Valve is bringing much more than an "incrementally better" update to the Steam Deck - here's what we know about the handheld's huge tech upgrade

Despite nan aging AMD APU that powers nan Steam Deck, it continues to beryllium 1 of nan champion PC gaming handhelds connected nan marketplace — mounting nan golden modular for its competitors for illustration nan Asus ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go to follow.

And it’s because of this that, successful a caller question and reply pinch Reviews.org, Steam Deck designers Lawrence nan and Yazan Aldehyyat confirmed that nan planned successor to nan instrumentality will boast immoderate superior tech upgrades. According to Yang, Valve isn’t readying connected “incrementally better” yearly releases. Instead, Valve is readying “to hold for a generational leap successful compute without sacrificing artillery life earlier [it ships] nan existent 2nd procreation of Steam Deck.”

This each matches pinch what we presently cognize astir nan Steam Deck 2’s release, acknowledgment to nan multitude of reports discussing nan Steam Deck successor. Back successful March 2023 for instance, nan told nan publication Rock Paper Shotgun that "a existent next-gen Deck pinch a important bump successful horsepower wouldn’t beryllium for a fewer years."

During Tokyo Game Show 2023, Valve coder Pierre-Loup Griffais told CNBC that nan squad is difficult astatine activity connected nan existent Steam Deck, but successful position of what comes next, "we’re benignant of looking astatine this capacity target that we person arsenic a unchangeable target for a mates years." Meaning that we won’t beryllium seeing nan Steam Deck 2 until astatine slightest 2026.

This each makes consciousness since Australia yet sewage its hands connected nan Steam Deck. Before, gamers had to acquisition nan handheld from third-party importers, but now they tin officially bargain nan instrumentality done Valve itself.

The early of Valve’s Steam Deck 2 is bright

Though Valve hasn’t stated what benignant of spot they’re looking to powerfulness nan Steam Deck 2, we astatine slightest cognize that it’ll decidedly battalion rather nan punch. AMD’s latest mobile processor, nan Ryzen 7 8840U, already has a limb up connected nan presently utilized Aerith AMD APU successful position of power.

According to Batman Arkham Knight trial results from X (formerly Twitter) personification Cary Golomb, nan caller processor supports 7% much frames per 2nd (fps) than Steam Deck’s existent model, pinch nan 8840U getting 51.7fps and nan Aerith 48.3fps. Keep successful mind that this is disconnected 10W of power, which is what nan Steam Deck uses now — successful different words, this caller mobile spot tin compression retired much capacity astatine nan aforesaid level of artillery life efficiency.

Obviously this won’t beryllium nan spot that Valve goes with, arsenic it’ll beryllium wildly outdated by nan clip nan Steam Deck 2 drops. But it’s surely promising that nan components it needs to fulfill nan committedness of a monolithic tech spike will beryllium waiting erstwhile Valve is ready.

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