It is getting absurd at this poin. Just get a laptop and call it a day
if it doesn’t fit in my pocket it’s not a hand held
You know the fun thing? If they managed to reduce the roughly 3+ centimeters of useless bezel on all sides the size wouldn’t be so unreasonable.
I’m surprised about this - phones, monitors and tvs have this figured out.
I’d have to assume it’s a cost thing.I’ve doing bezels play an additional role of protecting the screen. My most fragile monitor is the one with almost no bezel-- a tiny bump and kaboom, fucked monitor. I’m sure that plays a part in the design decision.
Im down with the screen size but it really needs 4 back buttons instead of 2 and at least 1 trackpad for me to really consider any handheld. I also really like the scroll wheel on my legion go but I can do without on that
Give it one of those detachable cardboard keyboards and it it would be an overgrown Surface competitor.
Smart move. People keep buying ridiculously oversized phones. Smaller ones somehow do not sell. So why not apply the same concept to tablets
Tbf, the Steam Deck shows up as device type: laptop in the Steam Deck Hardware Survey.
If it’s not too too heavy, I’m not opposed.
Bigger screen will make touchscreen typing on a keyboard less of a PITA
Some games require rarely typing into the on screen keyboard, and as much as I like my ROG Ally, the small screen makes the onscreen keyboard a real pain to type on
Honestly what I’d like is a secondary N64 style center back handle that I can hold with 1 hand while I type with the other, to make the typing way more stable.
Awkwardly holding it out on the left side way off center fulcrums it as I type, which makes it less stable. You need some genuine wrist strength to fight against that lever action while typing.
So, instead, I usually awkwardly rest it in my lap while I try and type so it’s stable at least. But this moves the screen a lot farther away so now I gotta squint at the small ass letters as I aim and type. Makes me feel like a goddamn boomer having to adjust my glasses and squint at the screen.
So… yeah I dunno, I feel like this is something that could use a better solution.
I guess I could use my Tap XR… 🤔
deleted by creator
Hot take, but I see it having a market for people who just want to play on a tablet dedicated to gaming without futzing with peripherals. During break I stole my daughter’s tablet to play Gameboy games and it was possibly better than my deck (lighter weight, bigger screen, and shaders that give it a pixel grid w/ a GBC border frame).
This big thing is still not for me, though, as I’d prefer the versatility of going portrait mode because I would likely use it as a 3DS emulator depending on how good the touch is. DS screens fit quite comfortably on tablets in portrait mode. (Assuming I even have the disposable income, which I do not).
Someone was always going to do an XL version for people who want something thats more “portable gaming station” than “handheld”. I dont know why people seem to be bitching about having options.
Absurdly massive and yet no space for some touchpads? 🤡
deleted by creator
The steam deck has 2 touch pads that work better than laptop trackpads
The device in the OP is not the steam deck
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.
The Legion Go has a touchpad. I think even the newer one that’s been announced has an (albeit much smaller) touchpad.
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.
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.
Gotta be honest, i hardly ever use them on the Deck.
If I don’t have it docked I use the right one for anything first-person. I hate aiming with a thumbstick, so it gets used as a mouse. The left one usually gets used as a hotbar.
I’d even settle for a Lenovo-style nipple for mouse control.
1x 27” laptop please.
this is basically the oversized razer kishi pro with an ipad mini.
ive got that rn and it’s pretty amazing as a steam link device.
steamos really needs to fix their steam link code, it’s a mess.
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!
A laptop does not support attached controllers for hand-holding. Seems pretty obvious.
I cannot hold my hands in the air indefinitely. Even completely empty my arms will get tired after a few short minutes, much less several hours. My Steam Deck gets held on my lap or on a table or something like that.
OneXPlayer has something similar that I actually considered buying (but ultimately didn’t for several reasons) that includes a keyboard and (laptop) trackpad and a pen. If I can buy 1 device that can do both handheld gaming and also laptop productivity, I can save a whole lot of money…
even with the tiny switch screen we played smash ult on it in kickstand mode with controllers in the break room. turns out if everyone uses dual joycon you get mad input lag before reaching max players. surprisingly playable if everyone can see.
with a bigger lug like this that would be a nicer experience with less squishing together
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?
deleted by creator
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.
deleted by creator
Price, software, hardware quality, touchpads, gyro, and a decent sized community
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”.
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.
