There is no competition. All of these devices will be used to buy and play games on Steam, which was always the goal.
One could argue an ancillary goal was to promote Linux/SteamOS but in that regard they have failed since they haven’t released an official image for general use and no other handheld devices have adopted it.
They have done better than that. They got the community to adapt their image to other devices. Now there is broader device support for mobile Linux gaming and they aren’t on the hook to maintain it. But since it’s open source, can’t really be mad about it.
Sorry my implied meaning didn’t come across. It’s not better for users, it’s better for Valve as they are not taking on responsibility for maintaining other devices.
It would be nice if Valve did that, but I don’t see that happening. They have only done this much because Microsoft wanted to pull an Apple by not allow non-MS markets on Windows. At least with Valve being privately owned they are content to just keep feeding the goose laying the golden eggs.
The goal was to not lock down their hardware to someone else’s operating system, it wasn’t just to sell games on steam. Valve has always been very open about not wanting to be beholden to other corporations for their success and innovation. They realized they could have their own software and hardware platforms that work in tandem more efficiently than slapping windows on the deck due to owning both pieces of that puzzle. Not to mention they were paying modders under the table to help them build dxvk and integrate it into proton.
No other handhelds have adopted it most likely because the drivers aren’t updated for the latest chipsets, which means all efficiency goes out the window (no pun intended). Sure you could probably run the updated Ryzen graphics on SteamOS but it probably wouldn’t benefit the hardware as much as Windows would, considering most power efficiency on Windows is handled more by the OS and not the chipset drivers.
At this point what valve needs to do for more OEM adoption is provide better compatibility for SteamOS’s integrated power management tools and expand the compatibility for SteamOS outside the steam deck hardware. Until that happens these handhelds will just opt for Windows instead because it’s less overhead on the OEM partners.
the goal was to not lock down their hardware to someone else’s operating system
The irony is now that the Deck is locked down to Valve’s ecosystem, while other devices can play games from Steam too but also from Origin, GOG, Xbox, EA Play…
Steam deck is capable of installing apps from all of those stores except obviously Xbox… It’s just an arch Linux desktop. It’s probably the least locked down handheld computer you can buy. Not sure where you’re getting this info that the deck is locked to valve’s ecosystem.
No other handhelds have adopted it most likely because the drivers aren’t updated for the latest chipsets, which means all efficiency goes out the window (no pun intended). Sure you could probably run the updated Ryzen graphics on SteamOS but it probably wouldn’t benefit the hardware as much as Windows would, considering most power efficiency on Windows is handled more by the OS and not the chipset drivers.
Ayaneo already started taking preorders on a SteamOS based handheld, in addition to working on their own distro of Linux
There is no competition. All of these devices will be used to buy and play games on Steam, which was always the goal.
One could argue an ancillary goal was to promote Linux/SteamOS but in that regard they have failed since they haven’t released an official image for general use and no other handheld devices have adopted it.
They have done better than that. They got the community to adapt their image to other devices. Now there is broader device support for mobile Linux gaming and they aren’t on the hook to maintain it. But since it’s open source, can’t really be mad about it.
It’s not better though. As we’ve seen several times, the community can be as much of a hindrance as support.
An official image would give manufacturers the promise of long-term support.
Sorry my implied meaning didn’t come across. It’s not better for users, it’s better for Valve as they are not taking on responsibility for maintaining other devices.
It would be nice if Valve did that, but I don’t see that happening. They have only done this much because Microsoft wanted to pull an Apple by not allow non-MS markets on Windows. At least with Valve being privately owned they are content to just keep feeding the goose laying the golden eggs.
The goal was to not lock down their hardware to someone else’s operating system, it wasn’t just to sell games on steam. Valve has always been very open about not wanting to be beholden to other corporations for their success and innovation. They realized they could have their own software and hardware platforms that work in tandem more efficiently than slapping windows on the deck due to owning both pieces of that puzzle. Not to mention they were paying modders under the table to help them build dxvk and integrate it into proton.
No other handhelds have adopted it most likely because the drivers aren’t updated for the latest chipsets, which means all efficiency goes out the window (no pun intended). Sure you could probably run the updated Ryzen graphics on SteamOS but it probably wouldn’t benefit the hardware as much as Windows would, considering most power efficiency on Windows is handled more by the OS and not the chipset drivers.
At this point what valve needs to do for more OEM adoption is provide better compatibility for SteamOS’s integrated power management tools and expand the compatibility for SteamOS outside the steam deck hardware. Until that happens these handhelds will just opt for Windows instead because it’s less overhead on the OEM partners.
The irony is now that the Deck is locked down to Valve’s ecosystem, while other devices can play games from Steam too but also from Origin, GOG, Xbox, EA Play…
Steam deck is capable of installing apps from all of those stores except obviously Xbox… It’s just an arch Linux desktop. It’s probably the least locked down handheld computer you can buy. Not sure where you’re getting this info that the deck is locked to valve’s ecosystem.
Ayaneo already started taking preorders on a SteamOS based handheld, in addition to working on their own distro of Linux
Yeah and I’m pretty sure they already walked that back and decided to stick to Windows.
Source?
The same source as your (outdated) info – the product page: https://www.ayaneo.com/product/AYANEO-NEXT-LITE.html
Probably would have made sense to start there first, right?