Which is a better Portable Handheld PC?

the onex and ayaneo spec wise are better. But price to performance the steamdeck wins by a landslide.

Steam Deck has better build quality (imo, might have a video comparison) but it also has steam itself behind it. I think it will have better official support and huge community support as we have already seen.

Steam Deck. It's certainly not as powerful, but as long as you don't mind knocking an occasional game down to 30fps, it has much better support, customizability and is a great price to boot.

There isn't even a choice here - Steam Deck all the way. Best hardware purchase I have ever made.

I don't know about the other two, but i would always go for the SteamDeck as a portable pc / portable console. The performance and specs are great for that price. Also the quality of the components is very great. + you can expand the harddrive if you need or get replacements / fixes. It's all disassembled on IFixIt sites and i think if the battery dies / loses capacity you won't have a problem getting replacement. Also for other parts. Because it's very distributed and popular.

But the strongest point is the optimization, ecosystem and integrity. SteamOS (Archlinux is the base of it) is very well tweaked for gaming + you can use all of your Steam library + games will be tweaked for SteamDeck controls from game devs and also proton does a really good job.

And specs aren't everything, even more if the device is way pricier, but hasn't that much optimization systemwise.

• there are many tutorials and easy steps to get emulation running.

• you can also use Arch somewhat as a laptop or desktop replacement on the go or at home, if you got a hdmi display, keyboard, mouse or additionally the dock. (it's a bit expensive imho.)

until someone else starts using SteamOS, Steamdeck reigns supreme

No poll? It's unlikely many here have any or more than one of those you suggest.
I have a SteamDeck and it's become my primary gaming machine - turns out I far prefer curling up on the couch or bed than I do sitting at a computer after 8 - 10 hrs already for work. It affects my game buying (or winning) decisions - if a game doesn't run well then I'm unlikely to consider it. One of the best features is being able to tap the power button to put the device to sleep while a game is running, and be able to pick it up again from the same point.
Love the device so much I sent one to my son in Australia.

Just this morning I read this article which compares the $400 Deck to the $1300 Ayaneo 2. Outcome was: buy the Deck.

It's been a year since I got myself a steamdeck, it's still fucking awesome.

I own Deck and so far I'm happy with it. Will it be a good good choice for you or won't - really depend on your plans for it and scenarios of use :)

Will just note that there are 426 games in your library already deck-verified and 611 more are marked as playable. Check yourself here.

Can't speak to the others but I have a Steam Deck and I've been very happy with it.

Steam Deck is so useful for so many things. Used the heck out of it for a month of international travel, made the plane trip a breeze, was much better than a phone for simple computer tasks with a tiny foldable keyboard, and I even hooked it up with a hotel HDMI to watch a movie (I also use it as a media playing device with Plex/VLC).

At home it's great too, can play on the couch, and then prop it up in the kitchen to use as a portable movie player when you feel like it. The Steam OS makes it as plug-in-play as you can get for the vast Steam library (which means no need to purchase a new library of games if you already have a PC backlog!), and the Desktop mode functions well enough to get by even with no knowledge of linux.

It's just so handy in so many ways, I definitely have no regrets, especially at half the cost of a similar laptop which is likely heavier, bulkier, and requires a separate controller if you want to game.

Oh, and if you intend to do any heavy traveling - get quality noise cancelling earbuds to go with it. Airpods Pro 2 worked well for me, and combined with Steam Deck made the plane trip a relative delight compared to years of putting up with engine noises and crying babies.