this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2024
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They know none of the competition are anywhere close to as good since they don't use Linux.
They also don't have the thumb touchpads that Valve has put so much effort into. That's a huge form-factor advantage.
A lot of them also prioritize high resolution displays, which hurts performance and battery life. I've said before and I'll say again: IMO the 720p display is the Steam Deck's killer feature
Downscaling doesn't fully solve the battery life issue; the graphics are lessened but it's still lighting a lot of pixels. And the fact that the difference is negligible is exactly why I think it's so great. Don't waste hardware and software power where it will do no good.
I wouldn’t even consider another handheld if it doesn’t have those touchpads. So much of my library would become unplayable without them.
Steam Input integration with the touchpads is so underrated, mode shifting between a keypad and game commands is something that literally nothing else can replicate. Not to mention the dual haptic feedback, and accurate pressure sensing. Really opens up a world of possibilities
Wish Valve considers a Steam Controller 2 with the game guts as the controller in the Deck. Despite the Deck taking heavy inspiration from the OG controller, the difference in experience is night and day
I own the Lenovo Legion Go, which runs Windows 11 and has one thumb touchpad. It also has removable controllers, one of which turns into an ergonomic mouse.
I needed a new computer for photo editing and my cousin wanted me to start playing Star Citizen with him so this ended up being the perfect solution for me.
I'm super psyched seeing more competition in the market, though. I'd love to see how comprehensive yet portable PCs can become.
How often do you actually use the vertical mouse?
Depending on what I'm doing, not at all or religiously.
If I'm just doing edits in Bridge, Camera Raw, or Lightroom, I actually mapped my controller's buttons using JoyToKey so that I've now got an incredibly fast workflow for those. If I'm using Photoshop, Illustrator, or playing games, that vertical mouse is my best friend and an absolute game-changer.
I used JoyToKey for years, but I'll add that you can make a desktop binding for steam, if you keep it on in the background anyways
It's a bit more complex macro system and you can use on screen menus and such if that'll improve your workflow. I used a gamepad as my mouse for almost 5 years in everything I did.
Yeah, I'd really have been far less picky about which handheld I bought if it weren't for getting Adobe CC for free through work and my cousin wanting to play Star Citizen. I'd instead be rocking whatever flavor of Linux made me feel good, just like I am on my home server and my old Chromebook.
All that being said, I really do love the vertical mouse. There's something incredibly satisfying about having a pistol-grip and using my trigger-finger to pelt the opposition in Halo followed by a middle-finger-activated melee. Plus, the thumb placement for the scroll wheel just feels superb in any situation.
I'd give the Lenovo Legion Go a solid 9/10 if it were running Linux, lol. For now, it's gotta settle for my 7.5 since I gotta deal with Microsoft popping up some ridiculous alert every other 30 seconds because I don't wanna log into stuff.
I ended up getting a steam deck after being an owner of multiple GPD products and dealing with windows on those. I considered a Go, but I'm done with windows handhelds. I hope either steamOS catches on as a mainstream or all the other hardware manufacturers get together and decide to all use Linux.
I tried Linux on a GPD Win 2, it was a such a nightmare that I'm not interested in any handhelds that dont COME with Linux either. I want proper driver support and not be forced to spend hours and hours diagnosing why my screen is either sideways or only showing half
That's a very fair point. And to your credit, the screen on the LeGo is natively portrait, which really screws me over in some highly specific scenarios.