Valve Announces Steam Deck OLED: All the Details on the Price, Improved Battery Life, and More

ign.com:

Over a year after making portable gaming PCs a mainstream gadget, Valve has announced the next iteration of the Steam Deck.

With a release date set for November 16, the Steam Deck OLED will feature an enhanced OLED display, better audio, and a handful of quality-of-life improvements. It will also feature what looks to be a big boost in battery life, with Valve claiming an estimated 30 percent to 50 percent improvement over the launch version.

Steam Deck OLED model will be available in two storage configurations: 512GB and 1TB, which will cost $549 and $649, respectively. And just like its predecessor, Steam Deck OLED includes a microSD card slot. Pre-orders open next week.

Those who choose to upgrade will find a unit that ditches the LCD touchscreen display in favor of a 7.4-inch HDR OLED screen — a slight increase from the seven-inch display on the original model (but the dimensions for the handheld are unchanged from the original Steam Deck). As you can see in the images above, the Steam Deck OLED model has slightly smaller bezels than its predecessor.

The Steam Deck OLED's other big upgrade is its new 50Whr battery, which is an improvement from the 40Whr version found in the launch model. It's a standout addition for the new model, not the least because battery performance was a sore spot for the Steam Deck at launch, and Valve claims it will charge faster, too.

With Valve releasing two new SKUs to its Steam Deck lineup, the company confirmed that it is reducing the price of its LCD units. The company is planning to discontinue the 64GB and 512GB LCD models. Below are the new prices for the LCD models:

Despite the major upgrades, the new model does not offer improved performance. While the new OLED screen offers an