I was convinced for me it would be the 90hz refresh rate, or the improved touchscreen/haptics - but the moment I picked up the new OLED I knew my answer straight away:
The 30g they removed from the weight.
I’m sure that sounded minimal and inconsequential for a lot of us when we heard about it, but when you pick it up, you feel it immediately.
The original steam deck was always a bit too heavy for me to hold comfortably. Especially as I struggle with a disability which makes me pretty weak in general.
Now the device is so much more comfortable to hold. I can actually pick it up and hold it with one hand now, whereas before it would always overbalance and I could never keep it straight.
What’s the best upgrade from your experience so far, if any of you are lucky enough to have an OLED now?
It feels super dense -not heavy- to me, like they managed to utilize all of the space available inside the shell – there’s zero flex anywhere, like a brick. The build quality is seriously impressive. Refresh rate, thermals, acoustics, contrast and battery life are worthwhile upgrades, too. It may not feel like all that much on paper, but it is. I don’t even see how it could possibly be any better with currently available technology.
You worded it perfectly. Sorry for the crude analogy, but it reminds me of how the sign of a great blacksmith used to be how well they distributed the weight in their weapons - the Steam Deck feels like that but applies to technology. It doesn’t feel like they wasted any space, but also didn’t overload it either.