After years of speculation, Valve has finally unveiled their Steam Deck OLED models, with two becoming available on November 16.
The product's store page promises a smorgasbord of improvements and new features. It's an impressive new model that comes soon after the original Deck fell out of Steam's best sellers, with Steam Deck LCD models now permanently discounted while stocks last. These older models are currently being phased out and unlikely to be brought back anytime soon.
Steam Deck OLED's new features range from "brighter colours and blacker blacks" as is common for OLED screen technology, to a 30-50% bigger battery life. Downloads will reportedly be "up to 3 times faster", while a 5% weight decrease has become possible thanks to the OLED screen. Prices range from £479 for the 512GB model to £569 for the 1TB model, with the LCD model now costing £349.
Tech-wise, we're treated to a custom APU that is "optimised for handheld gaming." 16 gigabytes of ram, HD haptics, a 1280 x 800 screen and 90 hertz refresh rate all show a commitment to improving over the LCD model. The list below features some of the other notable features.
- High-speed MicroSD card slot
- Two 32.5mm square trackpads with haptic feedback
- 7.4” diagonal screen
- <0.1 millisecond refresh rate
- Dual ambient light sensors ALS
- Bluetooth 5.3 support for controllers, accessories and audio
- Stereo with embedded DSP
- 298mm x 117mm x 49mm size
- Approximate 640 gram weight
- SteamOS 3 (Arch-based) operating system
The store page goes on to list a FAQ section, where they promise software updates for LCD models and clarify that there is a one-per-account-per-week limit on purchases until Valve is confident they can meet demand. Accessories for the LCD models are also confirmed to work with the Steam Deck OLED.
Users will, of course, be able to check steam games for their Deck compatibility (and LCD-compatible games won't suddenly become incompatible.) Comfort should always be a focus for handhelds, and Valve addresses it saying "the rear of the device is sculpted to comfortably fit a wide range of hand sizes."