At CES 2024 MSI launched the Claw, an Intel Core Ultra based gaming handheld device and Adam was on hand to compare it against the Valve Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally.
At CES 2024 MSI launched the Claw, an Intel Core Ultra based gaming handheld device and Adam was on hand to compare it against the Valve Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally.
Ignoring your eloquent wording, you want Windows - from the perspective of a device maker - because it ensures the easiest access for your buyers.
That’s a non-trivial point that should not be easily dismissed. Virtually everyone games on Windows. Virtually all PC-bound games are primarily developed for and optimized for Windows. If you make a hardware device, and you do get to pick the main OS you ship with, making it Windows ensures both maximum compatibility and a smooth transition from their desk-bound gaming to their handheld for your users as the UX is the exact same.
Sure, to power users is a downside. But those are also the ones who will figure out how to run whatever OS they like on it, and they’re also a very small number to begin with. While the Steam Deck and other handheld PCs before it were okay as power-user-centric devices, if this device type is going to be truly mainstream in a post-Steam-Deck world, then something like basing them on Windows by default is a quite real considering for a device maker, and a very natural one.
Systems that attract power users tend to have better 3rd party tools and plugins for everyones use.