The Handheld PC Market Just Imploded (Again)

I’ve checked the store page a few times this morning.

Nothing. “Out of Stock.” It’s the same story in the UK. My buddy in Osaka sent me a screenshot of the Japanese storefront an hour ago—greyed out buttons everywhere. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. If you thought we were done with hardware shortages after the GPU nightmare of the early 20s, I probably should clarify that we’re right back in the mud. It’s February 2026, and somehow, buying a portable gaming PC is harder now than it was when these things first hit the market. I’m not talking about the niche devices from Ayaneo or GPD that cost as much as a used Honda Civic. I’m talking about the mainstays. The ones normal people actually buy. Valve’s hardware is vaporware right now. I spent the last week trying to secure a unit for a work trip to Berlin. And I failed. Looking at the forums, I’m not the only one.

Why is this happening now?

Nobody knows for sure, but I have a theory. It’s not crypto miners this time (thank god). It’s the screens. I’ve been tracking the panel supply chain loosely since the OLED refresh became the standard last year. The shift to high-refresh-rate OLEDs across *every* device category—from tablets to mid-range laptops—has squeezed the supply of 7-inch and 8-inch panels. Samsung and LG Display are probably prioritizing Apple and the high-margin laptop sector. The gaming handhelds? They’re fighting for scraps. Plus, let’s be real: the demand hasn’t tapered off. I walked into a coffee shop last Tuesday and saw three different people playing *Hades II* on three different brands of handhelds. It’s become the default way to play PC games for a massive chunk of the demographic. When you combine a normalized form factor with a supply chain hiccup, you get exactly what we’re seeing today: empty shelves and eBay scalpers listing units for $900.

The Windows 12 “Compact Mode” Disappointment

While we’re complaining, can we talk about the software situation? I finally updated my ROG Ally (the 2025 revision with the Z2 Extreme chip) to the latest Windows 12 build—version 25H2 to be specific. Microsoft promised that “Compact Mode” would fix the usability nightmare of running Windows on a 7-inch screen. It didn’t. I tested this extensively last weekend. Here is the reality: 1. **The Taskbar:** It still doesn’t hide reliably when launching non-Steam games. 2. **Touch Targets:** Better, but I still fat-finger the “Close Window” button 40% of the time. 3. **Sleep Mode:** It’s still a coin toss. I put the device to sleep mid-game in *Cyberpunk*, came back two hours later, and the battery was dead because the fans had been spinning in my backpack. SteamOS is still the king here. It’s just an appliance. You turn it on, it works. That’s why this shortage hurts so much. The alternatives have better specs on paper, but the user experience on Windows handhelds is still a jagged mess of driver updates and launcher conflicts.

Benchmarking the “Shortage” Era Hardware

Since I couldn’t buy a new unit, I decided to benchmark what I actually have to see if the upgrade envy is even justified. I ran a comparison between my beat-up launch model Steam Deck (LCD) and my friend’s OLED model (which he luckily bought in December 2025 before the drought hit). I used *Elden Ring* with the “Shadow of the Erdtree” expansion, running the latest Proton Experimental build (9.0-4). **The Test:** * **Settings:** Low/Medium Mix, FSR set to Quality. * **TDP:** Capped at 15W. * **Location:** The Messmer fight (lots of particle effects). **Results:** * **Old LCD Model:** Averaged 34 FPS. Dips to 26 FPS during fire attacks. Fan noise: Jet engine. * **OLED Model:** Averaged 41 FPS. Dips to 38 FPS. Fan noise: Audible but not annoying. Here’s the kicker though—**Battery Life.** My LCD unit died in 1 hour and 12 minutes. The OLED unit lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes. That is a massive difference. It’s not just the screen efficiency; the 6nm die shrink on the APU in the newer revisions is doing heavy lifting. This is why people are desperate to upgrade. Going from “barely an hour” to “almost three hours” changes the device from a couch toy to an actual travel companion.

Don’t Feed the Scalpers

I checked eBay this morning. And there are listings for the 1TB OLED models sitting at $850. Some “Buy It Now” options are pushing $1,000. Do not do this. I know the FOMO is real, especially with the *GTA VI* PC port rumors swirling for late 2026 (we can hope, right?), but paying double MSRP for hardware that is already technically two years old is insanity. If you absolutely need a handheld right now, look at the used market for the older LCD models. I saw a 256GB LCD Deck go for $220 on a local marketplace yesterday. Is the screen worse? Yes. Is the battery life worse? Yes. But it plays the same games, runs the same OS, and costs less than a decent monitor. Grab a cheap power bank—I use an Anker 737 that I bought back in 2024, still holds a charge like a champ—and strap it to the back if you have to. It’s a probably a better solution than dropping a grand on a device that will likely be back in stock by April.

The Waiting Game

It feels weird to be writing about stock shortages in 2026. We were supposed to be past this. The supply chains were supposed to be “resilient” now. But here we are. Europe is dry. North America is dry. Japan is dry. If you have a working unit, hold onto it. Treat it nice. Maybe clean the fan vents (seriously, I pulled a cat hairball out of mine last week that was the size of a quarter). If you don’t have one, don’t refresh the page every five minutes. It’s not good for your blood pressure. I learned that the hard way this week. I’m just going to read a book on my flight to Berlin. Analog entertainment. It has infinite battery life, at least.