Being able to play graphically taxing video games on the go used to be a novel idea. Then, the likes of Valve's Steam Deck came and turned that into a reality. The Steam Deck lets you play and stream games. Unfortunately, Valve has done a worse job at keeping it in stock than Sony and Microsoft have with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X, respectively. This leaves a huge gap in the market for alternatives to the Steam Deck, which is where the G Cloud by Logitech comes in.

A less bulky take on the Steam Deck, the G Cloud doesn't have anywhere near close to the hardware of its counterpart from Valve. But, the G Cloud is a lot smaller and is pretty much built for streaming.

Unfortunately, the G Cloud's price makes it less enticing.

According to Logitech, the new Android device is available for pre-order at $300. It's a straight-forward streaming console with extended battery life, a 1080p 7-inch touchscreen, built-in controls, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a controller layout similar to the Xbox. It's not quite as modder-friendly as the Steam Deck, but that's precisely the point. Logitech and Microsoft want to give users a simple and lightweight alternative that takes out all of the fuss so that you keep on throwing money for a Game Pass subscription.

However, as we've already mentioned, the G Cloud isn't cheap. At $300, the G Cloud costs nearly as much as the Nintendo Switch OLED and the Steam Deck. To make matters worse, the G Cloud is going to get a price increase to $350 starting on October 17.

If it's any consolation, the G Cloud is an Android device. So we can assume that mobile games and apps will work on it via the Google Play Store. Also, even if you can't tinker with the hardware, it's still going to be a moddable device since it's on Android.

It will be interesting to see how many people end up buying the G Cloud before and after it launches. For the same price point, you could get an external smartphone controller and be done with it. But, if you really can't wait for a Steam Deck, the G Cloud isn't necessarily a bad option - it's just a tad too expensive for our tastes.

Speaking of the Steam Deck, Valve has already confirmed that it has long-term plans for the handheld console.