The first aftermarket Steam Deck screen upgrade is here, but it sure seems like a bad idea
Mobile tech company FX Technology has announced that it will begin offering an aftermarket screen replacement for the Steam Deck under the brand DeckHD(opens in new tab). These new panels do not yet have a price, but will offer a higher 1920x1200 resolution with 30% more AdobeRGB coverage (better color accuracy, basically), and the same anti-glare coating as Valve's top-price Deck.
The base screen on the Deck is, well, fine. It has a just-squeaking-by-as-HD 1280x800 screen, and while I'm not especially picky on the color accuracy or vibrancy front, I've definitely noticed a bit of light bleed, mostly on loading screens when it goes all black. The Deck's base screen is a top contender for a revamp on future models or even as a DIY project, but I don't think DeckHD is the way to go—especially given our last interview with Valve(opens in new tab) about the possibility of a Future OLED Deck.
«The screen's at the core of the device,» Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais told us in March. «Everything is anchored to it. Basically everything is architected around everything when you're talking about a device that small. I think it would be a bigger amount of work than people are assuming it would be [...] the idea that you could just swap in a new screen and be done—it would need more than that to be doable.»
The way the Deck is put together, the screen is the very last thing you have access to after all the internals, meaning a nearly full disassembly and reassembly of the device, as well as some finagling with a heat gun to take care of the adhesive holding the original screen in place. For all that work, I'd want to have no misgivings or compromises in the screen I'm putting in, and from what Griffais told us, it'd likely take some
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