[Discussion] With the recent rumors of a possible hardware refresh, what are your most hoped for changes in an updated Steam Deck?
In the leaked info, we know that Valve has an upcoming device that will use the same APU as the current Steam Deck. We don't know if this will be a new VR headset or a Steam Deck hardware refresh. Even though using the same APU means there won't be a performance increase, there could be various other improvements in an upgraded Deck like a better screen, etc. What would you like to see in a partial hardware upgrade?
Unpopular opinion but I'd rather see wider worldwide availability before having a hardware refresh. Getting more Decks out there should be on top of the list before trying to sell upgrades, specially when the current deck does so much already.
Still always supprised when I see Australia getting shafted when it comes to initial product launches. It's fine though, it just means I won't buy your product, no ones out there except for enthusiasts are doing to gray import these things.
I waited patiently for about 6 months then I said fuck it they'll never open shipping for nz and aus so I brought it from Europe and got it shipped. Cost me 3x the price lol.
It is a bit head scratching, but I have no idea what goes into world wide logistics. And now in the states they are even offering refurbished Decks, so they certainly appear to have enough product at this point to open things up. But maybe they dont have enough to open them up without creating another multi-month long backlog they dont want?? Who knows
I dunno, the Deck is already getting slightly negative press for being behind spec-wise compared to the other portables out there. Might not be worth increasing worldwide availability if everyone already thinks its about to become outdated. Maybe they can have Deck 1 and Deck 2 in parallel just at different price points, kinda like how the Series S and X does it.
That sound nice on paper but reality is different. I have had two laptops with double (24Wh)batteries (Lenovo T450 and A485) and batteries in both of them degraded fairly quickly compared to other single-battery models.
The motherboard alone supposedly costs Valve somewhere around $270, so even with them selling the hardware at a loss I don't think there's any chance of getting a set top box for $100.
I'll be honest, I'm still having a problem understanding the draw of HDR. In about 99% of the places I watch...anything...there is ambient light which increases the black floor to a dark gray. I'm already losing the bottom 2-4 bits of depth to the room lighting and screen glare, giving me more fine control of gradients just makes for a slightly more nuanced (but still indistinguishable) dark gray (assuming I don't readjust my gamma every time I play, or when the train turns and the lighting is now coming from another direction) . The wider color gamut could be nice, but it would require a much, much better screen.
VRR would be the #1 upgrade. A mobile chip with mobile thermals and a mobile battery cannot consistently keep ahead of the screen refresh. The screen has to be the one to step down to where the APU is at.
Hall effect sticks, mandatory. My factory sticks started acting up after about a year. The Dreamcast could do it, don't tell me that they're too bleeding-edge expensive.
Squeeze a 2280 SSD in there instead of the 2230. I would give up SD and move the radios to a soldered miniboard for this.
There's nothing that would make me get a half upgrade like that. But I would like to see improvements toward a steam deck 2. If this gets an oled screen, I'd like to see a model in number 2 with an oled screen
Better cooling (I’d gladly have a lump in the back middle if it allowed for a quieter/better fan)
Better accessory connection options (eg a standard for attaching stuff like extra batteries to the back) - I would prefer this to adding more battery (ie weight) to the unit itself.
Tweaks to the back buttons so they work no matter where on the button you press
Some sort of charging dock connection standard to avoid the manual usb connection. Maybe just a usb-c on the bottom
Small case design change to prevent sd cards being snapped when opening (I haven’t done it, but only by luck)
Replace the carry case with a plastic cover to protect screen/sticks like dbrand’s (or at least make it a lot smaller)
Better performance/more ram would be good too I guess but honestly having a unified platform with fixed specs to target has a lot of benefits.
I was very surprised it didn't ship with those at launch, so there's likely some licensing or patent issue with Sony over them. I wouldn't expect to see them outside of Playstation controllers anytime soon.
An OLED screen and a more efficient APU (I don't care for more performance, seeing other handhelds, better performance for 15W is still some years away), that way it can either provide more battery life or the same with an slimmer battery
My personal and never-asked-for wish is fairly small - Backlit buttons. Id like the ABXY and Steam/start/select/Menu button to have a faint glow to them with a toggle on/off/dim in the menu. Maybe even the analog stick could glow where the current sticks are white.
For the gen pop I think the low hanging fruit of upgrades people would actually be interested in would be:
Battery upgrade, or some kind of switch-like efficiency upgrade that makes the battery much more effective
Some kind of screen improvement, be it smaller bezels or an OLED option or even both.
A general change in the ergonomics based on user feedback. I personally like the deck as is but Ive been surprised by stuff I didnt notice before
Beyond that its going to be niche improvements that some people may find interesting and others not so much:
SD and USB slot changes (additions, change in position)
Various internal changes with the hard drive or upgradability options
You can sorta already use the deck as a controller iirc. You can stream a game to your deck and still have it display on your PC. Just turn your deck screen brightness down and play.
I'll take a larger screen, the 7" is far too tiny for me for almost any game with text or captioning. Something in the 9" or slightly larger range would be golden, and you could get most of the way there by getting rid of the bezels. The actual Deck itself wouldn't have to be that much bigger to accommodate the rest.
Assuming this is a refresh of the Steam Deck (Doubtful) or a Steam Deck 2 (If this happens, Ill eat a slice of pizza with double olive and double pineapple), I’d like the popular ones here, and A DECENT BLUETOOTH CHIP!
I don't think it'll ever happen, but I'd love to see the right side trackpad and thumbstick swap places. I use the trackpad 95% of the time and I keep wishing it was in the better spot.
I would say a APU with some RT Cores, and maybe 1080p. If not 720p OlED will be fine. I know this is likely to compete with the ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion both of which have 1080p screens
At the very least, a weight decrease and a bit of a more comfortable ergonomics for long term play sessions, really tired of handhelds that end in a straight vertical line that make you have the wrists in tension instead of having a similar end to controllers like the one from xbox where your wrists can be without that much tension.