10 improvements I would like from Steam Deck 2

I love Valve’s Steam Deck. It’s fun to use, it’s versatile, and it’s a near-perfect system for on-the-go gaming or just lounging around the house. However, almost perfect obviously isn’t really perfect. It’s a great first draft, but for the Steam Deck 2 Valve could get some improvements.

Valve hasn’t announced or even hinted at a potential Steam Deck successor, but these are a few changes and improvements we’d like to see in a new handheld.

The Steam Deck 2 needs an OLED display

OLED screens are all the rage these days; even Nintendo released a Switch OLED version last year. It’s easy to see why: OLED screens produce deeper blacks, better contrast ratios, and just tend to produce better images overall. They also tend to be better when playing games or watching movies in the dark, as dark scenes will look really black. Steam Deck LCD does not appear wrong — actually, it looks pretty good — but it’s no secret that the screen has issues, like a slight bleed.

Higher refresh rate options would also be great

While not all games need a high refresh rate, it’s common for users to change those settings, whether they want to drop it to 40Hz to save battery or bump it up to 90Hz, or even 144 Hz, for smoother gameplay. It would be nice if the Steam Deck 2 supported a wider range of refresh rates, and for less powerful games it wouldn’t be too detrimental to battery life.

The Steam Deck 2 should be better on battery life

One of the biggest criticisms against the Steam Deck is its poor battery life. If I play GTA Vfor example, I’ll get between two and two and a half hours of game time. The more intense the game, the lower the battery life.

Don’t get me wrong, two hours is a lot of game time, but I can see myself having battery issues on a plane or a long car ride. Through a bigger battery or a more efficient chipset, there are different ways to achieve this goal, and it would be great to see Valve come close to either.

More USB or USB-C ports would be a plus

Since the Steam Deck can be used almost exactly like a laptop, I wish the company would even just integrate a additional USB-C port. Imagine if there was one on top and the bottom! You can charge your device and plug something else into the other USB-C port at the same time. You can get third-party docks that give you more ports (or even the more expensive official dock), but having the extra port would provide far more versatility than just trying to get the most out of it. from the single USB-C port.

Better haptics would improve the overall experience in Steam Deck 2

To put it bluntly, the haptics on the Steam Deck just aren’t great. In fact, you’ll only really feel them in the touchpads when scrolling, which just seems to tell the user when it detects input. It’s not the worst experience, but it can feel odd when playing games on the Steam Deck when I’m used to those same games rattling a controller when playing them on my PC. Since the games already support them, Valve would just need to produce them more on the Steam Deck 2 side.

With the Steam Deck, the M.2 storage slot you get is, well, all you get. You can upgrade your internal storage, but you will need to purchase an M.2 2230 SSD, and replace the one already present in your Steam Deck. This can be a bulky replacement, whereas an additional M.2 slot in the Steam Deck 2 would simplify this process. You can have your normal boot M.2 with games on it, then another M.2 for faster access without having to worry about microSD cards. Most people find SD cards quite fast, but another SSD would increase loading speeds.

eGPU support means more power

If you really wanted to get into gaming, an eGPU could boost the capabilities of the Steam Deck. It’s a bit of a niche request, but any USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3 can theoretically support an eGPU. It’s also technically possible to modify the M.2 2230 slot in the Steam Deck to support an eGPU, but this is a hardware modification rather than something you can easily plug into the Steam Deck. People have done this and booted Windows from an SD card…but, yeah, it’s probably not for the faint-hearted. Valve can streamline this process for those who want it.

More color options work for switch

Colors are just fun, and they can also be a form of expression. While it’s easy for Valve to produce every SKU in a single color, other colored options would be great, especially with the popularity of device skins from places like Dbrand. I wish I had fun colors like with the Nintendo Switch, and I hope Valve introduces more colors in the future.

Who doesn’t want a neon-colored Steam Deck 2 that’s blindingly boring to look at? Make it happen, Valve.

Mobile data support would make online play on the Steam Deck 2 a breeze

There won’t always be room for it, but for people who can get unlimited mobile data plans, LTE or 5G support in Steam Deck 2 could be a godsend. Not only could you download games on the go, but it could make it super easy to play with friends in multiplayer titles.

And… it would be nice if it was easy to buy a Steam Deck 2

Consider the availability of the Steam Deck currently — it’s actually quite limited! You can get it in the US or Europe, but in many Asian and African markets it’s impossible to get it without importing it. You can at least pre-order it in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan now, but it’s not available yet.

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The Steam Deck is already a great device that lets you play your PC games away from your current PC. It has already changed the way many people play PC games. It’s likely that Valve will release a Steam Deck 2, but it’s not yet known when that will happen (although we’ll update you when they do!). Either way, even one or two of these suggestions could significantly improve the overall experience.

What would you change to the Steam Deck? Let us know in the comments below.