I’ve owned a Steam Deck. I’ve spent time with a Lenovo Legion Go. These are great handhelds, but neither has dethroned my smartphone as my mobile gaming platform of choice.

My Phone Doesn’t Feel All That Different

The Lenovo Legion Go is built like a high-end Nintendo Switch. You can slide the controller off both ends like Joy-Cons. I like this, as it enables me to prop the Legion Go up on a table for my kids to watch while we all sit on the couch. The thing is, I already game this way on my phone.

I can use a clamshell controller like a Razer Kishi Ultra or GameSir G8 to turn my phone into a Switch-style gaming handheld. Since I use a Galaxy Z Fold 5, the inner screen is comparable in absolute size to a Steam Deck, though the dimensions aren’t quite right for many games.

While it may not be as sleek as the Legion Go’s built-in controls, I generally stick to my tried-and-true 8BitDo Pro 2 controller when I want to play on my phone from a distance. My Z Fold 5 is technically even able to prop itself up, though I won’t pretend the narrow cover display is ideal for gaming from afar. I tend to prefer using a cheap phone stand instead.

I’m not saying my phone provides a “better” gaming experience than a device designed exclusively for this one task. My point is that whenever I do pick up a handheld PC, my primary impression is that it feels just like the way I’m already accustomed to gaming.

If my phone is already serving me well enough, why would I drop hundreds of dollars on something so similar?

My Phone Is Far More Portable

There are things that matter more about mobile gaming than specs, performance, and controls alone. By most traditional measures, the gaming handheld is better. But the phone is the one I’m more likely to whip out.

My phone is light enough to not feel like a burden to carry. That means I’m likely to have it on me at those times when I have a moment to game (which is very sporadic since I’m gaming as a parent).

I have my phone with me in the car while I wait for my kids to get out of school. It’s with me if I’m at a fiend’s house, and they’re occupied. I don’t have to consciously remember to bring a gaming device to my parents’ house. It doesn’t feel as awkward to pull out my phone in a waiting room as it would if I hauled out a Legion Go instead. If I want to play games on the toilet, I can.

My Phone Has Better Battery Life

My phone has better battery life than the gaming handhelds I’ve tried out. Foldables tend not to last as long as traditional slab phones since they have larger screens to power, but I’m still not as nervous about the battery going out as I am with a Steam Deck.

When the battery does tap out, my phone is easier to charge. Any USB-C cable will do. Sure, I prefer a fast charger, but if all I have on hand is an old car charger or a wireless charging pad, they will slowly juice up my phone nonetheless. With a gaming handheld, even when the device uses a standard USB-C port, if I don’t have a fast-charging brick, I’m out of luck.

As is also the case with electric cars, ease and speed of recharging can matter more than the total range.

Mobile Games Have Come a Long Way

Is the mobile gaming landscape populated with the same high-quality games you find on PCs and consoles? Not quite. But the field is still large and vast, with plenty of delicious fruit to feast upon.

I see mobile phones like the Game Boy handhelds I grew up with. The games may not always be the same, and they may not have the graphical prowess of home consoles and PCs, but Android gaming is still worth taking seriously.

Game developers have had a long time to learn how to develop games for touch screens. Some, like Suzy Cube, show that a platformer like Super Mario 3D Land can run well on a touchscreen-only device. Monument Valley ushered in a new era of puzzle games that feel ageless, inspiring newer games like Path of Giants. There are mobile strategy games that deliver true depth despite their simplified controls, like Iron Marines from Ironhide Games and Raw Fury’s Kingdom series.

If you’re into cross-platform indie games, there is much to love. Coromon arguably feels more like a Pokémon game than Nintendo’s own games. Dead Cells and Sparklite are some of the best roguelites around. Midnight Girl and The Wreck are beautiful narrative adventures that have both sucked me in.

I’m Not Missing Out on PC and Console Games

Thanks to cloud streaming, I can still play the majority of games I’m interested in, even if they don’t come to the Party Store. I primarily turn to NVIDIA GeForceNOW as a way to access most of my Stream library. If I wanted, I could sign up for Game Pass and effectively have a portable Xbox.

Sure, cloud gaming has its flaws. I need a fast internet connection, for starters, but that hasn’t been a problem. Games load quickly for me and, most of the time, I immediately forget that I’m not playing locally. I rarely experience buffering or lag. In fact, even when I had Life Is Strange: Double Exposure downloaded to a Legion Go on launch day, I found myself reaching for my phone and AR glasses instead.

I can’t turn to cloud gaming when I’m out and about like I can native mobile games, but I wouldn’t generally have a gaming PC or Xbox with me when I leave home anyway. Besides, I have plenty of native mobile games to enjoy during that time. I don’t mind waiting until I get home to enjoy the more demanding titles.

I got half a year of GeForceNOW on sale for under $50. A year costs around $100. I fully expect these prices to go up over time. Yet even if they do, I can play for several years before I’ve spent the money it requires to get a gaming handheld. If the experience doesn’t feel markedly better, what am I paying for?

Many of the games I enjoy are perfectly playable on a phone, and I can stream the rest. When my phone’s aspect ratio is weird, I simply dock to a monitor or AR glasses with a more conventional resolution.

At the end of the day, a foldable phone is one of the most versatile devices you can buy, and that extends to gaming as well. Just like how my phone replaced my laptop, I don’t see the need for a dedicated gaming handheld, either.