Logitech is officially announcing its G Cloud Gaming Handheld today after a teaser and a leak last month. The Android-powered $349.99 handheld will arrive on October 17th, with access to the Google Play Store, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Nvidia’s GeForce Now service. While you’ll be able to play Android mobile games, the focus is really on cloud gaming, and the handheld has been engineered this way to provide 12 hours or more of battery life.
The Cloud Gaming Handheld has a seven-inch 1080p IPS touchscreen with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 60Hz refresh rate. The white handheld includes two offset analog thumbsticks, a D-pad, and Y, B, A, and X buttons. There are also four buttons at the front: Logitech G, home, menu, and a context menu button.
The Logitech G button works much like the jewel on an Xbox controller, bringing up a sub-menu to allow you to pause or quit games. The home button will simply take you back to Logitech’s launcher. There are also two bumper buttons and two trigger buttons, much like most modern controllers. Logitech’s handheld also includes haptics, a gyroscope, and remappable controls.
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Inside, Logitech is using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor, which is an octa-core CPU that runs up to 2.3GHz. There is 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of UFS storage. A single USB-C 3.1 port will charge the device, and it should charge the 6,000mAh battery in around 2.5 hours. Logitech has also provided a microSD card for expansion, but there’s no 5G or SIM card support here, so you’ll always need to be near Wi-Fi for cloud games.
Logitech has worked with Microsoft and Nvidia to integrate Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia’s GeForce Now service into the handheld. The Switch-like UI will allow you to launch each service, but the Xbox Cloud Gaming app is just a basic Progressive Web App (PWA), so there’s no real deep integration into the device. That also means you can’t pin specific cloud games to the homescreen, either.
The real draw of this device is the promise of more than 12 hours of battery life and its lightweight frame. The Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld is less wide than both the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch, and it weighs just 463 grams (1 pound). That’s a little heavier than the Switch (322 grams / 0.71 pounds) but a lot lighter than the Steam Deck (669 grams / 1.47 pounds).
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Logitech has also partnered with Tencent on this handheld and has leaned on the Chinese company’s expertise in software to help design the Android launcher. Logitech has a handheld mode with its game launcher and a classic Android tablet launcher mode if you want to use this outside of gaming. Apps like YouTube and Chrome will be preinstalled alongside Xbox Cloud Gaming, Nvidia’s GeForce Now, and Valve’s Steam Link.
The Android support does mean this handheld is capable of running some Android games, but Logitech is marketing it for cloud gaming. That’s a fresh market for handheld consoles, as typically mobile gamers want to access their games while traveling in cars, trains, and planes where internet connectivity isn’t solid. You’ll need to constantly be near a Wi-Fi signal with the Logitech G handheld, which may reduce its appeal.
Logitech appears to be testing the waters by limiting the launch of the G Cloud Gaming Handheld to the US and Canada in October. To entice early adopters, there’s a limited $299.99 preorder offer ahead of the retail price of $349.99. This pricing is right between the Nintendo Switch ($299.99) and the Steam Deck ($399), so it could be a tough sell for what’s mostly a cloud gaming device.
Logitech’s G Cloud Gaming Handheld will be available on October 17th at Amazon, Best Buy, and Logitech’s own site.
Update, 12:05PM ET: Article updated with release date information.
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