VRR seems relatively new for handhelds so I wasn’t expecting it to have it. I do have my hopes that the Steam Deck 2 will officially support it, though.

Yes. OLED version is everything I ever wanted from the SD (better screen + bigger battery). Steam Deck 2 won’t be for awhile so I’ll hold off on that.

Except it IS a refresh. Valve said so themselves. They confirmed in interviews that they are making the Steam Deck 2 long before this point. That and leaks about a potential refresh prototype were already in the air.

In a showcase with Adam Savage’s Tested (in which some Valve designers were interviewed) it was mentioned that they made this refresh for things they couldn’t put in the OG Steam Deck entirely or wanted to hold off on for a Steam Deck 2. It’s basically the intermediary version.

This is more akin to the Switch OLED. It also has more storage, better battery, etc. but it’s not considered a “true” successor to the Switch. It doesn’t make the previous version dated. It’s just a different version for different needs (that and they’re still continuing the 256 GB model anyways). The LCD model is going to remain as a cheaper option now. Same with the OG Switch.

It’s more than likely because Valve doesn’t want to make major sacrifices with the Steam Deck’s overall design/appeal.

Appealing to a higher-end market means that the Steam Deck would be a completely different product, conceptually. I’d define higher end as ROG ALLY and ONEXPLAYER. Not to say that’s always a bad thing. Competition is good, but the device probably would not receive the same level of community support and frequent updates that it has now. Even those aforementioned devices struggle in terms of consistent updates for compatibility.

Playing AAA games on the Steam Deck is possible, yes. However, considering the chipset, most are aware going in that it won’t play EVERYTHING. Even from day one, in terms of power, the Steam Deck was getting beaten out.

Regardless, supporting many different devices with updates/drivers can take a decent amount of resources, especially for newer chips. My guess is that Valve doesn’t want to make any major compromises. We probably won’t see a major upgrade in anything until the Steam Deck 2. But even then, that will be a long way’s off according to Valve’s interviews and I don’t expect it to have the latest chipset anyways.

If anything, Valve is incredibly fortunate that the Steam Deck turned out to be a success. If you’re getting a Steam Deck it’s because you want to play games already on Steam and maybe other stuff too (*hint hint *emulation* wink wink*).