The Steam Deck is getting a new OLED model, or models, with a bigger screen and a better battery life. Whether that’s good news or not depends on whether you’ve already bought one.
As revealed by Valve, the original Steam Deck (basically a handheld PC), is joined by a new version, available in 512GB and 1TB SSD flavours. It’s not any more powerful than the old model, which launched in February 2022, so don’t expect it to run Starfield in butter-smooth 60FPS.
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But there are some notable improvements, which could infuriate anyone who bought one a couple of months ago. The new version comes with an OLED screen which, at 7.4″ is fractionally larger than the old one’s 7″ screen.
As an OLED, the new screen should offer better quality and, as an OLED, it’ll guzzle less power. That, coupled with a new 50Whr battery, means you’ll get more play time out of this version, 3-12hrs vs the orignal’s 2-8hrs. Though, as Valve points out, this is dependent on the kind of content you’re playing.
It also uses a 6nm vs 7nm APU though that should have next to no impact on performance. What will make a difference, if you’ve got access to an appropriate network, is the faster Wi-Fi 6E support. And according to Valve it’ll be tad lighter and run a little cooler than the older deck.
Price wise, the new models are on par with the original Steam Deck:
- 512GB SSD OLED – $549
- 1TB OLED model – $649
At launch, the three available Steam Deck models cost between $399 and $649. But they’ve all been reduced and, while stock lasts, they’re priced as follows.
- 64GB SSD Non-OLED $349.99
- 256GB SSD Non-OLED $399.99
- 512GB SSD Non-OLED $449.99
You can purchase the old models now but you’ll have to wait till November 16 at 10am PST to snag the OLED versions. Chances are they’ll be heavily in demand so, as appealing as they are, don’t promise anyone one for Christmas.
