Image: Valve
The Steam Deck is getting a new OLED screen refresh, while the original gets a reduced price.
If you haven’t picked up a Steam Deck yet, you might want to hold off for just one more week. Valve has announced a refresh of its handheld gaming PC with a few juicy new additions, such as an OLED screen and an AMD Sephiroth APU. Yes, as in Final Fantasy 7’s one-winged angel Sephiroth. Did you know the original Steam Deck’s APU was also codenamed Aerith?
But I digress.
Everything you need to know about the new Steam Deck OLED
Valve calls the Steam Deck OLED, “the definitive first generation Steam Deck, it's the one that we would have shipped if we could have.” That makes it the perfect Christmas gift for anyone who hasn’t picked up a Steam Deck yet, as it also comes with a few technical enhancements. Like the original, the Steam Deck OLED comes in two variations: the $549 512GB version and the $649 1TB version.
A non-OLED 256GB Steam Deck with an LCD screen, identical to the past iteration of this handheld, will continue to be sold at a discounted price of $399. Similarly, the old 64GB and 512GB versions will also get price cuts while stocks last, as Valve shifts focus to the newer OLED models. The 256GB version will be a mainstay. serving as a more affordable option for buyers of the handheld who don’t mind missing out on the OLED screen.
Here are the 512GB Steam Deck OLED’s technical specs and features:
- 512GB NVMe SSD
- 1280 x 800 HDR OLED display
- 7.4" Diagonal display size
- 6 nm AMD Sephiroth APU
- CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
- GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.6GHz (1.6 TFlops FP32)
- APU power: 4-15W
- 16 GB LPDDR5 on-board RAM (6400 MT/s quad 32-bit channels)
- Wi-Fi 6E
- 50Whr battery; 3-12 hours of gameplay (content-dependent)
- 45W Power supply with 2.5m cable
- Carrying case
- Steam profile bundle
Steam Deck OLED breakdown
The 1TB Steam Deck OLED does not differ from the 512GB version in specs, except that its screen has premium anti-glare etched glass and its carrying case has a removable liner. It also comes with a Steam profile bundle and - believe it or not - an exclusive startup movie and virtual keyboard theme. If the extra storage doesn’t sway you, Valve is counting on virtual keyboard cosmetics to do the job here.
The big ticket item of this hardware refresh is the 1280x800 OLED display, which will really benefit your HDR-enabled games during gameplay with brighter visuals and deeper colours. The device is also around 30g lighter thanks to the thinner OLED screen, allowing Valve to fit a bigger fan and better cooling tech into the Steam Deck while keeping it light. The bigger 50 Whr battery also allows the handheld 30-50% longer battery life.
However, Valve isn’t expecting this version of the Steam Deck OLED to actually improve in-game performance. The OLED screen will certainly make your games look better, but Valve expects this handheld to play all the same games as the original, and do it just as well. Substantial performance upgrades will only come with the Steam Deck 2, which likely won’t arrive for some time.
The Steam Deck OLED will be available for purchase starting November 16 in select regions. You can find more details on the handheld’s specs on Valve’s official website.