Valve launches Steam Deck OLED

While we previously reported that a new generation of the Steam Deck is not on the immediate horizon, this does not preclude Valve from releasing minor updates to the existing model. Today, Valve officially announced the Steam Deck OLED, which, as the name suggests, brings a significantly noticeable enhancement, upgrading from the original LCD screen to an OLED display.

This OLED screen retains the resolution of the original at 1280 x 800. Thanks to the characteristics of OLED technology, this screen boasts a contrast ratio greater than 1,000,000:1 and a color gamut that extends to 110% of the P3 range. Additionally, its refresh rate has been increased to a maximum of 90Hz. With HDR enabled, the screen’s peak brightness can reach 1000 nits, and 600 nits in SDR. In terms of screen size, the new model has also increased slightly, from 7 inches to 7.4 inches.

In a delightful turn, Valve has also introduced some performance improvements to the Steam Deck OLED: the AMD APU’s process has been upgraded from 7nm to 6nm, enhancing the GPU’s performance to a stable 1.6GHz. The 16GB LPDDR5 memory’s frequency has been elevated to 6400MT/s. Storage starts from 512GB, with a maximum capacity of 1TB. For network connections, it supports new standards like Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E. Finally, the battery capacity has been increased from 40Whr to 50Whr, extending the new model’s battery life, with Valve claiming a gaming time of up to 12 hours.

Regarding the overall dimensions, the Steam Deck OLED remains consistent with the original at 298 x 117 x 49mm, though it is lighter at 640 grams.

As for the price, the new Steam Deck OLED is available in 512GB and 1TB versions, priced at $549 and $649, respectively. The original 256GB Steam Deck becomes the new base model, with a price of $399. The original 64GB version, also priced at $399, has been discontinued. In a sense, Valve has also given its machine a discount.

It is particularly noteworthy that the Steam Deck OLED 1TB also comes in a special, limited-edition color scheme, featuring a semi-transparent, frosted gray shell with Valve’s signature orange-red accents on the joysticks and dust grills, which is quite stunning to behold. Regrettably, this limited edition is only available for sale in North America.