Summary
Valve has announced theSteam DeckOLED, a mid-gen upgrade for its popular handheld gaming device that launched to instant success in February 2022. When it released, the Steam Deck kicked off a wave of competitor portable devices like the Asus ROG Ally and the Logitech G Cloud. Despite growing competition in the handheld gaming space, however,Valve’s Steam Deck is still largely considered the best portable gaming PCon the market.
The originalSteam Deck comes with a 1280 x 800 displaywith a 7-inch diagonal display size. Valve teamed up with AMD to offer a powerful Zen 2 APU that runs at 2.4-3.5 GHz, and the device’s battery is claimed to last through 2-8 hours of gameplay. When it launched, purchasers had a choice between 64, 256, or 512GB of storage, though that seems to be changing with the imminent release of the Steam Deck OLED model.
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TheSteam Deck OLED launches on November 16at 10 AM PST, and while the resolution of the new device will remain the same, the HDR OLED screen will now offer a 7.4-inch diagonal display size. The upgradedSteam Deckmodel will come with either a 512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD for storage, and the internet capabilities have been upgraded from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6E. Importantly, the battery has also been upgraded from 40Whr to 50Whr and now promises 3-12 hours of gameplay. The two Steam Deck OLED models will retail at $549 for the 512GB version and $649 for 1TB.
Steam Deck OLED Specifications
The Steam Deck OLED also sports a different colorway from the standard Steam Deck, with red accents for the power button, air vents, and analog sticks. Valve is currently advertising the Steam Deck OLED as limited edition, emphasizing that quantities are highly limited, and it’s unclear whether the company will replenish the stock when the current supply runs out.
Notably, the prices for theLCD models of the Steam Deckhave also been permanently reduced to $349, $399, and $449 for the 64, 256, and 512GB versions, respectively. The original 64 and 512GB Steam Deck models are also being phased out entirely, so there will be no replenishments once the current stock is sold out.
According toJason Schreier of Bloomberg, Valve confirmed that aSteam Deck 2 is currently in development, though that generation upgrade of the portable device won’t be released for at least two to three years. In the meantime, the permanent price reduction of the original Steam Deck seems an ideal time for those who were on the fence about the handheld PC to find out what all the hype is about.
Steam Deck
Valve’s long-awaited portable console is here, and it’s taking the handheld gaming market by storm. Valve partnered with AMD to create Steam Deck’s custom APU, optimized for handheld gaming. It is a Zen 2 + RDNA 2 powerhouse, delivering more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games in a very efficient power envelope.
