Internet gossip is already talking about a Steam Deck 2 or – at least – improvements for the current model. We want to go further and even understanding that the price constraint forces us to review the improvements we would like to see in the second generation of the portable console.

We’ve already told you how vibrant the handheld gaming machine segment is. If sales of this type of device plummeted (even Sony had to exit the market) when smartphones became massively used for mobile gaming, today they live a second youth. And there’s nothing better for gaming than a machine specifically designed for it.

Although the Nintendo Switch’s ability to play on the go has been praised since launch, and Chinese specialists such as ONE or AYA already had good machines on the market, it must be recognized that Steam Deck is largely responsible that other large companies such as ASUS, Lenovo, Logitech, Razer or Sony have entered (each with their own proposal) a market with great potential. And Microsoft is absent, with a portable Xbox surely under consideration at Redmond HQ and other Sony devices like the PlayStation Vita 2.

10 new features we’d like to see in Steam Deck 2

It is estimated that at the end of this year Valve sells 3 million units your slot machine. Nothing, it’s not bad because it’s only surpassed in its segment by the Nintendo Switch. Sufficient hardware; fairly tight pricing for the industry average; A very capable operating system and the potential of the world’s leading digital gaming platform have been able to create a very successful ecosystem.

Valve has a winning horse on their hands, but it is far from perfect and many improvements could be made to make it even more attractive to customers. We’ll review some of these features, though we warn you that the attractive initial $399 might not have been sustainable.

More battery

Any portable device that depends on a battery has a critical point in autonomy. And these types of high-performance machines even more so. The Steam Deck (like the ASUS Ally and others) is a demanding machine that requires a lot of power. Valve says users can expect the battery to last between two and eight hours on a full charge. A large fluctuation that is due to the variety of different titles it can run.

Real tests showed triple AAA like ‘God of War’ draining the machine in less than 90 minutes at max settings. Although the user can improve the autonomy, it is clear that the Steam Deck 2 would be more attractive with a larger and more efficient battery. That’s why we bet at the beginning and as an example almost 50 Wh Legion Go.

OLED display

Steam Deck’s IPS LCD screen isn’t the best on console (because they’re soft). And on top of that, Valve has limited its native resolution to 720p, although the device’s AMD SoC can stream content at higher speeds, as seen when the console is connected to a TV.

The advantages of OLED panels, especially in small diagonals, are significant and are generally used by mobile phones, tablets or wearable devices from the mid-range and above. The differences in the gaming machine would be noticeable, as Nintendo showed with the OLED variant of the Switch, in contrast, brightness or color processing. And 1080p resolution, which should be the default setting for this type of machine.

Larger internal storage capacity

Current games take up an enormous amount of space, and it’s clear that the 64 GB of the basic version of the Steam Deck is insufficient. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare takes up more than 200GB on PC after years of updates, and a next-gen game like Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t settle for less than 150GB.

With games likely to continue to grow in size, the Steam Deck 2 should offer more internal capacity out of the box. Flash storage is expensive and this would be a good low cost upgrade here.

By default, it is part of the docking station

Like the Nintendo machine, the Steam Deck is not only a portable device, it can also be connected to a monitor or TV, which in addition to a larger display capacity, provides a larger native resolution, as we saw above. The Valve base allows you to hold it securely, charge it with energy and get additional ports.

The problem is that it is sold separately and costs $89, which is very expensive for the price of the console. Although there are cheaper third-party alternatives, a potential Steam Deck 2 should include a dock by default, as it is necessary to get its full potential.

SSD and expandable storage

Continuing from the previous section, the eMMC format used in the cheapest version of the current deck should be wiped off the map in favor of NVMe SSDs, as fitted in higher versions. The benefits are substantial and it is not justified to settle for less, even at a price. Although, as is often the case, it can be expanded with external microSD cards, which are much slower.

Another point that users would appreciate would be the ability to upgrade this SSD with custom drives in the future and even facilitate the use of external drives that are widely used in consoles such as the PS5 or Xbox X/S Series.

Detachable joysticks with Hall effect

Steam Deck is well served in terms of controllers. It features a touch screen and gyro sensors for more control options. The joysticks are equipped with capacitive touch sensors and trackpads that mimic the use of a mouse on a typical computer. And it’s compatible with a large number of third-party controls.

But they themselves are not removable. Here, the Lenovo Legion Go (or the Switch’s own Joy-Cons) should be the way to go for gaming without having to hold the screen or for desktop use. As for the Hall effect, it is an interesting part of the controls because they are not dependent on physical contact with the sensors, wear less and improve accuracy.

Wireless charging

The Steam Deck is conveniently charged from a USB Type-C port (45W PD 3.0) connected directly to a power outlet or an optional dock. The advantage of such a universal connector as USB is that it can be replaced with another one if necessary.

Charging the Deck works very well, but it would not hurt to support a wireless charging system, which would free us from cables and facilitate their management on the desktop. This would also allow players to not have to carry the cable and connector in their backpack. Another plus.

Additional ports

Steam Deck has been designed to work with a wide variety of peripherals and accessories. The device has the aforementioned USB-C port and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. In addition, Bluetooth 5.0 support allows you to connect other third-party accessories.

However, its design prevents connecting more than one peripheral with a cable. An additional USB Type-C or USB Type-A port would be very useful to increase compatibility, such as those provided by the additional dock and other competing machines like the Legion Go.

Access to mobile broadband networks

Valve’s machine has a dual-band Wi-Fi 5 chip for internet, multiplayer, chat, voice messaging, etc. Fair enough, but with the push for remote gaming services, it’s clear that the Steam Deck 2 (and the rest of the new portable consoles) will need a better connection in the future.

For a certain number of users, an optional variant with support for 5G mobile broadband networks would be welcome. Unlimited data connections are becoming increasingly popular and affordable, and would be ideal for mobile gaming when we don’t have access to fast and reliable Wi-Fi networks. Of course, we assume that the included Wi-Fi will be upgraded to Wi-Fi 6E or better to the starting Wi-Fi 7.

Aesthetics and colors

Valve decided to use a solid black finish to speed up the production of the machine and keep costs down. There are third-party back covers on the market that provide a pop of color, but this means removing the original cover and additional costs. It wouldn’t hurt if Valve offered other color options for the official machine, or if, as we suggest, they designed removable controls, at least if they offered different touches for more customization.

We’ll leave the Steam Deck 2 requirements here it’s probably on its way taking advantage of the original and good sales condition of handheld gaming devices. Obviously, Valve will update the performance section oa Semi-custom SoC from AMD and that a large number of competitors use and will also review the design section and further improve it Steam OS and KDE Plasma desktop with new versions. We’ll see where the review goes, as it’s obvious that all these improvements will raise the price of the portable console.