I’m just thinking out loud here.

Steam Deck 2 is a long way away, and I think that’s great. Giving developers a specific hardware target is crucial, and having consumers feel like they need to immediately upgrade is bad.

However, I think there is room for an advanced SD that’s not necessarily “new” but just an external improvement over the existing model at a higher price tier for those looking for a premium experience.

Also I’m going to be nitpicking here, don’t take that the wrong way, I love the SD but it does have some weak points.

So then Steam Deck LE would be identical to the current one with the exception of:

  • The screen. Wow this is probably the greatest weakness of the SD. A larger display with smaller bezels and better color accuracy would go a long way to improving the experience.

  • Hall Effect joysticks. Again, nitpicking here but it’d be nice to see a premium version with these included.

  • 1TB SSD. I originally bought the 64GB version thinking I would just use an SD card no problem. But the ridiculous amount of shader cache, the various Proton versions (~1GB each) and some other software like EmuDeck and Heroic, as well as the annoyance of moving things back and forth had me upgrading quickly to a 1TB, which immediately ended all of those concerns.

  • Different color ways. I’m partial to white but a transparent purple version would be nice to see also.

  • At least 1 more USB-C port… so we can do things like video out while charging.

What else would you like to see added?

  • majcurve@lemmy.world
    21·
    9 months ago

    I just want to be able to download games in the background with the screen off. My internet is crappy at times and I don’t really like leaving the screen on overnight just to download a game or two.

  • kib48@lemm.eeEnglish
    15·
    9 months ago

    I’d love some kind of s0 sleep support where it stays awake to finish updates and downloads and then goes to proper sleep

  • SbisasCostlyTurnover@feddit.ukEnglish
    7·
    9 months ago

    I think like most people I’d just appreciate less bezel. The screen itself looks fine for me (not that I wouldn’t be happy with an upgrade), but the larger issue is the bezel; it’s kinda huge.

    • bug@lemmy.oneEnglish
      5·
      9 months ago

      That sounds cool but also so unnecessary! Do you look at the physical buttons when you’re playing? Can you not just set up on-screen buttons to use with the touchscreen?

    • BlinkerFluid@lemmy.oneEnglish
      1·
      9 months ago

      Yeah and transparent so they can put more rgb lights inside so they all go full seizure mode so everyone knows I’m gaming.

  • rmuk@feddit.ukEnglish
    5·
    9 months ago

    Thunderbolt for eGPU support, ideally with a more elegant dock that doesn’t have the little cable hanging out.

  • Björn Tantau@swg-empire.de
    5·
    9 months ago

    At least the joysticks, bigger SSD and different color are all attainable with a small bit of tinkering. There’s even an aftermarket screen with a higher resolution available. But I don’t know if that has smaller bezels.

    And video out while charging can be handled by whatever dongle you use for video out. But I know what you mean.

    • vividspecter@lemm.ee
      2·
      9 months ago

      VRR displays almost require >60hz, they don’t work properly when they don’t have a significant range to work with. Although in theory if it clocked down to at least 30hz (preferably lower) that would be okay, but that’s fairly uncommon.

    • HughJanus@lemmy.mlOP
      15·
      9 months ago

      I don’t understand how you claim that it doesn’t have variable refresh rate and then gripe about having to vary the refresh rate in the same comment.

  • Akip@feddit.deEnglish
    61·
    9 months ago

    I think people are missing the fine line of the statement, “don’t expect a more powerful SD soon” I think they will release with a new chip with equal performance but less power draw for longer playtime.

  • Gaffe@pawb.social
    4·
    9 months ago

    Not directly relevant but if you have the 64gb deck and a big SD card: you can symlink the directory that houses all the proton versions and shader catches to the SD card.

    That was pretty much the first thing I did after I got my deck, as a stopgap before I could upgrade the SSD but it’s been working well enough I never got around to swapping out the SSD after, what, almost two years?

    • hedgehog@ttrpg.network
      1·
      9 months ago

      Out of curiosity, did a symlink actually work or did you need a bind mount?

      I ask because I had issues with cloud saves not working for BG3 (which I got through GOG, not Steam) and as a workaround I put my save folder in Dropbox and sym linked to it from every system I play on. But on the Steam Deck specifically the sym link didn’t work and I had to create a bind mount instead. I wouldn’t be surprised if Steam and Proton used the same file management libraries.

      • Gaffe@pawb.social
        2·
        9 months ago

        I didn’t do any fancy mounting, as far as I can remember. I think it really was just a matter of copying the directories to my SD card and replacing the directories on the deck with links to the ones I copied to the card.

        I’ll take a look at what I did the next time I get the deck out and let you know

        • hedgehog@ttrpg.network
          2·
          9 months ago

          From your follow-up message where you confirmed - thank you for checking and confirming! I don’t have a 64 GB Steam Deck but some of my friends might (they have Steam Decks, I just don’t know what sizes) and that confirmation will make it way easier for me to help them make the same change if they ever complain about running out of main drive storage.

  • cron@feddit.de
    3·
    9 months ago

    Given the recent price cuts in SSDs, I hope that Valve will double the storage capacity of all Steam Decks, e.g. 128/512/1024 GB.

  • asyncopation@lemm.ee
    2·
    9 months ago

    +1 for new screen. The bezel is really bad. The current resolution just doesn’t show enough detail on some games (Rocket League for example looks awful on the deck to the point where you’re playing with a handicap)

    Controller input latency (using the newer “xbox wireless controller” connected via Bluetooth) needs to be improved

    Ergonomics could be improved. After a few hours, the neck starts to feel it. So I find myself compensating by holding it up higher. Not sure how they could improve the neck issues without a detachable screen or something. Hand/wrist discomfort could definitely be improved.

    • conciselyverbose@kbin.social
      6·
      9 months ago

      Bluetooth isn’t capable of acceptable controller performance. It’s not better on Windows.

      The resolution is a deliberate choice. A higher resolution screen isn’t worth the trade off.

      • asyncopation@lemm.ee
        11·
        9 months ago

        Well these controllers ship with bluetooth connectivity, so it stands to reason that they should work towards their intended purpose.

        I’m able to play most games with noticeable yet acceptable input lag, but not for competitive/online games. It feels like it’s close, and efforts toward optimization could get it there.

        On the other hand the 2.4ghz dongle doesn’t work out of the box so that would be a nice addition.

        You’re saying a higher res screen would cause issues with battery life and performance in the current deck, but we’re talking next gen.

        Edit: I misread the post. The screen upgrade can only work in next gen and your point stands.

        • conciselyverbose@kbin.social
          11·
          9 months ago

          It’s not playable with Bluetooth on any platform. Input lag is not mild. It’s every bit as completely unplayable on Windows.

    • hogart@feddit.nu
      3·
      9 months ago

      Talking about a handheld and neck issues kind of go hand in hand. It’s been an issue since the first handheld. I’m afraid Valve won’t be able to patch anatomy.

    • HughJanus@lemmy.mlOP
      11·
      9 months ago

      Resolution doesn’t bother me, personally. If they put a higher one in, I’d probably run it at 720p regardless.

      Ergonomics takes me back to my last point: you can use something like the NREAL AR glasses. But you can’t use those and charge at the time time without a goofy dongle.

      Other than that, I’m not sure there’s a lot they can do about it