Steam announces Steam Deck: a handheld gaming PC
Steam just announced a new handheld gaming device that looks like it is heavily inspired by the Nintendo Switch. That might not be a bad thing though.
As Steam puts it, this is the "All-in-one portable PC" which "runs the latest AAA games--and runs them really well".
I guess we will see about that but from the specs we see so far I highly doubt it, especially if you get the cheapest version with only 64GB of eMMC storage which could probably not even download most AAA games, especially not CoD Cold War with it's respectable size of well over 100GB.
The Steam Deck will come in three different storage versions: 64GB, 256GB and 512GB with high price jumps in between.
While the cheapest version only has eMMC internal storage it looks like the more expensive versions actually have NVME SSDs installed.
Note:
Despite all that, Steam announced this device would use Linux as its OS. This will probably be a huge deal for Linux Gamers as Steam is already pushing major companies to make their games available and playable on Linux via Steam's inbuild but Open Source Proton tool. Mostly anti-cheat tools, like Easy Anti Cheat, are currently the reason why a lot of games are not working on Linux. This might change in the next couple of months or years because of that.
End Note.
Specs:
Compute
Processor AMD APU
CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz (up to 1.6 TFlops FP32)
APU power: 4-15WRAM16 GB LPDDR5 RAM (5500 MT/s)Storage64 GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1)
256 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4)
512 GB high-speed NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4)
All models include high-speed microSD card slot
Controls and Input
Gamepad controlsA B X Y buttons
D-pad
L & R analog triggers
L & R bumpers
View & Menu buttons
4 x assignable grip buttonsThumbsticks2 x full-size analog sticks with capacitive touchHapticsHD hapticsTrackpads2 x 32.5mm square trackpads with haptic feedback
55% better latency compared to Steam Controller
Pressure-sensitivity for configurable click strengthGyro6-Axis IMU
Display
Resolution 1280 x 800px (16:10 aspect ratio)TypeOptically bonded LCD for enhanced readabilityDisplay size7" diagonalBrightness400 nits typicalRefresh rate60HzTouch enabledYesSensorsAmbient light sensor
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.0 (support for controllers, accessories and audio)Wi-FiDual-band Wi-Fi radio, 2.4GHz and 5GHz, 2 x 2 MIMO, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Audio
Channels Stereo with embedded DSP for an immersive listening experienceMicrophonesDual microphone arrayHeadphone / mic jack3.5mm stereo headphone / headset jackDigitalMultichannel audio via DisplayPort over USB-C, standard USB-C, or Bluetooth 5.0
Power
Input 45W USB Type-C PD3.0 power supplyBattery40Whr battery. 2 - 8 hours of gameplay
Expansion
micro SD UHS-I supports SD, SDXC and SDHCExternal connectivity for
controllers & displaysUSB-C with DisplayPort 1.4 Alt-mode support; up to 8K @60Hz or 4K @120Hz, USB 3.2 Gen 2
Size and Weight
Size 298mm x 117mm x 49mmWeightApprox. 669 grams
Software
Operating SystemSteamOS 3.0 (Arch-based)DesktopKDE Plasma
Sold seperately, there is also a Dock you can get for the Steam Deck with following specs.
Expansion
Peripherals 1 x USB-A 3.1 Port
2 x USB-A 2.0 Ports Networking Ethernet External displays DisplayPort 1.4
HDMI 2.0
Power
Input USB-C Power Delivery passthrough inputDeck connection6" USB-C captive cable with low profile 90° connector
Size and Weight
Size 117mm x 29mm x 50.5mmWeightApprox. 120 grams
If you really want one you should probably be fast looking at the current world-wide chip shortage.
Reservation starts Jul 16th, 10 AM PDT and they say it will start shipping in December 2021.
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