It is getting absurd at this poin. Just get a laptop and call it a day
I don’t think 11 inch is absurdely big. That’s the screen size of the current iPad air.
The iPad probably weights less than half what this thing does, and probably takes up a lot less space.
Also it’s probably faster and almost certainly gets better battery life.
Nah the steam decks are laptops but cheaper
Just get a little usbc > usbc/hdmi/usb and you can plug in a keyboard and mosue and then you have a gaming linux laptop for like $350
Show me another capable gaming laptop you can get for $350
You’re missing the actual point, at what point does it become cumbersome to hold a big ass screen in your hand that is also the controller?
The Steam Desk isn’t cumbersome tho, at least not more cumbersome than any laptop would be. I really struggle to see how any of the concerns in this thread are legit.
If there were competative gaming laptops that had the samr power as a Deck then people would be buying those instead of Steam Decks, that’s why they’re so popular.
TBH this thread sounds like a marketing campaign that idiot c-suies would assign to a troll farm instead of actually competing with their competitors.
You started your point by saying get this extra thing, to use extra things. It’s cumbersome.
It’s not a laptop, and the hardware sadly has been unreliable in my experience. It’s just a hobby piece of hardware, just less cool than the dedicated stuff like the Vita.
It’s cool that it has that flexibility, but it sadly isn’t a computer someone can regularly dedicate to unless they have all the extra time to sett it up on the go.
My Steam Deck has largely replaced my laptop, so there is some overlap, but I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. If you are carrying a keyboard & external screen to work on spreadsheets with you Steam Deck, you would be happier with a laptop.
I have a 60% Bluetooth keyboard and a relatively compact mouse that I can carry with me, but by that point a compact laptop would be more portable with a larger screen.
Using the on screen keyboard and built-in screen to edit spreadsheets would constitute a crime against humanity. Don’t do it, there’s so much more to live for.
The reason it’s replaced my laptop is that I mostly use my laptop for gaming, and the Steam Deck excels at that. Most places I would use a laptop for something else, I have ready access to surplus keyboards and mice. At my parents there is an old TV with HDMI, and I stashed a basic USB mouse and keyboard there over a decade ago. My Steam Deck and a small hub is all I need.
Because of the need of external devices, I kind of consider the Steam Deck a combination of a handheld and a really portable desktop tower.
Honestly it’d help if they switched to a touch friendly desktop interface like gnome. Yep! Its definitely a nice way to have your game on the go.
Sadly I notice that’s the 2 types of use cases. Commuter vs traveler. I take public transport often and I’d care too much about the steam deck being taken. Back when it was just me traveling to a place I’d be at for a while, like my fiancee’s it was nice.
Size means I need to be near an outlet usually, since ideally the goal is play bit more demanding games. Again, I feel it’s still too early for it to be the multitool it can be.
I find it absolutely hilarious that every single company has a “Steam Deck killer” yet not a single one of them have any idea what made the Steam Deck popular, all they understand is PC handheld with controller (Lenovo is starting to catch on tho).
What are they missing thst the steam deck has? Price?
The steam deck the absolute most ergonomic handheld I’ve ever tried. It’s so fucking comfortable to game on. I love how they put the joystick the same level as the buttons where my thumb moves very naturally between the two. It has amazing touchpads. Great battery and performance. It’s just an amazing device.
Once I got a Steam Deck, going back to a Switch (for ToTK) feels super awkward for my right thumb. Like I have to hold it funny to adjust the camera and then shift to hit the buttons. Never noticed it before I got my Deck.
100%. I have a onexplayer and it’s very hard to play on it with the joystick directly under the buttons. I’m having to move my hand up and down constantly.
Price, software, hardware quality, touchpads, gyro, and a decent sized community
I mean in a lot of ways they literally can’t compete on these things. Price/quality are difficult cause valve can sell their product at a loss (cause theyll make it back on steam sales), software is weird cause who is investing a whole OS to just sell hardware (valve can cause it’s directly tied to their marketplace).
Id give you TouchPad, but I don’t know what the patents are on those, cause I’ve only seen that design on valve products.
I don’t believe Valve is selling them at a loss, but they definitely have less pressure to profit because they are not a publicly traded company.
It’s not even about being publicly traded. I suspect they’re taking the console approach where you count on the attach rate (people buying steam games) to make you money.
Not people publicly traded or having to answer to investors is important because you don’t have to maintain forever increasing profits. You can take more risks and focus on your users needs. Most brands put out lame products because they are trying to keep a certain margin of profit.
In short, Steam Deck was made so that the people at Valve would want to use the Deck. Meanwhile most of the competition is operating on “bigger numbers mean better product”.
Honestly the deck is already pushing how big a handheld can be and still be portable/handheld. I don’t think I would want anything larger
Agreed, sometimes I even wish there is a “Deck Lite” model.
Yah, it appears that 650g is the maximum weight im willing to hold for more than 30 minutes. Even then I’d rather use my ipad as a steam link.
A pound heavier than a steam deck doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is in practice.
Also… Windows? Well it’s not good for handheld gaming right out of the gate.
Absurdly massive and yet no space for some touchpads? 🤡
Yeah, how is it that none of these so-called “rivals” have even a single touchpad? I personally wouldn’t even consider a device that forces me to use a thumbstick as a mouse.
I’ve never used the touchpads on mine outside of desktop mode. The vast majority of games have controller support.
It depends what you play. Strategy games benefit from the touchpads as mice.
Also I sometimes use the touchpads for touch menus.
Yes it does, but as I said, the games that necessitate trackpads are a super minority. That’s why they’re not included in most devices. They take up a lot of space. The Steam Deck is significantly wider than most of it’s competitors.
nah babe just COVER your screen in fingerprints! everyone loves touch screens right??
“I appreciate covering my screen in fingerprints, obviously. But what really makes me happy is trying dozens of times to get my fat thumb to register on an interface designed for a mouse.”
- a quote by someone making hardware decisions at SteamDeck rival manufacturers, apparently.
Even SD is too big for me after all. Would be nice to have a handheld with the exact power as SteamDeck, but compact
I agree. So big screen and controllers that Nintendo Switch looks like a lilliputian. Not so portable.
Honestly, it kinda makes sense with the detachable controllers. It’s essentially a very powerful tablet. It’s less practical but it serves a different niche than the Steam Deck IMO.
I get it, but it wouldn’t be a handheld anymore. What’s a handheld if it makes your arm tired after a couple of minutes? Plus, the battery life on this thing is going to be abysmal with the 55wah battery they put in it.
i agree. the reason steam deck and other handhelds work well is because of the smaller screen/resolution.
makes it light and games run ok due to the smaller resolution. a chonker like this completely defeats the purpose of a handheld imo.
Every other PC handheld runs at 1080+. And while I agree 800p is the ideal resolution there’s clearly a market for higher resolution. Especially for those of us running lighter games.
oh I’m good where I am with the deck. in future I’m sure it will get smaller, not bigger.
that, and competitors can’t seem to come up with a decent trackpad the way steam deck has. so competitors will need more than a higher resolution and a huge fat monitor.
just my opinion, anyway.
I agree, steam decks res is high enough. It’s ppi destroys 4k screens and yet people think they want higher res screens??? All while complaining about battery life???
Yes, but how can you train your beautiful gamer biceps then? You can have all that beautiful extra train and stay in shape while playing your favorite games. A double win!
My hands are tired just looking at it
My issue is power consumption. Where I live, I rely on solar panels and batteries, and the steam deck is less power hungry than a laptop with graphics card.
