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Steam Deck OLED is a handheld gaming device with a 7.4-inch HDR OLED display, longer battery life, faster WiFi, and more. Learn about its specs, updates, and how it compares to the LCD model.
Steam Deck OLED is a powerful, portable PC gaming device with a 7.4\" HDR OLED display and a 6 nm APU. It supports up to 90Hz refresh rate, Wi-Fi 6E, and Steam Deck Verified games.
The Steam Deck OLED is a handheld PC gaming device with a 7.4-inch OLED screen, improved battery, and Wi-Fi 6E. It runs Steam games well, but struggles with the latest AAA releases and has limited emulation support.
- Analyst, Hardware
- Valve
Ads · Steam deck oled
Steam Deck OLED is a handheld PC that can run the latest AAA games with a 7.4\" HDR OLED display and a custom AMD APU. It has full-sized controls, trackpads, gyro, grip buttons, and a microSD card slot.
- More than meets the eye.
- Same Steam, New Screen
- What's the most important upgrade in the Steam Deck OLED?
- What we said about the original Steam Deck
- Score: 7
- Bo's Favorite Steam Deck Games
- Purchasing Guide
- Verdict
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
By Bo Moore
Updated: Nov 11, 2023 1:04 am
Posted: Nov 9, 2023 6:00 pm
A lot has changed in the nearly two years since the Steam Deck launched. Literally hundreds of software updates, an ever-expanding catalog of Deck-verified games, and a bevy of useful accessories have helped Valve’s handheld, Linux-powered PC solidify itself as more than just a flash in the pan. Now we can add hardware revisions to that list, too – and in the 2023 OLED version, which replaces the LCD original without increasing the price, Valve has addressed virtually every criticism leveled in our 2022 review with surgical precision.
The Steam Deck OLED doesn’t fundamentally change the experience of playing games, but it makes that experience better in a number of significant ways. The clearest and most obvious is the new OLED screen which, though still displaying 1200x800 resolution, is bright and vibrant and makes games look even better than before. It’s actually slightly larger, measuring 7.4 inches diagonally, up from a flat 7. It’s HDR certified, capable of 1000 nits of peak brightness with wide color gamut (110% of the DCI-P3 color spectrum), and has a refresh rate of 90Hz, up from 60Hz on the original.
Side by side, the difference is clearly noticeable. The neon streets of Cyberpunk 2077 glow brighter and more vibrantly, while shadowy areas are bathed in inky blacks. Even in SDR content, where the screen maxes at 600 nits brightness, the clarity of OLED simply looks excellent. You can’t really see the difference in our video review unless you’re watching on an OLED screen, but anyone who's made the jump from Switch to Switch OLED can attest to the improved visual experience.
When you’re holding it in your hand, everything about the new Deck is physically the same, save for a neat little orange accent on the power button, and the thumbsticks are all-black now, instead of the gray accents on the LCD model. Despite the similar dimensions, you might notice it’s 30g lighter. That’s only about 5% difference, but it’s not insignificant in something you’re holding for a long period of time. It’s still a fairly chunky handheld that’s nonetheless comfortable to hold, with excellent ergonomics and a slew of useful control options ranging from its standard gaming inputs to its unique dual touchpads, touch-sensitive screen, and programmable back buttons.
However, the new screen tech has changed a few things on the inside as well. Valve’s engineers told me that the OLED panel they’re using this time around is actually a bit thinner than the original LCD, which means there’s slightly more room for everything else to grow into. Most importantly, there was room for a larger battery: 50 Watt-hours up from 40 on the original. It’s also better about using that power thanks to an updated AMD APU that’s more efficient. Again, it’s not more powerful, so you won’t get better framerates, but it’s able to hit that same level of performance while using less power and running cooler.
The Steam Deck OLED lasted a full hour longer.
“
The OLED screen
Better battery life
Cooler and quieter
Improved haptics/trackpad/touchscreen
Better Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Another benefit of using less power is less heat is generated, and along with redesigned thermals and a larger fan, that makes this a noticeably cooler handheld. You can see in our side-by-side thermal testing that the OLED model averages 5 to 10 degrees cooler at hotspots around the vents, and there’s less heat spread across the rest of the device.
