Starting November 16, you will be able to enjoy PC games in HDR on the upgraded Steam Deck handheld console with an OLED display.

Valve initially launched the Steam Deck, its handheld gaming console, in February 2022, equipped with a conventional LCD panel and priced at $400.

The Steam Deck OLED, an addition to the lineup, will be available on November 16 at $550 for the 512GB SSD storage variant and $650 for the 1TB SSD storage option.

Similar to the original Steam Deck, this new version is designed as a handheld gaming console but can also be connected to your TV or monitor via USB-C or an HDMI adapter.

Steam Deck is compatible with over 10000 games from the Steam store, which represents roughly 75% of the games available on Steam.


OLED display enables HDR
Produced by Samsung Display, the OLED screen on the new Steam Deck is slightly larger at 7.4 inches, featuring a boosted 90Hz refresh rate (up from 60Hz). It achieves a peak brightness of 1000 nits and covers 110% of the DCI-P3 color space.

- "Steam Deck’s HDR OLED display is designed from the ground up for gaming with striking contrast, brilliant clarity, and a larger picture. With more colors, pure blacks, and amazing motion rendition, you’ll see your games in a new light," said Valve.


 The Steam Deck OLED. Photo: Valve

In contrast to the original Steam Deck with LCD, the OLED version allows users to enjoy HDR gaming in a handheld format. Beyond the general enhancements in display technology, HDR represents a major upgrade for the gaming experience.


HDR gaming on PCs
Unfortunately, not many games on Steam support HDR at this time. One challenge is that the PC environment remains an SDR domain, dominated by contrast-poor IPS LCD panels found in the majority of PC monitors, laptops, tablets, and handheld devices.

This is bound to change as both LG Display and Samsung Display ramp up the production of OLED IT panels in the coming years. We are already witnessing a flurry of OLED gaming monitors being released, and Nintendo has also started using OLED in the premium version of the Switch handheld. Additionally, there are rumors that Apple will start the transition to OLED in the iPad next year.

The Steam Deck OLED also features other upgrades, outlined below.