Steam Deck OLED: Best Handheld Or Overhyped? - Long Term Review

Steam Deck OLED: Best Handheld Or Overhyped? Long Term Review

In this video, we dive into a comprehensive review of the new Steam Deck OLED. With its stunning 1000 nits brightness and vibrant OLED display, this handheld gaming console offers a significant upgrade over the original LCD model. We compare battery life, performance, and key features like the new Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 modules, enhanced thermals, and improved haptics.

**Key Highlights:**
- **OLED Display:** Experience sharper visuals and improved color contrast, making games like "Hades" and "Elden Ring" look better than ever.
- **Battery Life:** Enjoy extended playtime with the OLED model, surpassing Valve's estimates with up to 62% longer battery life.
- **Performance:** While maintaining similar specs to the original, the new model shows slight improvements in frame rates for games like "Hitman 3" and "Shadow of the Tomb Raider."
- **Thermal Management:** Improved cooling means a more comfortable gaming experience without the excessive heat of the original model.
- **Connectivity:** Faster downloads and smoother connections with the new Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support.
- **Portability:** Still designed for at-home use with a longer charging cable, perfect for couch gaming sessions.

Whether you're a current Steam Deck owner or considering a new handheld console, this review covers everything you need to know about the latest OLED model.

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Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
0:43 Comfort/Build Quality
1:41 Software/OS
2:41 Customizability/Mods
3:30 Post Launch Support
4:04 Display Review
5:19 Speakers
5:52 Performance/Gaming Experience
8:34 Battery Life
9:28 Emulation
10:19 Needed Improvements
11:39 Who is this for?
12:55 Verdict
13:43 Like +Subscribe!

[ranv]

A lot of people complain about screens on handhelds not being 4k 120hz, completely forgetting the fact that, with a screen of that size, 4k is not that much discernible from 1080p (and much less 720p), and that forcing 120hz at all times is going to burn through the battery faster than 90hz.

With what the Deck has to work with, OLED or otherwise, it's actually been able to pull off what others would consider impossible for a full pc handheld.

[infernaltim]

Even though I own a ROG Ally, I still really want to play a Steam Deck OLED. I'm jealous of that screen.

[clasher]

The Deck is in it for versatility over shear power. What was one a pipe dream is now a reality. All these modern games are playable on a handheld. Even if the resolution and graphics is limited that does not matter. There is more to games than looking perfect and Valve understands that. The switch showed what could be possible for a handheld and Valve pushed the concept very far. If the Switch 2 can match or surpass the decks power then devices like this are the future

[Kinos]

Alan Wake 2 is NOT Unreal Engine, it's their proprietary engine, NorthLight.

[davidknightx]

I sold the first Deck to help fund the OLED upgrade (between the two, cost me $750 total) and I still don't regret it. Once you go HDR, it's like gaming on a 1440p/144Hz gaming monitor for the first time. It's an upgrade you didn't really need; but once you have it, there's no going back to 1080p..

Also, every nitpicking complaint I had about the first model they ironed out with the OLED.

The Steam Deck is, by far, the best handheld I've ever owned. Nothing comes close. EmuDeck ALONE is worth the price of admission.

And Valve keeps proving they value the gamers. YT repairmen like Tronics Fix say it's one of the easiest to repair devices with everything being modular. Valve even made plans to let 3rd party HD LCD screen work with it and released the shell schematics so anyone can 3D print their own. Meanwhile, Sony sued the company making black cases for the PS5 and Apple hardware can only be repaired by Apple. Support companies that value the customer!

[ojunglisto]

The ergonomics of the steam deck are great, no more stupid asymmetric joysticks

[guycobb]

Tried the Ally extreme, Legion Go and even got a Lenovo gaming laptop to see which i preferred……I chose the SD OLED and have zero regrets with my choice. Currently 70+hrs into Ghost of Tsushima and loving it. After a month of ownership I sold off my Series X since I didn’t have any desire to play it anymore.

[tecsmith_info]

10, 000 emulated console games all ready to play, and 600 steam games in my library, my steam deck OLED is perfect for travelling with!

[ChieffBooGames]

The only device that could be better is the steam deck 2. I’ve had the z1 extreme and I gave it to a younger relative. I prefer the deck . The experience is unmatched. You can make a device as powerful as you want but what brings consumers is the experience. Valve mastered that.

[Zorro_Nostalgico]

Okay, okay if i buy the steam oled, will you stop yelling at me?

[VinceSuarez]

Great video bro. Didn’t need to shout as much- but great video

[Citizen_of_the_Verse]

Superb video cam! Thorough, but not over fed information, exceptionally paced and excellent clear information sir!

[Whoareyoucalling]

Up until the steam deck came out, PS4-PS4 pro performance in a device that portable was limited to custom DIY builds that were very expensive and very rough around the edges. The fact that valve was able to make something like this and it succeed is what makes the steam deck some wild. The last time we had any portable device near its console counterpart was the PS vita and it failed because developing games for that hardware was very expensive and the proprietary SD cards killed all potential left and the PS vita was maybe 50% as powerful as the PS3 best case scenario. Because of the 900p display in the steam deck, most games perform much better than the base PS4 but just under PS4 pro.

[Trashingcanine]

low resolutions are fine as long as the game has IN GAME UI SCALING, with this the game can look like a gameboy game, run buttery smooth and its a tradeoff im willing to make for better fps to reach at least 60. since the screen isnt particularly big, 720 p is fine :v

[TheTraveler]

I play games that launched before PS5/Xbox Series on the Steam Deck, along with indie titles. I save those big budget-looking games such as Forbidden West for PS5.

[juancabrera]

My volume was at 100 and this mf somehow turned it to 200

[enricod.]

I don't think a higher resolution is needed at that size. Keeping it 800p but with vrr would be key and maybe with the sd2, we can oy dream. Next thing besides auto hdr would be a system level frame generation like the have fsr1 for games tha don't support it, are capped (old ones that alteady run well) or emulators, just like lossless scaling.

[Daniel-zehn]

Best review! I agree 100% after owning steam deck oled (1tb) and a rog ally x.

[robertl]

I don't use my PC, switch, or older consoles anymore. Everything is on the deck now. 10 months after my purchase, I'm still in my honeymoon phase with it.

[leonardofernandez]

Thanks, great video. I ordered one and I'm waiting for it to arrive.