When the Steam Deck is living up to its promises, it's absolutely incredible. Playing GTA 5, God of War, and other modern games on the go is an absolute joy, and the hardware and controls feel good to hold even though it’s a big chubby boy of a handheld. It seriously impressed me with how nice some demanding modern games look on its 7-inch screen. ...
Read the full Steam Deck review.
I’m not going to spend too much time on gaming performance, because in every test I ran the results matched those of the original Deck within 3fps. In other words, the Steam Deck is still a highly capable handheld PC, especially if you dig in and tweak settings to find the optimal balance of performance and battery life.
What has changed is that there have been a boatload of competitors that’ve come out since the original Steam Deck, and the OLED’s power is slightly less impressive relative to Windows-powered handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and many from Ayaneo, among others. But the margins there are relatively small, and most of those are significantly more expensive. In my experience, I’ve found the Steam Deck to be far and away more convenient and enjoyable to use than any of those thanks to the smoothness of the SteamOS interface. That is, unless you want to go into Desktop mode and mess around with your files, in which case you’ll need to know how to use Linux.
The one area those Windows handhelds have the upper hand is when playing games that don’t play nice with SteamOS. It’s still a pain if you want to play games that aren’t on Steam, with varying degrees of difficulty. Most from Epic Games Store, GOG, and itch.io are possible if you’re willing to dive into the Linux desktop, install third-party launchers, and jump through other compatibility hoops, but it’s definitely more of a hassle than the out-of-the-box ease that Windows brings. Even then, there are still some notable omissions – games that use Easy Anti-Cheat, like Fortnite and Call of Duty Warzone, remain unplayable on SteamOS. And even though Destiny 2 is on Steam, Bungie will ban you if you try to bypass the SteamOS/Proton incompatibility.
Given all the improvements Valve has packed in, you might expect the Steam Deck OLED to cost more than its predecessor. Instead, storage has doubled for essentially the same price. We still have three price tiers, but now the $399 entry-point is the exact same 256GB LCD model that used to sit at the $529 middle-tier spot. The new middle tier costs $549, and gets you the new OLED version with all of the aforementioned upgrades and 512GB of storage, and the $649 OLED comes with 1TB. As before, the high-tier model comes with an anti-glare coating on the screen as well as an exclusive carrying case. The new OLED model goes on sale on November 16.
Meanwhile, the old 64GB and 512GB LCD models are dropping even further in price (to $349 and $449, respectively), but those will only be available while supplies last.
The Steam Deck OLED is a clear, across-the-board improvement on what was already a fantastic gaming handheld. Steam Deck has matured greatly since it launched, and though there will always be some holes in its catalog that don’t work out of the box, the fact that you can easily play 2023 games like Diablo 4, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty on the go with few compromises make it a fantastic way to clear your backlog when you’re away from your main PC. The OLED model brings hardware tweaks beyond the absolutely gorgeous screen. The real star of the show is the improved battery life, which puts the Steam Deck significantly more clearly in the “portable” category than simply a handheld device that you’ll need to keep plugged in most of the time. Add in a slew of small but altogether significant improvements, combined with twice as much storage at the same price, and the Steam Deck OLED is a fantastic device that’s an obvious choice for anyone looking to get into handheld PC gaming. Heck, if you’re constantly running down the battery on your current Steam Deck, it might even be a big enough deal to consider upgrading.
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The Steam Deck OLED is a revised version of Valve's handheld PC with a brighter and smoother screen, better battery life, and more features. Read IGN's review to find out how it compares to the original and what games look like on it.
- Bo Moore
Nov 14, 2023 · The Steam Deck OLED improves on the original's LCD screen with better color, contrast, and brightness. It also has other minor hardware changes, but no performance boost.
Feb 14, 2024 · last updated 14 February 2024. Comments (0) Editor's Choice. (Image: © Future) Tom's Guide Verdict. The Steam Deck OLED impresses thanks to its vibrant display, lighter design, faster Wi-Fi...
