Valve’s Unexpected Reveal: The Steam Deck OLED

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Steam Deck, the pc handheld by Valve that has taken by storm the gaming industry, was originally launched on 25th February 2022 and was praised by many. Valve did struggle initially meeting the overwhelming demand for the little handheld, that was hitting a sweet spot for power to price performance, it soon reached a point where they could consistently ship units without the need of a pre-order system. Celebrating also the first anniversary with a 10% discount as well as later adding a refurbished program for an even cheaper price point.

Amidst that, many competitors upped their game and new challengers entered the fray, with giants like Asus with their ROG Ally and more recently Lenovo with the Legion Go, boasting much more powerful devices and premium devices, geared more toward those seeking for a better experience. And while Valve confirmed that Steam Deck 2 is a long way, they didn’t just sit on their hands, but instead were secretly working on the OLED model.

OLED Screen

An unexpected surprise was announced on November 9, and with strict embargo on selected media in the industry for an early sneak peak on the reveal day, prominently IGN with a device to showcase and Gamer Nexus with more technical data and insight.

The new model boasts an OLED Screen that keeps the resolution of the original model, but a fairly high quality screen that puts to rest the highly criticized limitation of the older model. Thanks to the OLED vibrant colors, high contrast, faster response time and unexpected higher refresh rate at 90Hz.

More than just an OLED

But If you thought that it’s a simple screen change you are mistaken. Valve has worked on the new OLED starting from the experience and feedback gathered with the original release. In fact it’s not just an impressive screen, but they reworked on the motherboard itself, spending well over 2 months on it. In fact in a side by side comparison by Steve from GN, we can see that the new OLED motherboard not only is less populated with a more optimized setup but also drastic changes to the layout for an optimization thought in the thermal and power budget aspect.

That, combined with a die shrink from 7nm down to 6nm of the Aerith (6nm=Sephiroth) Custom APU and a bigger 50Wh battery, thanks to the OLED slimmer size compared to the LCD. The new model seems to boast at least 30% more battery time, along with a higher 6400 MT/s 16GB DDR5 memory (against the previous 5500 MT/s) while sometimes offering a slightly better performance in certain scenarios thanks to the more efficient solution. A welcomed upgrade that in very limited scenarios, usually around 8-9 watt, it still manages to outshine the other much more powerful handheld options.

New Structure and Plans for the future

It goes without saying that the new model has drastically changed the overall structure of the lineup, one that definitely benefits any potential buyers.Now the OLED model replaces the 256gb and 512 LCD model, (which are indeed referred to as LCD) with an increased storage of 512gb and 1tb. Not just that, the previous 256GB model is now replacing the 64GB EMMC model, making it a really great entry point. All at the previous price.

 In the meanwhile the previous 64GB and 512GB models got a huge price cut, respectively at 369€ and 469€ while supply last. One important thing to point out is that Valve confirmed that due to the change in the cooling solution, new motherboard structure, and the overall rework of modularity of the internal component the OLED display and other parts won’t be compatible with the older model, a thing that saddened many users hoping for a simple drop in replacement. Moreover Valve is offering a limited edition with a black transparent shell for selected regions (United States and Canada). Thinking of offering more options in case of success (let’s be real they’ll be gone in an instant).

While a long way for a Steam Deck 2, this is more than just a simple screen upgrade, it’s a significant refresh that still manages to undercut many other competitors with a full support from Valve, great repairability and the option to take advantage of discounted prices thanks to the Refurbished program. One that I remind you can be combined with the usage of Steam Wallet Funds, as you can pay a portion or even in full for a Steam Deck purchase.

Valve Refurbished Steam Decks are refurbished directly by them, and will have all the feature and warranty of the new. Moreover thanks to promotions, sales and discounts codes you can grab a Steam Wallet at a significant discount, further lowering the prices.

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By  whizzerlow

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