Logitech’s G Cloud Gaming Handheld is terminally on-line

Logitech’s G Cloud Gaming Handheld is a heartbreaker. It’s a pleasure to sport on: it’s way more snug to make use of than the Nintendo Switch, and when the situations are proper, it really works like a dream.

With connection to a cloud gaming service, it usually felt like I used to be utilizing a conveyable Xbox, or had in some way crammed a $1,500 gaming PC right into a tiny footprint. The remainder of the time, it’s a mediocre Android pill with a controller grafted on. It’s simply not enjoyable to make use of. Sure, it will probably entry an enormous library of Android video games, however making an attempt to play the likes of Fortnite or Genshin Impact on its sluggish {hardware} was an train in frustration. 

At $349.99, the G Cloud Gaming Handheld prices as a lot as a Nintendo Switch OLED and nearly as a lot as a Steam Deck, each of that are nonetheless good gaming machines when the web goes down. (Note: the G Cloud Gaming Handheld is $299.99 throughout its preorder part, however the worth will soar up by $50 on October 18th.)

These flaws wouldn’t disappear with a decrease value, however it’d no less than be simpler to advocate to extra individuals, just like the work-from-home crowd who’s at all times round Wi-Fi or those that have already got gaming PC and need a comfortable handheld to stream their video games domestically. It’s excellent at that.

Logitech isn’t simply competing with Nintendo, Valve, or the myriad different area of interest handheld makers, like Aya, OneXPlayer, or GPD; it’s competing with the cellphone or pill you already personal. This handheld’s marquee apps — Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now — run on just about any Android or iOS gadget (in some circumstances, they’re progressive internet apps — glorified webpages). It’s simple to then join a controller that you could be already personal, like an Xbox controller, Backbone One, or a Razer Kishi V2, and begin gaming. 

The G Cloud Gaming Handheld is a extra snug and intuitive solution to play cloud video games than cobbling a controller and a smartphone collectively. But until these phrases resonate deeply inside you, I don’t assume that’s a adequate motive to justify shopping for one.

Cloud gaming and handheld consoles seem to be an ideal match. Instead of ponying up 1000’s of {dollars} for a gaming PC or being constrained by the {hardware} that may match within the handheld, you pay a subscription charge to dump the heavy lifting.

Relying on cloud companies to carry up your platform is a belief fall, however Logitech’s platform-agnostic strategy isn’t almost as dangerous a wager as, say, the Google Stadia mannequin. The cloud sport companies that Logitech is banking on are excellent (so long as your Wi-Fi is, too), and so they present no indicators of winding down. Xbox Cloud Gaming is offered to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers ($14.99 monthly), and it comes with entry to over 200 Xbox video games, from AAA titles from Microsoft’s studios to buzzworthy indie video games. Nvidia GeForce Now is much less like Netflix and extra like Movies Anywhere in that it collects most of the PC video games you already personal on Steam, Epic Games Store, or Ubisoft Connect (plus some free-to-play video games) in a single place. The base tier is free, although it limits you to one-hour-long 720p streaming periods. The subsequent tier is $9.99 / month and permits for four-hour periods at 1080p / 60 frames per second, which match the specs of the G Cloud Gaming Handheld’s display screen.

The Google Play Store offers the G Cloud Gaming Handheld much more methods to play PC video games you already personal. For occasion, the Steam Link app, which is preinstalled, helps you to stream video games out of your PC both domestically or away from dwelling so long as it’s on and operating Steam. If your PC has an Nvidia GPU, I extremely recommend making an attempt out Moonlight, a free open-source app that gives a handsome, shockingly responsive gaming expertise. Both Steam Link and Moonlight can work over an area community, which requires good networking {hardware} (not quick web speeds) to have an pleasing session. 

Sadly, whereas you should use Sony’s PS Remote Play app to stream video games out of your PS4 or PS5, the app doesn’t acknowledge the G Cloud Gaming Handheld’s built-in controls. Touchscreen controls are the one choice until you tether a DualShock 4 or a DualSense through Bluetooth, which defeats the aim of utilizing this handheld as a substitute of your cellphone.

