“What can we do differently?” The next hardware giant wants to build its own Steam Deck competitor.

Gigabyte is considering its own gaming handheld, but also makes it clear that without a clear unique selling point, there will be no product.

Gigabyte is considering its own gaming handheld. This was confirmed by CEO Eddie Lin in an interview with PCWorld during CES 2026 in Las Vegas. The Taiwanese hardware group, one of the world’s leading hardware manufacturers, is therefore closely monitoring the booming market for mobile PC game consoles.

However, Lin also makes it unmistakably clear that an “Aorus” handheld will only be released if Gigabyte can develop something unique.

Gigabyte does not want a “me too” product

Lin explains that “building a handheld device is not difficult” and points to numerous Chinese manufacturers who already produce such devices.

The real challenge lies elsewhere: “The right question is about differentiation: What can we do differently?” In this context, the CEO insists on preserving the brand identity and not simply throwing a “me too” device onto the market. This stance is justified by a mere glance at the current market. With the Steam Deck, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, the Lenovo Legion Go 2, and the MSI Claw, there are already numerous established gaming handhelds, each with its own strengths.

Accordingly, Lin does not mention a time frame in which such a Gigabyte handheld – perhaps under the Aorus banner – could be launched. From an economic perspective, it would currently be advisable for the company to wait before releasing a new product anyway.

Finally, the memory crisis is unlikely to spare the handheld market; the increased cost of memory is already leading to either reduced configurations or more expensive models in numerous product groups.

In return (assuming the overheated market cools down), Gigabyte could focus on the advances of upcoming APU generations:
Intel seems to be doing a more than decent job with the Panther Lake generation, while AMD has already been making a good impression since last year with the Strix Halo series and plans to expand its portfolio in the coming months.