Steam Deck OLED winning ‘Best Gaming Hardware’ this year tells us that rival handhelds need to ditch LCD

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It’s that time of year again, where video games meet glitzy award shows. Well, we’ve not quite reached the The Game Awards yet – that doesn’t come until mid-December. Instead, the results are in for the Golden Joystick Awards via Gamesradar+, and the Steam Deck OLED has won top prize for ‘Best Gaming Hardware’ in 2024.

Valve’s OLED upgrade to the Deck didn’t even come out in 2024, but the device has proven to be a smash hit and it recently got a limited edition white model which many fans have been desperate to snap up. One rival handheld which did come out this year to much excitement was the ROG Ally X, an upgraded variant of the original Ally, but it sticks to LCD.

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Steam Deck OLED wins Best Gaming Hardware at Golden Joystick Awards 2024

The 2024 Golden Joystick Awards took place on November 21st, covering categories from ‘Best Storytelling’ to ‘Best Game Adaption’ and the Steam Deck OLED earns its spot as the best gaming hardware of choice. This isn’t even the first time Valve’s handheld has enjoyed success at the awards. The original LCD Steam Deck won the same award back in 2022.

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The OLED model didn’t launch until November 2023, so it’s had some time of market to solidify itself as the best gaming handheld and win the hardware award this time around. For reference, the PSVR2 won ‘Best Hardware’ in 2023.

Steam deck OS 3.6.12 — Steam Deck (LCD model) on desk as pictured by PC Guide

More handheld manufacturers need to think about OLED

While it is difficult to one-up Valve in many ways: fanbase, regular SteamOS updates, easy integration with the Steam platform, and much more, one thing manufacturers can start thinking about is OLED. So far, it’s surprising to see not many rival brands opting for the OLED route to compliment their existing LCD models.

So far, we think the best contenders for the Steam Deck are the ASUS ROG Ally/Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go, both of which opt for an IPS display. While IPS is high quality LCD, nothing else so far can match the color accuracy, contrast, and response time of OLED – it also gets bonus points for being more efficient which can help boost that all-important battery life.

OLED monitors do come with a premium price tag, and the Steam Deck OLED is indeed more expensive that than original LCD variant, though it does enjoy other upgrades such as a higher 90Hz refresh rate and bigger battery (and therefore longer battery life). Valve can afford this price bump though considering the Deck is much cheaper than the current Windows alternatives. For example, the newer ROG Ally X is a massive $799.99 – that’s $250 more than Valve’s OLED.

There’s also the argument for Windows handhelds to use SteamOS instead as a much more lightweight operating system which helps sidestep the power drain of Windows 11 on a compact device. That comes with its own problems, so we think adopting a premium OLED panel is the first step forward. The Zotac Zone has done so, but it is yet to see a widespread release and we’re keen to see what brands like ASUS, Lenovo, or MSI (with the Claw) have in their sights.