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.
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 Might not be worth increasing worldwide availability if everyone already thinks its about to become outdated.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.
The dream? User swappable battery. I would gladly trade up for that
Things I don’t need:
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OLED
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Smaller bezels
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1080p
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More advanced controller buttons (DS5 triggers)
Things I want, in priority order:
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Higher efficiency everything (mostly SoC) for better performance, lower battery drain or both
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FreeSync
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Bigger battery
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Two M2 slots
Two M2 slots isnt something Id even thought of, either that or 2280 form factor support would be great
Just switching to 2280 would be enough and would take the same physical volume as a pair of 2230s.
Battery life / capacity would be great upgrade.
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Increased serviceability, especially when it comes to the battery.
Dual USB ports, one on top and one on bottom.
Hall effect controllers.
Increased efficiency/performance of course
Maybe a slightly bigger/better screen
I would love adaptive triggers like the PS5 controller
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.
Strip it down and make a Steam Machine out of it. Valve could likely sell a tiny set top box for under $100.
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.
My guess is this will be a hybrid VR headset that can play games standalone a la the quest, as well as via PC via tether or wireless.
I don’t really want a steam deck refresh if there is no performance improvement tbh.
That being said, 8"+ 1080p HDR screen with more nits would be nice. Maybe some dual stage/adaptive triggers.
Deck lite.
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
Hall effect sensors, and I want to be able to pair the deck with my computer and use it as a controller.
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.
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
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.
Another m.2 and an optional 5g modem would be choice to me.
Better display, better form factor/ergonomics.
Current ergonomics are pretty good in my experience, but I do have larger hands. How would you like to see them changed?
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.
