Valve just unveiled a newer version of its hugely popular hand-held gaming PC, the Steam Deck. It"s not a performance upgrade, but it is carrying massive improvements in other areas. Simply titled Steam Deck OLED, it is touting an HDR OLED display, improved battery life, Wi-Fi 6E, and it"s even a little lighter.
Available in 512GB and 1TB variants, the new OLED models feature 7.4-inch 90hz displays (larger than the LCD 7-inch 60hz offerings), but with the same 1280x800 resolution. Despite the bump, the handheld"s size remains the same, and it"s even 5% lighter than the LCD models.
Another major area of improvement is battery life. Valve has managed to squeeze in a 50Whr battery into the OLED versions (over the LCD"s 40Whr). Paired with a more efficient APU from AMD, and the OLED display"s lowered power draw, Valve says to expect 30-50% more battery life on the newer models.
The Steam Deck OLED will cost $549 for the 512GB model, while the 1TB variant will come in at $649. Like before, the 1TB version"s screen has a special anti-glare etching for better viewing in bright areas.
Valve is also releasing a "Limited Edition" OLED Steam Deck this time with a translucent colorway on the shell and red accents. This comes with a specially designed carrying case, and 1TB of storage, and is exclusive to customers in the US and Canada. Only available in limited quantities, the Limited Edition Steam Deck OLEDs will cost $679.
The Steam Deck OLED model, plus the limited edition run, is releasing on November 16, with pre-orders slated to open a few days before launch.
With this, two of the LCD Steam Deck variants are being slowly phased out. This will affect the current 64GB and 512GB LCD versions. Prices are being lowered on these older LCD SKUs as well, with 64GB costing $349, 256GB costing $399, and 512GB costing $449 going forward.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Valve product designer Lawrence Yang says the new OLED version and its improvements spawned out of customer feedback. Valve is also confident that the new hardware won"t suffer from supply issues like the original release. The company is also said to be diving into developing a Steam Deck 2 with next-generation hardware and upgrades, but as previously announced, that"s still years away from release.