The success of the Steam Deck has led to more handheld PC game machines like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go. Some of these machines have better performance and displays than the Steam Deck, but Valve isn’t resting on its laurels. The company has just unveiled the Steam Deck OLED. It’s not the Steam Deck 2 we’ve been hoping to see, but it’s a substantial upgrade over the original version, and you can order it this month.
The most notable upgrade to the Steam Deck OLED is, you guessed it, the OLED screen. It’s 7.4 inches diagonal, just a touch larger than the 7-inch original, but the resolution is unchanged at 1,280 by 800. OLED screens are more efficient and display more vibrant colors, so these panels can show your games with HDR visuals. It has a 90Hz refresh rate and outputs up to 1,000 nits of brightness.
The 90Hz display will probably make menus scrolling smoother, but good luck rendering a game with enough frames to take advantage. This isn’t a true successor to the Steam Deck as it uses a similar AMD APU, the 6nm “Sephiroth,” a die-shrink of the 7nm “Aerith” APU used in the original machine. The battery has gotten a small upgrade from 40Wh to 50Wh. Combined with the new APU, the Steam Deck OLED boasts 3-12 hours of use, whereas the LCD version runs for 2-8 hours.
Much has been made about the Steam Deck’s lack of storage, but the new variant adds more options. There are two OLED versions: a $549 model with a 512GB NVMe SSD and a $649 console with 1TB. The LCD version topped out at 512GB.
Myriad smaller changes will help elevate the Steam Deck experience, including a longer power cable, a larger and quieter fan, easier disassembly, Wi-Fi 6e, and slightly faster memory. The OLED upgrade seems like a good value, but you have options if these devices are too spendy.
The old mid-tier LCD handheld is sticking around at a new lower price of $399. The battery life won’t be as good, and the 256GB of storage is rather anemic, but it’s cheap. Valve is also selling through all the old entry-level and premium Stam Decks with LCDs. Those are on sale while supplies last for $349 (64GB) and $449 (512GB, anti-glare). The Steam Deck OLED will be available for order on Nov. 16. There will also be a limited edition clear variant for $679 (see top image). Valve says not to expect a proper Steam Deck 2 until there’s a significant improvement in mobile processors, so it’s probably safe to grab the OLED version.
ExtremeTech supports Group Black and its mission to increase greater diversity in media voices and media ownerships.
© 2001-2023 Ziff Davis, LLC., a Ziff Davis company. All Rights Reserved.
ExtremeTech is a federally registered trademark of Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of ExtremeTech. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant.
