AYANEO Pocket Air Review - The Best $299 Android Handheld
Hall effect joysticks and a 7350mAh battery is very impressive for this price range. I'm not that interested in android devices but this looks great for emulation.
The steam deck is really good and has better performance, but it's way bigger, has a worse screen and a smaller battery. The pocket air is probably a better option if you're looking for something more portable.
You are forgetting one of the main advantage of steam deck - much bigger and imo much better selection of games compared to android. All games android can emulate can also be done on steam deck so that is draw but pc games vs android games? I don’t think there is even a competition there.