Valve has announced that the Steam Deck OLED will be available for purchase with 512 GB ($549) and 1 TB ($649) of storage starting November 16.
Designed as a replacement for the LCD models (“the 64 GB and 512 GB Steam Deck LCD models are being phased out”), this is a new version of the Steam Deck that features an OLED screen, offering what is presumably vastly improved black levels and overall image quality versus the older models.
According to the specs that Valve shared, the new handheld also features a revised, FFVII-inspired APU (6 nm “Sephiroth” vs. 7 nm “Aerith” chip), not to mention a longer-lasting battery and support for a newer version of Wi-Fi. The screen is also a little bit bigger than the older model, featuring a new 90 Hz refresh rate and support for HDR, albeit the resolution is the same (1280 x 800).
Other changes include a thicker heatsink and larger fan.
Here’s how the new OLED models compare to what will be the only remaining LCD version, which is on discount for $399:
One of the editors at The Verge has already gotten his hands on the new Steam Deck OLED, and he seems pretty impressed at how it can run Cyberpunk 2077:
Cyberpunk is running faster, more stable, cooler, quieter, while drawing less power from a larger battery and looking brighter and clearer and better.
Battery life also seems to be a pretty big improvement based on his findings with Control, as well as cooling performance:
I was able to play the graphically intensive Control for just under two hours on my original Steam Deck review unit at 60 frames per second. This past week, I played the same game at up to 80 frames per second for two hours, 11 minutes.
The fan is also whisper-quiet now, fixing one of the biggest issues with the original. The entire handheld runs cooler. It simply doesn’t get uncomfortably hot, even after fully draining the battery with an intensive game.
That said, there may be some refresh rate issues due to the omission of some newer tech, namely, VRR:
Valve display tech expert Jeremy Selan tells me that variable refresh rate (VRR) “didn’t quite make it into this revision,” so the Steam Deck OLED can still easily run into stutter when games can’t keep up with the refresh rate you select. And while you can now select from an incredible range of frame rates all the way from 10fps to 90fps, some of which divide nicely into the refresh rates Valve’s new screen supports, I’m finding it takes a lot of trial and error to see which games work with which refresh options. 30fps should scale beautifully to 90Hz, but I’m only seeing that work in some titles. Even 60/60 wasn’t perfectly smooth in everything I’ve tried.
A limited edition of the Steam Deck OLED will also be available on November 16 for $679, featuring the following specs and goodies:
- 1TB NVMe SSD
- 1280 x 800 HDR OLED display with premium anti-glare etched glass
- 7.4″ Diagonal display size
- 6nm APU
- Wi-Fi 6E
- 50Whr battery; 3-12 hours of gameplay (content-dependent)
- 45W power supply with 2.5m cable
- Limited edition carrying case with removable liner
- Steam profile bundle
- Exclusive startup movie
- Exclusive virtual keyboard theme
“Introducing the Limited Edition Steam Deck OLED, a different colorway for the 1TB Steam Deck OLED. Quantities are highly limited, and are only available in the United States and Canada,” Valve writes.