Is the new Steam Deck OLED worth purchasing over the original?

The Steam Deck pioneered an era of handheld PC gaming that is currently taking over the globe as the first budget-friendly option. Since its release, everyone has been waiting for a sequel and now it’s finally here—sort of.

It’s not the Steam Deck 2, but the Steam Deck OLED which much like Nintendo Switch’s upgrade simply provides a new, better screen and other quality-of-life improvements. 

Of course, this comes at a higher price tag than the original base model Steam Deck, so you might be wondering, is it worth it?

Is the new OLED Steam Deck worth purchasing over the original?

We’ll cut to the chase right away. Yes, we believe it is worth getting the new Steam Deck OLED over the original should you have the funds to do so, but it’s not all because of the screen.

While the idea of a high-quality OLED display is much more appealing than the previous LCD, the big upgrade all portable PC gamers will be praising is the extended battery life. Should this truly be a 30-50 percent increase as reported, it’s a gigantic win for Steam Deck users.

Across the board from the ROG Ally, Steam Deck, and other options, battery life has been the biggest issue with even the best devices only providing a few short hours of full-performance gameplay. On top of a sizeable battery upgrade, this new device boasts a better fan so you’re not going to have the heating issues that previously plagued Valve’s console.

While the OLED display does sound great and would put the device in line with other products on the market, it’s not so much a big deal given that mods have already been widely available to upgrade the original device’s screen. This being the case, we wouldn’t recommend you go out and buy the OLED model if you have an original Steam Deck unless you’re truly desperate for the other upgrades.

Ultimately, we won’t know for sure how much of an improvement the Steam Deck OLED is until we get one in hand, but on paper, it does appear that this is the better option for those looking to get their first Steam Deck in the near future.