Valve has launched its very own handheld gaming console called Steam Deck. This device is a small gaming PC that runs a customized version of SteamOS and can play all of your Steam games.
The Steam Deck has a similar design factor to other handheld gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Switch or the PlayStation Vita. However, this device has a uniquely arranged key placement compared to other controllers. In addition, there are analog sticks on either side of the screen, with the d-pad on the left and the ABXY keys on the right.
Further, the space below the analog sticks is two capacitive trackpads that allow the user to control the mouse pointer. They featured this for games that need a mouse rather than gamepads. Besides, it also has a 6-axis gyroscope that may allow you to control your motion in games.
The rest of the buttons are View, Menu, Steam, Quick Access, four trigger buttons at the top, and four customizable triggers on the grip.
The Steam Deck features a touchscreen 7-inch LCD with a resolution of 1280 x 800 and a 60Hz refresh rate. Also, its screen has a 16:10 aspect ratio and has a maximum of 400 nits brightness. You can use this for interactions between its UI and the on-screen keyboard.
Inside is a proprietary Zen 2 architecture base AMD APU processor that has 4 cores and 8 threads. This processor has an integrated GPU that uses the most recent RDNA2 architecture, with 8 compute units.
For the storage, it has three different variants of 64GB eMMC, 256GB NVMe SSD, and 512GB NVMe SSD. If these internal storages are not enough don’t worry because it has a high-speed microSD card slot for expanding storage.
In terms of battery life, Valve claims that Steam Deck’s inbuilt 40 watt-hour battery enables up to 2-8 hours of gameplay. Also, you can charge this device with a 45W USB Type-C power supply.
Furthermore, the Steam Deck runs on an Arch-Based Linux SteamOS 3.0 with Proton. Proton is a compatibility layer that allows developers to run their games without the requirement for porting process.
Additional features include a dual-microphone, 3.5mm jack, Dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0 connection. You can use its USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 connection not only for charging, but for data transfer, audio, and external displays.
Lastly, it also has a dock that includes one USB-A 3.1 port, two USB-A 2.0 connectors, and an ethernet port. You can also use this for external displays since it also has a DisplayPort port and an HDMI 2.0 port.
Price and availability
This device will be available in three variants:
- 64GB variant – USD 399 (around PHP19.5K)
- 256GB variant – USD 529 (around PHP25K)
- 512GB variant – USD 649 (around PHP31k)
Steam Deck is currently available for pre-order in certain regions and will begin arriving in December 2021. As of writing, this product is not available for pre-order in the Philippines but we hope that it will also arrive soon.
Source: Valve
