Valve’s Steam Deck OLED will officially launch this week

Valve has officially announced an updated Steam Deck. On November 16, players will be able to enjoy all the greatness of the Steam Deck with an official OLED screen and more in the Steam Deck OLED. Almost a year ago, there was an interview where Valve said the first set of updates would be an improved screen and longer battery life and now we’re seeing it in action. I was just telling a friend over the weekend that I’ve been waiting for an updated Steam Deck and now it looks like I need to start saving.

Let’s go over some logistical things. First, all Steam LCD decks have seen a price drop, and the 64GB and 512GB versions will be discontinued. Now, the 256GB version of the LCD will be the base model and will be joined by a 512GB OLED and a 1TB OLED. Furthermore, the price of the Docking Station has been lowered. Here’s the price breakdown:

Steam Deck Docking Station – $79

Steam Deck LCD 64GB – $349 (while supplies last)

Steam Deck LCD 256GB – $399 (new base model)

Steam Deck LCD 512GB – $449 (while supplies last)

Steam Deck OLED 512GB – $549

1TB OLED Steam Deck – $649

Overall, I think these prices are great! An OLED HDR screen will certainly look stunning and the screen is still 1280×800 but is slightly larger thanks to thinner bezels and has a 90Hz refresh rate! So is the new screen everything? As mentioned above, battery life has improved (30-50% according to Steam) and it seems for a couple of reasons, including the fact that it’s bigger. Went from a 40Wh battery to a 50Wh battery. Other improvements Valve is marketing include a smaller APU die ranging from 7nm to 6nm for greater efficiency and an upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E via Wi-Fi 5. There’s also a larger fan to keep it cooler and weighs 30 g less than the LCD display. model. One final update that Valve doesn’t really talk about is that the RAM is faster. It went from 5500 MT/s up to 6400 MT/s, which Digital Foundry confirmed provides some performance boost that varies by game.

There are a few other items reported by Digital Foundry (video below) that I think are worth mentioning. First, Steam Deck now has a more convenient way to lock your console’s refresh rate/FPS. They also mention that the speakers are louder with more bass, the Steam Deck OLED has an improved haptics, and a new and improved trackpad. They also say that repairability is improved since the back is easier to remove and you don’t have to go through the back to replace the screen.

As for me, I’m very excited about the Steam Deck OLED. It seems like they’ve really taken a lot of user feedback to heart and are rolling out a significantly improved product. You can order Steam Deck OLED from Steam and from Komodo for players in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.