Handheld Upgrade Cycles and Market Dynamics

This week, Steam Deck, Switch 2, and Vision Pro accessory follow up, Thunderbolt 5 eGPUs, Android handhelds break into the budget category, and the ROG Xbox Ally X is a bust.

On NPC XL, Apple’s M5 chip promise gaming advances on the iPad, but can it deliver?

NPC is also available on YouTube here.

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Links and Show Notes Follow Up

• Steam Deck Folios are now available for anyone to buy for $40
• Apple Vision Pro PSVR 2 controllers are $250
• Mechanism Switch 2 Basecase

The Latest Portable Gaming News

• GIGABYTE AORUS RTX 5090 AI BOX Thunderbolt 5 eGPU launches at $2999, 27% slower than desktop RTX 5090 in gaming
• OneXfly Apex handheld gaming PC with AMD Strix Halo is on the way
• REDMAGIC 11 Pro could be the first liquid-cooled smartphone you can actually buy
• MagicX One35 Finally Available For Pre-Order
• MANGMI Air X Is Finally Here Snapdragon Power, Sub-$100 Price
• Xbox Ally and Ally X review this is not an Xbox

Subscribe to NPC XL

NPC XL is a weekly members-only version of NPC with extra content, available exclusively through our new Patreon for $5/month.

Each week on NPC XL, Federico, Brendon, and John record a special segment or deep dive about a particular topic that is released alongside the “regular” NPC episodes.

You can subscribe here: https://www.patreon.com/c/NextPortableConsole

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Credits

• Show Art: Brendon Bigley
• Music: Will LaPorte

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