The handheld gaming PC market has grown a lot since Valve launched the Steam Deck in 2022. It remains the most popular Linux-powered handheld out there, and for good reason. The Steam Deck is well-built, well-supported, and runs a growing library of games without much fuss.
But it is not the only one. The Lenovo Legion Go S launched with SteamOS as an option, and devices like the AYANEO 3 have also attracted Linux users looking for Steam Deck alternatives.
One such upcoming option is the Orange Pi Neo, a Linux-first handheld built in collaboration between Orange Pi and Manjaro Linux. It has been in development for a while, and now it looks like it will stay that way for a bit longer.
Orange Pi Neo: The Wait Continues
The Manjaro team has been posting updates on the original announcement thread on their forums since early 2024, covering everything from hardware revisions and software improvements to certification progress and Valve's involvement in testing.
The latest update is a short one. And not in a good way.
It states that due to the high prices of DDR5 RAM and SSDs, the project is currently on ice. The team says they are waiting for a good time to launch the product, but with no particular date mentioned.
If you want to understand just how bad things have gotten, last year, a DDR5 chip that cost $6.84 in late September 2025 had climbed to $27.20 by December 1, nearly a fourfold jump in two months. AI data centers are eating up memory supply, and manufacturers are happy to oblige since the margins are far better than selling to consumers.
That said, it is worth pointing out that the Manjaro team has not been sitting idle. The same update notes that the Orange Pi Neo has already cleared both CE and FCC certifications, which are the regulatory approvals required to sell an electronic product legally in Europe and the United States, respectively.
Moreover, they have continued refining Manjaro Gaming Edition, the new operating system that will ship with the device, to make sure it is in good shape whenever the launch does happen.
What the Orange Pi Neo Brings to the Table
For those unfamiliar with the device, the Orange Pi Neo is built around AMD's Ryzen 7 7840U processor and features a 7-inch 1920x1200 display with a 120Hz refresh rate, dual touchpads similar in concept to the Steam Deck's, and Hall effect joysticks with RGB lighting.
On the software side, it runs Manjaro Gaming Edition, an immutable OS built on top of Manjaro Linux with Plasma as the desktop environment. It boots into SteamUI by default but lets you switch over to a Desktop mode when needed.
The RAM and SSD pricing situation is not unique to this project. AI data center demand has sent DDR5 prices through the roof over the past few months, and consumer hardware is feeling the brunt.
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Sourav Rudra
