NPC: Next Portable Console

In the first NPC episode of 2025, Brendon and John recap their CES experience with Federico, highlighting AMD’s new Z2 chips, the SteamOS-powered Legion Go S, and more. Together, they explore the technologies and trends poised to define the next generation of portable consoles. Sponsored By: Pika – Sign up today to start telling your story and use code NPC20 for 20% off your first year of Pika Pro. Links and Show Notes Unpacking CES 2025 More from Brendon and John on the MacStories YouTube channel AMD Announces the Z2 Chip The new AMD Z2 chips are nice, ok, and weird Other Devices Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) brings AMD Strix Halo to tablets Up close with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 FE, an incredibly compact flagship video card Thunderbolt 5 and ASUS’s new XG Mobile eGPU ASUS just announced the world’s first Thunderbolt 5 eGPU — the 2025 XG Mobile SteamOS News GeForce NOW CES 2025 Steam Deck and Mixed-Reality Devices Lenovo Legion Go S pre-orders are happening now at Best Buy Polygon SteamOS expands beyond Steam Deck Lenovo Legion Tab Lenovo’s new Legion Tab is an 8.8 inch Android gaming tablet for $500 and up GameSir X2S Controller Nitro Blaze 11 Hands-on with the Nitro Blaze 11, Acer’s massive new PC gaming handheld Credits Show Art: Brendon Bigley Music: Will LaPorte Follow Us Online On the Web Federico and John: MacStories.net Brendon: Wavelengths.online Follow us on Mastodon NPC Federico John Brendon Follow us on Bluesky NPC MacStories Federico Viticci John Voorhees Brendon Bigley Affiliate Linking Policy: https://www.macstories.net/privacy-policy/

To close out 2024, Federico, John, and Brendon present the first-ever HOTYs: the 2024 Handhelds of the Year awards, celebrating the best handheld gaming devices, custom firmware, and, of course, the Handheld of the Year. Links and Show Notes The 2024 Handhelds of the Year Awards Best Handheld under 4" Winner: Anbernic RG35XXSP Runners-Up: Anbernic RG Cube AYANEO Pocket Micro TrimUI Brick Also Mentioned: Anbernic RG28XXH and RG49XXV Best Handheld Between 4 and 7" Winner: Any Odin 2 Runners-Up: Ayn Odin Mini Retroid Pocket 5 Best 7" or Larger Handheld Winner: Steam Deck OLED Runners-Up: Legion Go Asus ROG Ally X Best Custom Firmware Winner: MuOS Runners-Up: Spruce MinUI Best Overall Handheld for Retro Gaming Winner: The Smartphone Runners-Up: Anbernic RG35XXSP TrimUI Brick Ayn Odin 2 Best Overall Handheld for Modern Games Winner: Steam Deck Runners-Up Ayn Odin 2 Handheld of the Year Winner: Ayn Odin 2 Credits Show Art: Brendon Bigley Music: Will LaPorte Follow Us Online On the Web MacStories.net Wavelengths.online Follow us on Mastodon NPC Federico John Brendon Follow us on Bluesky NPC MacStories Federico Viticci John Voorhees Brendon Bigley Follow us on Threads MacStories Federico John Brendon Follow us on Instagram MacStories Federico John Brendon Affiliate Linking Policy: https://www.macstories.net/privacy-policy/

As the year comes to a close, handheld makers haven’t slowed down. We have new devices in hand and on the horizon, plus Legion Go S and Switch 2 rumors, Brendon’s first impressions of the TrimUI Brick, Federico’s latest NDI streaming experiments, new AR glasses and more. Sponsored By: Pika – Sign up today to start telling your story and use code NPC20 for 20% off your first year of Pika Pro. Links and Show Notes The MacStories DS Skins for Delta Celebrate the MacStories Selects App of the Year with the MacStories DS Skins for Delta Available for $3.00 on the new MacStories Store Follow-Up Jason Snell gets a Miyoo Mini+ Upgrade+ segment Based on Brendon’s recommendation The Two Best Entry-Level Handhelds Are On Sale Anbernic RG35XXSP hardware updates Pokémon Emerald Legacy Video Update: Pokémon Emerald Legacy Out Now The Latest Portable Gaming News Android XR Sony, Lynx, And Xreal Are Building Android XR Devices Too Android XR is Google’s new operating system for headsets and smart glasses Android XR and Project Moohan hands-on Gemini is the killer app Hands-On With Samsung’s Android XR Headset, Shipping In 2025 Anbernic Hour: Anbernic RG34XX Anbernic is Just Making a Game Boy Advance No Tweaks Necessary Miyoo Flip Watch Demo video A trailer First Miyoo Flip Reviews (Sort Of) Pop Up On Youtube Lenovo Legion Go S leak shows renders of the cheaper handheld gaming PC Blurry shots of purportedly leaked Switch 2 Joy-Con Topics TrimUI Brick: Brendon’s First Impressions No Tweaks Necessary My Simple TrimUI Brick Setup (MinUI Guide) Available from AliExpress and Amazon Federico Levels Up His NDI Setup Old device: Kiloview N40 New device: Kiloview N60 Vxio A Comprehensive Guide to Gaming on the Apple Vision Pro The XREAL One AR glasses On Amazon Satechi Mobile XR Hub Credits Show Art: Brendon Bigley Music: Will LaPorte Follow Us Online On the Web MacStories.net Wavelengths.online Follow us on Mastodon NPC Federico John Brendon Follow us on Bluesky NPC MacStories Federico Viticci John Voorhees Brendon Bigley Follow us on Threads MacStories Federico John Brendon Follow us on Instagram MacStories Federico John Brendon Affiliate Linking Policy: https://www.macstories.net/privacy-policy/

Tencent and Intel announce a huge handheld, Sony is taking its time, reviewers share early hands-on testing of the Ayn Odin Portal, the Miyoo Mini Flip is spotted across the Internet, Samsung files an intriguing portable gaming patent, and a new eGPU is on the way. Plus, Brendon revisits the Anbernic RG35XXSP, Federico has a mini-surprise, and John and Federico share their first impressions of the Retroid Pocket 5. Links and Show Notes The Latest Portable Gaming News An NPC reader poll Which will be first a Steam Deck console or Xbox handheld Mastodon: Steam Deck Console first (57% to 43%) Threads: An Xbox handheld will be first (73% to 27%) Tencent and Intel Announce the Sunday Dragon 3D One News about Sony’s upcoming handheld from Bloomberg Ayn Odin Portal first impressions are out Retro Game Corps - First Impressions The Miyoo Flip Returns Surfaced images of the carrying case, final hardware, and packaging 11 Anbernic Handhelds in 2024 Samsung Patents Foldable Gaming Handheld Design AOOSTAR AG02 EGPU Dock with OCulink/USB4 Port，Built-in Huntkey 500W Power Supply Topics Brendon Revisits the Anbernic RG35XXSP Anbernic RG35XXSP Anbernic RG351P Into the Aether - GBA episode Federico’s Surprise White Steam Deck Retroid Pocket 5 First Impressions Retroid Pocket 5 Credits Show Art: Brendon Bigley Music: Will LaPorte Follow Us Online On the Web MacStories.net Wavelengths.online Follow us on Mastodon NPC Federico John Brendon Follow us on Bluesky NPC MacStories Federico John Brendon Follow us on Threads MacStories Federico John Brendon Follow us on Instagram MacStories Federico John Brendon