I’m just thinking out loud here.

Steam Deck 2 is a long way away, and I think that’s great. Giving developers a specific hardware target is crucial, and having consumers feel like they need to immediately upgrade is bad.

However, I think there is room for an advanced SD that’s not necessarily “new” but just an external improvement over the existing model at a higher price tier for those looking for a premium experience.

Also I’m going to be nitpicking here, don’t take that the wrong way, I love the SD but it does have some weak points.

So then Steam Deck LE would be identical to the current one with the exception of:

  • The screen. Wow this is probably the greatest weakness of the SD. A larger display with smaller bezels and better color accuracy would go a long way to improving the experience.

  • Hall Effect joysticks. Again, nitpicking here but it’d be nice to see a premium version with these included.

  • 1TB SSD. I originally bought the 64GB version thinking I would just use an SD card no problem. But the ridiculous amount of shader cache, the various Proton versions (~1GB each) and some other software like EmuDeck and Heroic, as well as the annoyance of moving things back and forth had me upgrading quickly to a 1TB, which immediately ended all of those concerns.

  • Different color ways. I’m partial to white but a transparent purple version would be nice to see also.

  • At least 1 more USB-C port… so we can do things like video out while charging.

What else would you like to see added?

  • HughJanus@lemmy.mlOP
    02·
    1 year ago

    I don’t understand how you claim that it doesn’t have variable refresh rate and then gripe about having to vary the refresh rate in the same comment.

    • CalcProgrammer1@lemmy.ml
      1·
      1 year ago

      Adjustable refresh rate and variable refresh rate are not the same thing…have you ever used a VRR display (Freesync/GSync)? VRR means the panel refresh changes dynamically with the game framerate. Having an adjustable fixed refresh range between 30 and 60 is damn nice compared to a fixed 60, but VRR is better and would hugely benefit the Deck since it tends to run a lot of games sub-60.

      • HughJanus@lemmy.mlOP
        02·
        1 year ago

        Adjustable refresh rate and variable refresh rate are not the same thing…

        I mean it sounds a whole lot like the same thing…

        • CalcProgrammer1@lemmy.ml
          0·
          1 year ago

          Sounds like you’ve never used a VRR display. It’s actually very obvious you’ve never used a VRR display. Once you use one you won’t want to go back. Fixed refresh stutters and/or tears when the game frame rate doesn’t match the display’s refresh rate. VRR just dynamically speeds up or slows down the panel refresh to match, giving a tear-free image with as minimal stuttering as possible. Just because the Deck display supports a wide range of fixed refresh rates does not make it anywhere near equivalent to a proper VRR panel as the Deck screen does not adjust dynamically to match the game FPS.

          • HughJanus@lemmy.mlOP
            01·
            1 year ago

            That’s not correct. I have used several.

            How does my personal experience weigh into terminology?

            • CalcProgrammer1@lemmy.ml
              0·
              1 year ago

              If you’ve used a VRR display you would be able to see the difference between the fixed but selectable refresh rate of the Deck and proper variable, dynamic refresh rate. There’s a very noticeable difference. The Deck is not VRR. It was never claimed to be VRR. Some of the other handhelds like the ROG Ally do have VRR screens. A VRR screen for the Deck would be an upgrade. I’m not sure why this merits any sort of debate.