64/512GB LCD models are being phased out and are permanently on discount until sold out. Seems the 256GB LCD will remain while 512GB/1TB OLED are the other new SKUs. There is also an extremely limited limited edition 1 TB OLED that has a new color way, exclusive to the US and Canada.
Here’s an article by The Verge for a quick run down on what’s different. Sounds like basically everything got a slight face lift, however not enough to warrant the Steam Deck 2 moniker. Better battery, slightly better chip, better cooling, Wifi 6E, and more… Sounds like a no-brainer to buy this one over last “gen.” Not quite enough for a straight up upgrade for me though.
I’m tempted, the screen is 0.4" larger and that’s my main gripe with the deck. I’m surprised that it’s a bit faster and also a little annoyed because they wanted to keep the hardware around for a long time to make a stable target for game devs. Now that target will be the OLED and devs won’t care much about the old one, so early adopters will get more stutter later down the road.
The oled is also 90hz instead of 60. So if they target the oled they’re probably going to target 90hz too. The older 60hz steam deck users would be at an advantage (assuming fps is capped) since it only needs to consistently pump out 2/3 the FPS.
The CPU and GPU are rated for the same speed, but I’m sure the 6nm CPU + better cooling will eek out 0.1% better performance.
They chose a 90hz screen and put that in the fine print? Alright that’s it, anyone want my old deck with gulikit sticks and a jsaux backplate?
I’d love the new screen, smaller bezels, cooler, quieter, longer lasting deck, but I just bought mine 6 months ago. I’m jealous, but fine otherwise… Ill enjoy the full upgrade in 2~3 years I guess