[Digital Foundry] Steam Deck OLED: A Stunning HDR Upgrade... But There's So Much More

[John Elden Ring]

Coming out of nowhere, Valve delivers a brand new Steam Deck, packing a 7.4-inch OLED HDR display with a 90Hz refresh rate. But that's just the headline bullet point on what is actually the most comprehensive 'mid-generation console refresh' we've ever seen. Improved battery life, cooler, lighter, improved haptics and audio, increased repairability - the new Steam Deck is simply brilliant.

00:00 Introduction: A Fantastic Product Across The Board
02:09 The Brand New Steam Deck Line-Up
03:44 The New 90Hz OLED HDR Display
04:43 Bigger Battery, More Efficient, Longer Game Time
07:18 Steam Deck OLED Performs Faster Than LCD
09:49 So Many Extra Enhancements12:00 Steam Deck's Software Continues To Evolve
14:21 Summary
15:56 And Now, The Conclusion

 

[flaccidsnake]

Valve are the best first party.

 

[Jim Ryan]

 

[Dr Bass]

These guys are massively overselling this. Looks like a fine device, but most comprehensive mid cycle refresh ever? Give me a break.

 

[Jim Ryan]

They're supposed to reach three million sold this year...

Very niche device. Really small market presence.

 

[MScarpa]

Shit. I don't want to have to buy this as well.

 

[flaccidsnake]

They're supposed to reach three million sold this year...

Very niche device. Really small market presence.

it runs regular PC games and doesn't require developer support

 

[Jim Ryan]

it runs regular PC games and doesn't require developer support

Limited to the US and Canada... Big ooof.

 

[flaccidsnake]

Limited to the US and Canada... Big ooof.

over a year out of date info

Steam Deck - Reserve Steam Deck now in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong via Komodo - Steam News

We are happy to announce today that Steam Deck is expanding to more regions. With the help of Komodo, Steam Deck will ship later this year in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. We have worked with the team at Komodo for years, and are excited to have their help as our authorized reseller...

store.steampowered.com

 

[Johnic]

Popular gaming device?

 

[JAHGamer]

These guys are massively overselling this. Looks like a fine device, but most comprehensive mid cycle refresh ever? Give me a break.

That’s a very low bar and sounds more impressive than it actually is. Ps4 pro was only a marginal improvements with 100x more noise. Xb1x was a decent improvement but it’s still an Xbox so it sucked anyway. Switch oled is the exact same just with an oled display.

 

[BroodCorp]

People really love this thing. Granted I want one, but games media seems to overrate it slightly.

 

[KiryuRealty]

These guys are massively overselling this. Looks like a fine device, but most comprehensive mid cycle refresh ever? Give me a break.

It doesn’t even have any real performance improvements, just a display panel that might not be as shitty as the original one!

 

[ToTTenTranz]

These guys are massively overselling this. Looks like a fine device, but most comprehensive mid cycle refresh ever? Give me a break.

Agreed. It's just a refresh and it's still using a tiny screen for most PC games, even if a very high quality and bright one.

 

[ethomaz]

It should be OLED from the go.

 

[Dr Bass]

That’s a very low bar and sounds more impressive than it actually is. Ps4 pro was only a marginal improvements with 100x more noise. Xb1x was a decent improvement but it’s still an Xbox so it sucked anyway. Switch oled is the exact same just with an oled display.

Did you look at what the improvements are?

PS4 Pro and X1X were markedly better refreshes than what this offers.

 

[JAHGamer]

Did you look at what the improvements are?

PS4 Pro and X1X were markedly better refreshes than what this offers.

To me the ps4 pro was a downgrade, a few more frames for way too much noise. Even with noise cancelling headphones you could hear the fan. The x1x is an Xbox so it’s more power for nothing, most 3rd parties didn’t even utilize it and the 1st party games that did utilize it sucked.

The new Steam deck has a much better display and MUCH better battery life. With zero downsides and still the SAME price. That alone makes it the best refresh ever.

 

[Evilms]

 

[Zzero]

The One X is still probably the best midgen upgrade ever, but only because the original was so awful.

The worst, if you want to call it one, was the Famicom becoming the NES, way bigger form factor, worse sound, no controller mic (it was shit anyway but still), no BC with original model games. Only saving grace was the longer controller cables and redesigned zapper that was released with it.

 

[flaccidsnake]

People really love this thing. Granted I want one, but games media seems to overrate it slightly.

if anything they underrate. steam deck is the single best gaming device of all time.