Valve: don’t expect a faster Steam Deck ‘in the next couple of years’

Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais hints it might be 2025, even 2026 before a Deck 2.

[GoodGuy09]

Maybe an OLED or smaller model soon. But this is good, that way they can just keep supporting one hardware for a long time with software updates etc.

[Vits]

I don't think it would make much sense to even create a new one at this point. Yes, there were improvements in the tech and you can get better performance. But that also comes at the cost of more power and therefore less battery life. What they could do is variations of the current device, but even that is sort of a stretch. Sort of a better display, there is very little that they can change without major sacrifices.

[blackblades]

Yeah, wait a few more years closer to the next gen of consoles or ps5 pro but preferable next gen. Then they can add the improvements. Add a docking mode like switch so better performance while playing on tv, add a accessory pack for a strong power bank for extra battery life. They'll have time to be able to create and design mark cenery style and come up with something. Going by how things are these days steam deck will be the 2nd or 3rd system to have its a must have.

[RNTody]

The battery life issue can be addressed with a super charging solution like some high end phones or the Asus or Lenovo Legion Go have without needing to massively add to the cost with more power, for the reasons you mentioned.

It's not the end of the world if you have to charge after 4 hours if it takes 30 minutes to charge.

So perhaps an upgraded deck with a faster charging solution or better display, or smaller form factor. There's plenty of room to release a new model without actually being a new machine or one that splits the user base.

Almost like what the Gameboy SP did for Gameboy Advanced. Or the PS Slim models.

[Vits]

Fast Charging adds a lot of cost; you need a much more expensive controller to guarantee power delivery. You also expend much more on the power brick itself, the cable and you add a lot of heat that has to be taken out of the device somehow. Plus you don't really fix the issue, the low battery life itself is still there.

Better display is something that I believe everyone agrees could be accomplished with little compromise. It would add something to the cost, but it's possible to offer something that is better than the current model.

The smaller form factor is something that I see many people asking. And I also assume that those people never used one of the smaller form factor handheld PCs. Otherwise, they would know how compromised the experience is, between the smaller display, the lack of touchpads, pitiful battery life, heat and the bad ergonomics. The SD is the size it is for a reason.