Steam Deck OLED review

The Steam Deck OLED ranks first because it gives Steam players the most console-like PC handheld on this list. Valve's spec page lists a 6 nm AMD APU with a Zen 2 CPU and 8 RDNA 2 compute units, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a choice of 512GB or 1TB NVMe storage with a microSD slot. The 7.4-inch HDR OLED touchscreen runs at up to 90Hz and reaches 1,000 nits peak in HDR. Valve rates the 50Whr battery at 3 to 12 hours of gameplay depending on the content, the only PC maker here that publishes a play time range. Controls include two haptic trackpads, a 6-axis gyro and four grip buttons, and SteamOS 3 boots straight into Steam, with a KDE Plasma desktop for other software. The trade-offs are the 1280 x 800 resolution and a weight of about 640 grams. Valve's store showed a non-USD price here, so the price is pending. We compared documented features and published prices only.

Who it is for

PC players with a Steam library

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• 7.4-inch 1280 x 800 HDR OLED touchscreen at up to 90Hz
• 1,000 nits peak brightness in HDR and 600 nits in SDR
• 6 nm AMD APU with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM
• 512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD plus a microSD card slot
• Two trackpads, gyro and four assignable grip buttons

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Valve rates the 50Whr battery at 3 to 12 hours of gameplay
• Strength: SteamOS 3 boots straight into the Steam Library
• Strength: Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
• Weakness: 1280 x 800 resolution is lower than the 1080p screens on the Switch 2 and ROG Xbox Ally
• Weakness: Games outside Steam need the desktop mode or extra setup
• Weakness: Weighs about 640 grams

Key facts

• Screen: 7.4-inch HDR OLED, 1280 x 800, up to 90Hz
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
• Storage: 512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD, microSD slot
• Battery: 50Whr, 3 to 12 hours
• OS: SteamOS 3

Where it ranks

Steam Deck OLED is No. 1 in our Best Handheld Gaming Consoles verdict.