The G Cloud Gaming Handheld seems to be quite a bit like a Nintendo Switch besides that it has a D-pad on the left moderately than 4 separate buttons, and its proper ABXY buttons are organized Xbox-style. There are clicky shoulder buttons and analog triggers which have a satisfying degree of journey. Logitech did an amazing job with the structure, consolation, and design of the inputs. I solely want it had been accessible in colours apart from all white with spring yellow accents.

The dwelling button and spring yellow G button require a bit of clarification. Pressing dwelling will at all times take you on to the hand-held’s app selector, and holding it brings up a shade containing fast settings, like brightness and quantity dials. The G button’s goal is usually contextual. It makes excellent sense within the Xbox Cloud Gaming app, the place urgent it can carry up the Xbox dwelling interface to indicate what your pals are as much as, to verify achievements, or to stop a sport. Pressing it inside the GeForce Now interface takes me dwelling, however it’s ineffective in-game throughout a cloud session.

Two tiny speaker slits flank the USB-C charging port and three.5mm headphone jack on the underside of the console. Unsurprisingly, headphones sound higher than these audio system. You can both use wired headphones, go the Bluetooth route, or insert a USB-C audio transmitter that some gaming headsets embody as of late. In case you had been questioning, the USB-C port can’t ship video; it’s restricted to charging, knowledge connection, or audio passthrough.

The G Cloud Gaming Handheld runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 720G — sans mobile functionality. It’s a midrange chipset announced in 2020 that’s additionally discovered within the Samsung Galaxy A52 and a bunch of telephones launched exterior of the US. It’s quick sufficient at launching apps, loading new pages within the Google Play Store, and operating video games that aren’t tremendous resource-intensive, like Dead Cells. But most graphically intensive video games run sluggishly. It can’t multitask, which is disappointing; each time you launch a brand new app, it asks you to shut the one you had been simply utilizing.

There’s 64GB of storage in-built, and it helps microSD storage enlargement. Battery life stands as much as Logitech’s claims, lasting for a dozen or so hours of gaming per cost. Unlike the expertise of utilizing a handheld that’s really operating video games off the {hardware}, it’s cool (albeit anticipated) to spend an hour in a sport with out taking an enormous chunk out of the battery life.

Its seven-inch show is identical measurement because the one on the Steam Deck and Switch OLED console, although Logitech’s IPS panel is clearly nowhere close to as sensible as an OLED. Even so, video games look attractive in the precise Wi-Fi situations; small textual content is legible, and graphics don’t look too aliased. (Though, when streaming from the cloud, darkish environments and objects are vulnerable to visible gradation.) It was a adequate expertise that I generally forgot that I used to be enjoying video games hosted on distant servers, with solely a handful of moments when fuzzy, distorted picture high quality ruined that phantasm. Streamed video additionally seems to be nice for those who can deal with the general public embarrassment of holding the hand-held in portrait mode to navigate Netflix and the like. Yes, it felt bizarre to look at Cyberpunk: Edgerunners on the subway whereas holding the console with two palms, however it labored.

The customized Android 11 interface is viable however nothing particular. It organizes apps in horizontal tiles throughout the display screen, with latest ones close to the entrance. You can hit the choices button situated close to the highest proper aspect of the hand-held’s entrance aspect to create a everlasting spot for a favourite app, which might be added beneath the scrolling tiles. There are simply two shade schemes and backgrounds provided by the software program, every of which delivers a reasonably sturdy gamer-y look. It’s fairly fundamental stuff. You’ll get the identical set of default apps that come preinstalled on each Android gadget that helps Google Play (Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive, and many others.). 

Logitech’s efforts to cover the truth that you’re utilizing an Android pill don’t go far past the floor. For occasion, it kicks you over to Google’s very plain settings interface for extra in-depth choices, which is jarring. Instead of letting you get notifications, the hand-held vibrates, however it hides them in a setting alongside the highest drawer of choices referred to as “Messages.” 

