log into the windows store with a Microsoft account to disable it, so they require you to take all the steps to install windows store content before you can choose to not use their store.
It’s not going to happen overnight, but I suspect the long term windows plan is to force more people (especially kids) into getting software and games through the Microsoft store. People like to buy games from the same place, so if you get kids started building their PC gaming library in the Windows store they’ll be more likely to stick with it even once they have other options.
So companies selling windows handhelds will still help valve out short term, but their long term goal (and the reason they invest so much into Linux) is to no longer be dependent on Microsoft windows to sell games. It’s also why they’re pushing for Steam on Chromebooks, to both get young users invested in steam and as another windows alternative.
https://ayaneo.com/article/806
Here is from their website which also says “AYANEO NEXT LITE comes pre-installed with the SteamOS gaming system for the first time”.
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Of all the things I would upgrade on the deck, resolution isn’t one of them. I have never seen a game look blury on that tiny screen. That said, a lot of them are using higher res panels probably because it is what they can find in bulk.
Any word on what the hardware specs are? Someone there used their brain and loaded up SteamOS, but the hardware needs to be worth the jump or it’s just a steam deck clone.
They specifically said “it’s not a powerhouse”. It’s supposed to be a lower power device with a big battery, capable of playing less demanding games for a long time. SteamOS also makes a lot of sense for this goal, since windows handhelds get pretty terrible battery life in low power games. The price is supposed to be low as well, although it’s not clear yet if that’s just low by Ayaneo’s standards or if it will actually be cheaper than the deck.
That fits the kind of use case I would want from something in addition to the Deck. That said, I don’t know this is the form factor I’d want; what I’d love is something that could actually fit in my pocket like a Gameboy. This seems like it’d be a bit big for that.
Maybe look into emulation handhelds? Not really what you’re looking for but some small and cheaper ones run up to ps1 for 40-50 euro
Fantastic. One of the weirdest things I’ve heard from people casually interested in Steam Deck is: can I put Windows on it? Things like this at least suggest to those people that, in fact, not everyone using the Deck is wrong when they say the SteamOS/Linux experience is great, after years of work.
Of course the competition is good too!
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Knowing ayaneo they will release it and it’ll be obsolete in 10 minutes
What happens to AyaneoOS then?
From what I heard, they decided to use SteamOS instead. They wanted to avoid “fragmentation”, although I’m not sure that would really be a concern for Linux.
I imagine steamOS is going to be a more polished experience than AyaneoOS would have been, and hopefully have better support/updates.
Interesting choice to include Aperture Desk Job onscreen in this shot
Why do you say that? It works on PCs. All you need is a controller. The game adapts to the controls you have and the ones you lack.
For example, on my Steam Controller, when it asks you to press the four buttons on the back, pressing the two paddles on the SC emulates the Deck’s two on one side and two on the other.
