Close Menu
Technology Mag

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    The Dangerous Decline in Vaccination Rates

    May 10, 2025

    Netflix’s ‘Moments’ Feature Lets You Easily Share Your Favorite Clips

    May 10, 2025

    Customs and Border Protection Confirms Its Use of Hacked Signal Clone TeleMessage

    May 10, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Subscribe
    Technology Mag
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    • Home
    • News
    • Business
    • Games
    • Gear
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Security
    • Trending
    • Press Release
    Technology Mag
    Home » The Valve Steam Deck OLED Is a Brighter, Sharper Way to Play Handheld Games
    Games

    The Valve Steam Deck OLED Is a Brighter, Sharper Way to Play Handheld Games

    News RoomBy News RoomDecember 8, 20234 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Email

    Between all those pads, buttons, and sticks on the front of the Steam Deck OLED is its new screen. If there was any weak point to the older Steam Deck, it was the screen, which was a little dim, not super colorful, and at only 7 inches diagonal, a bit small. All of that changes with the new display. It uses OLED technology to show a much more vivid picture that can get way brighter (600 nits in standard dynamic range, and 1,000 nits peak when used with HDR games, up from a peak of 400 nits on the old LCD) as well as way darker, since pixels on OLED screens can fully turn off, making for inky-black blacks. The OLED display is slightly bigger too, with an additional 0.4 inches on the diagonal, and with a faster 90-Hz refresh rate for a smoother look in less graphically intensive games and the Deck’s menus.

    Specs aside, this screen is eye-poppingly gorgeous and a huge upgrade. Even in the sunny corner of my apartment, where the original Deck’s screen struggles to be seen, the OLED version cuts through the glare. In HDR-capable titles like Cyberpunk 2077, the glitzy neon signs and streetlights of Night City were intense as I drove a long-dead rock star’s Porsche through the rainy streets. Later in the game, I snooped around a downloaded crime scene for clues and had to squint my eyes during a flashlight-bright transition sequence. You have to see this screen to believe it; even if your favorite titles don’t have HDR support, everything you play on the new Deck looks more punchy.

    Power Struggle

    Gamers are a notorious lot, always craving more and more horsepower from their devices. Well, the newest Steam Deck OLED doesn’t address those desires at all. In fact, Valve has gone harder in the direction of efficiency, using a new custom chip—manufactured with an improved 6-nm process, for you processor nerds—to decrease power usage at the same speeds overall.

    In my testing, at least when using the beta version of the operating system loaded onto my loaner, the Steam Deck OLED put up performance numbers very similar to the older model. In the built-in Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark, both a 2022 Deck and this new one scored 30 frames per second on average. Stray similarly hovered around 60 fps depending on what was happening on screen, with no perceptible difference between the old and new Decks. The Deck still isn’t as much of a graphical beast as a home console—and loses out to competing handhelds like the ASUS Rog Ally and Lenovo Legion Go for graphics power—but Valve’s got everyone else beat on battery life.

    The updated Valve-designed processor paired with a bigger battery means overall longer run time. Whereas I’d get only a couple of hours out of a big AAA game before I’d need to charge the previous Deck, the OLED model can last longer, though playing time may vary greatly between games depending on how graphics-intensive they are. On the original Deck, I could sit down with Cyberpunk 2077 for maybe two hours before the thing hit 10 percent, while the new model lasts closer to two and a half hours. In stylish-yet-simple games like Night in the Woods and Donut County, I got estimates of around four hours from the Deck’s OS. It’s so highly variable due to the wide variety of compatible titles, so it’s difficult to get a sense of the true lifespan. My overall feeling is that you won’t be running to plug in the Steam Deck OLED as frequently.

    Push My Buttons

    Photograph: Valve

    Thankfully, unlike on competing handhelds, Valve has gone out of its way to validate games for the Deck and marks them in the Steam store as such. Some games are untested, but many of them are at least labeled “playable” if not “Great on Deck.” Popular blockbuster titles like Baldur’s Gate III, Elden Ring, and Mortal Kombat 1 are rated Great, while Starfield, with its demanding graphics, is a no-go, “unsupported” on the Steam Deck’s low-power chip. If the latest and greatest aren’t of interest, a lot of cool, fun indie games like Hades and Vampire Survivors hustle on the Deck and get far longer battery life.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleApple has seemingly found a way to block Android’s new iMessage app
    Next Article EU reaches provisional agreement on AI Act, paving way for landmark law

    Related Posts

    Corsair’s Void Wireless v2 Is a Great-Sounding Headset for Big Heads

    May 4, 2025

    Mouse Mode on Nintendo Switch 2 Already Needs an Overhaul

    April 30, 2025

    The Nintendo Switch 2 Price Won’t Get Hit By Trump’s Tariffs

    April 23, 2025

    The GameSir G7 SE Is a Great Cheap Controller

    April 22, 2025

    ‘The Last of Us’ Creator Didn’t Want to Sweep ‘Upsetting’ Moments Under the Rug

    April 15, 2025

    Hundreds of Video Game Workers Join New Union as Trump Attacks Labor Rights

    April 15, 2025
    Our Picks

    Netflix’s ‘Moments’ Feature Lets You Easily Share Your Favorite Clips

    May 10, 2025

    Customs and Border Protection Confirms Its Use of Hacked Signal Clone TeleMessage

    May 10, 2025

    A review of Adidas’ entirely 3D printed Climacool sneakers

    May 10, 2025

    Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is on sale with a $100 gift card starting at $299.99

    May 9, 2025
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    Don't Miss
    News

    Donald Trump takes aim at more water and energy efficiency standards

    By News RoomMay 9, 2025

    Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum Friday afternoon directing the Department of Energy to “consider…

    Google will pay a $1.375 billion settlement to Texas over privacy violations

    May 9, 2025

    Figma’s CEO on his new approach to AI

    May 9, 2025

    You can now use Apple Pay to buy games on your PS5

    May 9, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    © 2025 Technology Mag. All Rights Reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.