Compare hardware and software capabilities across consoles, PC, and mobile.
Platform capabilities are the hardware and software features a gaming platform supports, such as ray tracing, HDR, variable refresh rate, advanced haptics, gyroscope input, and available memory. When building a cross-platform game you need to know which of these each target offers: can the Switch do ray tracing? Does Xbox have gyroscope input? This matrix gives a quick, colour-coded answer for 15 features across 12 platforms.
PC and mobile tiers are examples; confirm the exact device, controller and display. Steam Deck panel, memory and output figures: Valve specifications.
| Feature | PS5 | Xbox Series X | Xbox Series S | Nintendo Switch | Steam Deck LCD | Steam Deck OLED | PC (High) | PC (Mid) | iOS (Flagship) | iOS (Budget) | Android (Flagship) | Android (Budget) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display and Graphics (4) | ||||||||||||
| Ray Tracingⓘ | ✓ | ✓ | ●Limited | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ●Limited | ✓A17+ | ✗ | ●Limited | ✗ |
| HDRⓘ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Variable Refresh Rateⓘ | ✓120Hz | ✓120Hz | ✓120Hz | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ProMotion | ✗ | ✓LTPO | ✗ |
| Example Display / Render Resolutionⓘ | 4K | 4K | 1440p | 1080p | 800p | 800p | 8K | 4K | 2868x1320 | 1334x750 | 3168x1440 | 2340x1080 |
| Input and Controls (5) | ||||||||||||
| Haptics (Advanced)ⓘ | ✓DualSense | ✓Impulse | ✓Impulse | ✓HD Rumble | ✓Basic | ✓Basic | ✗ | ✗ | ✓Taptic | ✓Taptic | ●Limited | ✗ |
| Gyroscopeⓘ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ●Limited |
| Touchscreen | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Keyboard/Mouse | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Local Multiplayerⓘ | ✓4 | ✓4 | ✓4 | ✓8 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Platform Services (4) | ||||||||||||
| Cloud Savesⓘ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓NSO | ✓Steam | ✓Steam | ✓ | ✓ | ✓iCloud | ✓ | ✓Play | ✓ |
| Achievementsⓘ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓Steam | ✓Steam | ✓ | ✓ | ✓Game Center | ✓ | ✓Play Games | ✓ |
| Background Audioⓘ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ●Limited | ●Limited | ✓ | ✓ |
| Suspend/Resumeⓘ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hardware Specs (2) | ||||||||||||
| Typical RAM for Gamesⓘ | ~12 GB | ~12 GB | ~8 GB | ~3 GB | 16 GB shared total | 16 GB shared total | 16+ GB | 8-16 GB | ~4 GB | ~2 GB | ~6 GB | ~3 GB |
| Storage Speedⓘ | SSD (5.5 GB/s) | SSD (2.4 GB/s) | SSD (2.4 GB/s) | Flash (slow) | eMMC/NVMe by model | NVMe | NVMe | SATA/NVMe | NVMe | NVMe | UFS 4.0 | eMMC/UFS |
Click a feature row to see detailed notes. Use group buttons to show/hide platform categories. Toggle transpose to switch between features and platforms as rows. Use compare mode to focus on specific platforms.
Every capability in the matrix above, with platform-specific notes and the practical implications for game development.
Xbox Series S supports ray tracing but at reduced quality. PC (Mid) depends on GPU generation. iOS requires A17 Pro or later. Android support varies by GPU (Adreno 740+).
HDR requires a compatible display and game support. Steam Deck OLED has an HDR internal panel; the LCD panel is SDR. External-display support depends on the display and connection.
Console VRR requires a compatible display and connection. Steam Deck internal panels do not support VRR; the OLED panel reaching 90 Hz does not make it VRR. Compatible external displays can support VRR. Mobile adaptive refresh also depends on the model and OS.
Illustrative render targets for consoles and PCs, and panel resolutions for handhelds and example phones. These are not maximum output specifications. Both Steam Deck panels are 1280 by 800; external output supports up to 8K at 60 Hz or 4K at 120 Hz, depending on the connection. Mobile resolutions vary by model.
PS5 DualSense has adaptive triggers and precise haptics. Switch supports HD Rumble. Android haptics depend on the device and actuator.
Xbox controllers do not have gyroscope. PC can use gyro via Steam Input with compatible controllers (DualSense, Switch Pro, Steam Deck).
Switch supports up to 8 Joy-Con for local multiplayer. Console games typically support 2-4 controllers. PC via Steam supports up to 16 controllers.
Switch cloud saves require Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Some Switch games do not support cloud saves (e.g. Animal Crossing).
Nintendo Switch has no system-level achievement system. Some games implement their own. Game Center provides achievements on iOS.
PS5 pauses game audio when switching apps. iOS allows background audio but games must explicitly enable it and it may be interrupted by system sounds.
PC has no system-level suspend. Mobile apps can be killed by the OS under memory pressure, so save state frequently.
PS5 has 16 GB total, with ~12 GB available for games. Xbox Series X has 16 GB split between fast (10 GB) and slow (6 GB) pools. Mobile RAM is shared with the OS. Steam Deck has 16 GB shared between CPU, GPU and the OS; the full total is not an application memory budget.
The console figures are raw sequential throughput. Actual loading times depend on compression, asset layout and CPU work. Mobile storage varies by device.
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