TECH NEWS – Valve has unveiled the Steam Deck OLED, an improved version of Steam Deck that comes with an OLED screen and other improvements for gamers.
Valve Announces Steam Deck OLED! It will be the mid-generation update of its popular handheld gaming device, launched in February 2022 with immediate success. When the Steam Deck was released, it started a wave of competing portable devices, such as the Asus ROG Ally and the Logitech G Cloud.
However, despite the growing competition in handheld gaming devices, Valve’s Steam Deck is still largely considered the best portable gaming PC on the market.
The original Steam Deck has a 1280 x 800 display with a 7-inch diagonal. Valve has teamed up with AMD to offer a powerful Zen 2 APU. It runs at 2.4-3.5GHz clock speed, and the device’s battery officially lasts for 2-8 hours of gaming. At launch, customers could choose between 64, 256 or 512GB of storage, but it looks like that will change with the upcoming release of the Steam Deck OLED model.
The Steam Deck OLED will be released on November 16 at 10 AM PST. Although the resolution of the new device remains unchanged, the HDR OLED screen now offers a display size of 7.4 inches. The updated Steam Deck model will come with a 512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD for storage. And the internet capabilities have been upgraded from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6E. Importantly, the battery has also been updated from 40Whr to 50Whr. It now promises 3-12 hours of playing time. The two Steam Deck OLED models retail for $549 for the 512GB version and $649 for the 1TB.
Steam Deck OLED specifications
- 512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD
- 1280 x 800 HDR OLED display
- 7.4″ diagonal display size
- 6 nm APU
- Wi-Fi 6E
- 50Whr battery for 3-12 hours of gameplay
- $549 or $649 USD
- Release date: November 16 at 10 AM PST
The Steam Deck OLED also has a different colour scheme than the standard Steam Deck. Red accents on the power button, air vents and analogue sticks. Valve is currently promoting the device as a limited edition, stressing that quantities are highly limited. It’s unclear if the company will restock if the current supply runs out.
Notably, the prices of the Steam Deck LCD models have also been permanently reduced to $349, $399 and $449 for the 64, 256 and 512GB versions.
The original 64GB and 512GB Steam Deck models are also being phased out entirely. That way, there will be no replenishment once the current stock is depleted.
According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Valve has confirmed that Steam Deck 2 is still in development. However, this generational upgrade of the portable device will not be released for at least two to three years. In the meantime, the permanent price cut of the original Steam Deck seems like an ideal opportunity for those who have been undecided about portable PCs to find out what all the fuss is about.
NEW: Valve announces the Steam Deck OLED, a new model of the popular gaming handheld with a sharper screen and more battery life. (I've been testing one and it looks fantastic)
Plus, Valve tells me a Steam Deck 2 is in the works but 2-3 years away. Story: https://t.co/fPRenRekp4 pic.twitter.com/UhzUcAyWhC
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 9, 2023
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