Valve is making a solid entry into the handheld gaming market with the Steam Deck. It’s basically a PC that you can carry around anywhere, which puts it firmly in competition with the Nintendo Switch.
But the Steam Deck is not a perfect device by any means. It has its fair share of shortcomings, especially for a 2021 handheld. And, if you’re in the market for one, you need to know about the downsides.
So, in this article, we’ll discuss everything we dislike about the new Valve Steam Deck.
1. The Steam Deck Uses an LCD Display Instead of OLED
Considering Valve revealed the Steam Deck just days after Nintendo announced the Switch OLED, it’s disappointing to see them use an LCD panel for its display. Even mid-range smartphones have OLED panels these days, as they’re not just vibrant but also energy-efficient.
OLED panels are also thinner due to the lack of a backlight, which gives more room for the rest of the hardware, like a bigger battery. The LCD display is certainly not the move for a handheld device that’s coming out in 2021.
2. The Steam Deck Boasts Outdated Screen Resolution
Maybe you don’t really mind an LCD display, but the screen resolution of the Steam Deck could still be a deal-breaker. For a 2021 handheld gaming PC, the Steam Deck doesn’t even have a Full HD 1080p screen. The display’s resolution is 1280×800, which is slightly more than the Nintendo Switch that came out in 2017.
We’ve seen similar handheld gaming PCs like the Alienware Concept UFO, which launched in 2020, sporting a much higher 1200p display. So why exactly did Valve opt for a lower-resolution screen?
The only logical reason we can think of is to maximize the battery life. The Steam Deck would require a lot more power to drive a higher-resolution screen.
3. The Steam Deck Offers Mediocre Battery Life
You’d think the Steam Deck would have great battery life since it has a lower-resolution display, but that’s not the case at all. The battery life is mediocre at best, and it’s slightly worse than the Nintendo Switch’s battery life.
The Steam Deck’s battery life depends on how far games push its hardware. Based on the game you play and your in-game visual settings, you can expect anywhere from 2-8 hours of battery life from the Steam Deck.
According to Valve, you can play Portal 2 on the Steam Deck for four hours, but if you lock the frame rate to 30 FPS, it will last an extra hour or two.
If you’re someone who intends to play popular AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Red Dead Redemption 2, don’t expect your Steam Deck to last for more than four hours.
4. The Steam Deck Base Model Only Has 64GB of Storage
The Steam Deck comes in 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage variants. We think the sole purpose of the 64GB model was to hit the sub-$400 price tag and compete against the Nintendo Switch.
We hate to say it, but 64GB simply isn’t good enough to store PC games these days. You won’t be able to download and install games like Call of Duty: Warzone or Battlefield 2042 on the 64GB model. That base model also uses slower eMMC storage instead of an SSD like the higher-end variants.
While you do have the option to expand the storage with a microSD card, it’s worth noting that they’re much slower to access than your internal storage. This means you will face increased loading times. It would’ve been much better if Valve raised the price by $50 and released a 128GB variant instead.
The Steam Deck Is NOT the Perfect Handheld
As much as we love the new Steam Deck for its extreme versatility, we can’t overlook its shortcomings. The fact that we’re complaining about an LCD display might seem like nitpicking, but you need to look at the bigger picture here (no pun intended).
The Steam Deck just doesn’t meet today’s standards in a couple of important areas. And you should take into account these downsides when considering whether or not to buy the new handheld.