Enhanced Performance Promise: Valve Delays Launch of New Steam Deck Annually, Await Chip Efficiency Leap

Lawrence Yang and Yazan Aldehayyat, the design team behind the Steam Deck, recently sat down for an interview with Reviews.org in Australia, coinciding with the official launch of the Steam Deck in the country.

One intriguing point of discussion was the comparison between the Steam Deck and its competitor, the ROG Ally. Yang emphasized that it should not be viewed as a rivalry. From Valve’s perspective, the Steam Deck was envisioned as a new category of device, known as a PC as a handheld, which had not been seen in the market before. They hoped that Valve’s initiative would ignite similar products from other companies, a goal that has been achieved successfully.

Yang noted that several companies have attempted to create portable gaming PC devices, each addressing hardware issues in different ways. Many of these innovations have been successful and have inspired other companies to follow suit. One feature that Yang would like to see other companies emulate from the Steam Deck is the inclusion of a touchpad, which enhances PC gaming control compared to using a joystick or touchscreen.

A key point reiterated by Yang, as mentioned in previous interviews, is that Steam Deck will not release new models every year. He emphasized that there is no reason to do so, as Valve’s strategy is to wait until hardware advancements make a significant generational leap before introducing a new iteration, while maintaining the same battery life. Only then will a Steam Deck 2 be released.

Aldehayyat mentioned that one of the features he aims to implement in the next iteration of the Steam Deck is a variable refresh rate (VRR), similar to what is found in the ROG Ally X, along with improved battery longevity, despite the current model already performing well in this aspect.

TLDR: Lawrence Yang and Yazan Aldehayyat discuss the innovative design of the Steam Deck in an interview with Reviews.org, highlighting features like touchpad control and a commitment to not releasing annual updates, but aiming for significant hardware advancements in future iterations.