Valve has recently released the newest Steam Deck updates which comes with many much-needed improvements to the portable PC.
Steam Deck Updates Highlights
The latest post on the Steam website shared the full patch notes for Valve’s popular Steam Deck portable console and it has made a lot of improvements and changes for everyone to enjoy. One change in particular is an improvement to battery life, which was really needed. It will improve it when the console is in idle or in very low usage scenarios, which can definitely further the battery life. The console usually lasts between two and eight hours, but now it will be longer than that.
Another highlight to the new update is the lock screen feature. It allows the user to lock the Steam Deck’s screen and will have various options on its behavior like showing it on desktop mode, wake, boot, login, and more.
One highlight adds a new support for multiple windows, which is really helpful for many games that have website launchers.
Make Sure to be on Game Mode
Valve also shared an important note about updating the portable PC. They are asking the users to make sure they are in game mode and not on Desktop mode. If they updated from desktop mode and they get stuck in a boot-loop, Valve offered some help, which can be read here.
Steam Deck Full Patch Notes
Check out the full patch notes below:
Client Update:
- Added Lock Screen feature
- Lock screen is specific to device, and can be set to show up on wake, boot, login, and/or when switching to Desktop mode
- PIN can be entered using the touchscreen or controls
- Added localized keyboards for 21 languages and layouts
- Multiple keyboards can be enabled in Settings > Keyboard > Active Keyboards
- Use the new globe key on the keyboard to cycle between active keyboards
- Added support for multiple windows within one application or game.
- Press Steam to view active windows and select which window you would like to view
- Useful for web browsers or games with launchers
- Updated Achievements page design, making it faster to load and easier to navigate
- New achievements drop down allows players to quickly compare stats against any friend who also plays
- Add Friend and Pending Requests have been combined into a single new page for better handling of friend requests
- Added logic to detect and notify user when a microSD card doesn’t match advertised storage size and specifications, instead of attempting to format (for a very long time)
- Fixed issue where Steam and (…) button couldn’t be used with Remote Play when streaming games from PC
- More performance improvements for players with very large game libraries
OS Update:
- Added messaging when a charger that doesn’t meet the minimum bar is plugged in
- Added uncapped framerate setting in Quick Access menu > Performance
- Added Half-Rate Shading experimental option to Quick Access menu > Performance, forcing 2×2 Variable Rate Shading into existing games for power savings
- Added fTPM support, enabling Windows 11 installation
- Added button combo: hold “…” + “Volume Down” to reset PD contract in the cases where Steam Deck gets stuck due to an incompatible Type-C device
- Updated power LED to dim a few seconds after power supply connection events for better experience in dark environments
- Improved compatibility for a number of Type-C docks and PSUs
- Improved battery life in idle or very low usage scenarios
- Improved stability
- Fixed issues where the touchscreen does not work after some boots
- Fixed compatibility with some SD cards specifically when used as boot devices.
- Fixed extra haptic click when pressing on trackpads
- Fixed ACPI error spew in the kernel
The latest Steam Deck updates are now available for download.