Given that it’s an Android gadget, it wants the newest updates to remain safe. As talked about earlier than, it’s two variations of Android behind, which is irritating. What’s disconcerting is how outdated its safety patches are. It has the June fifth, 2022, safety replace, although it’s lagging additional behind with its Google Play system replace from November 1st, 2021. Derek Perez, who handles communications for Logitech G, informed The Verge that there might be a Day One patch that addresses this.

The G Cloud Gaming Handheld is designed to stream video games from the cloud, however I couldn’t resist putting in the Android model of Fortnite, one of many world’s hottest video games, to see how it might run. It ended up taking an hour to launch right into a spherical as a result of it was so sluggish at making use of an replace. Once in-game, the graphics defaulted to medium settings, capped at 30 frames per second. It ran far worse than it does via the cloud with a mediocre Wi-Fi connection. Genshin Impact may no less than run at a steady-ish 25 frames per second, however it was a subpar visible expertise, too, and it didn’t acknowledge the hand-held’s devoted controls.

Gaming efficiency is considerably higher whereas streaming from the cloud, however you’ll want a reasonably sturdy and dependable 5GHz Wi-Fi connection. I principally performed the G Cloud Gaming Handheld at dwelling about 10 ft away from a Google Nest Wifi router in line of sight. My web connection significantly exceeds the necessities (226Mbps obtain, 23Mbps add), although I nonetheless skilled occasional blips within the picture high quality. But for probably the most half, I had a good time. Xbox Cloud Gaming boots into video games rapidly, and it felt like I used to be enjoying a conveyable Xbox console.

Nvidia GeForce Now requires a obtain velocity of no less than 15Mbps to stream video games with the free tier or 25Mbps for the 1080p / 60fps tier that prices $9.99 monthly. Plus, you want low latency between you and the closest knowledge heart. (You can run a community check by making a free account and installing the app on any supported platform.) Microsoft says you may play video games on Xbox Cloud Gaming with a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection of 7Mbps or increased. If you will have an information cap, it’s best to know that GeForce Now’s automated high quality streaming mode makes use of roughly 6GB of knowledge per hour of gameplay.

Out of curiosity, I attempted to play Slime Rancher 2 whereas the hand-held was linked to my cellphone’s Wi-Fi hotspot, which itself was getting a powerful 5G sign in decrease Manhattan. The visible constancy regarded incredible, although the latency was drastically worse than after I used my at-home Wi-Fi community. This may sound apparent, however you most likely shouldn’t anticipate to play fast-paced video games or multiplayer titles over a hotspot.

Even when web situations had been excellent, the quirky inside workings of virtualized cloud sport cases generally grow to be uncovered. Some PC video games, like Cyberpunk 2077, would require you to button-press via a bunch of prelaunch home windows. I’ve had Nvidia GeForce Now dangle when it’s making an attempt besides a sport from Steam. It spun up a digital gaming PC operating Steam Big Picture mode, however I needed to faucet the maximize button on a minimized window earlier than I may proceed with the sport. I don’t assume these points are distinctive to this handheld, however some individuals may get caught in a troubleshooting rut there. With GeForce Now, issues might not go completely among the time. Launching video games from Xbox Cloud Gaming was far much less finicky. 

This handheld is proscribed in some unacceptable methods given its $350 value. It suffers from weak {hardware}, and it’s not pleasing to make use of until you’re linked to Wi-Fi. But when the situations are proper, and with companies nearly as good as Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now, Logitech’s imaginative and prescient for a cloud gaming handheld is sensible. Fun video games are nonetheless enjoyable to play right here, and its design improves on the consolation of the Switch. So lengthy as you’re in an umbrella of excellent Wi-Fi, life with this gadget is fairly good. 

But as somebody who loves enjoying video games all over the place I’m going, whether or not I’m at dwelling or using on the prepare, I can’t settle for Logitech’s handheld on its phrases as a result of it refuses to work on mine. $350 is simply an excessive amount of for a gadget with nearly the identical utility — and limitations — as a set-top streaming field.

Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge