Upgrading your Steam Deck screen might be a bad idea

But, before you go ahead and sign up for the waitlist, there's a catch: with a greater resolution comes greater power demand. And power is a crucial factor in portable devices. The DeckHD might offer a sharper display but it drains your battery faster. In addition to this, installing the DeckHD isn't a walk in the park. You'll have to dismantle the Steam Deck to replace the original screen, which is a risky process.

So, for $100 plus either the cost of having an expert install it for you or the time spent trying to do it yourself, the DeckHD doesn't feel like as significant of an upgrade as you might hope.

To make matters worse, upgrading the screen taxes the hardware more. Since the Steam Deck is specced for its current set-up, game performance could suffer if you upgrade the screen from 1280x800 to 1920x1200.

If it's any consolation, Valve is already thinking about what's next after the Steam Deck. Fingers crossed, the display and battery life are two areas Valve will improve on with the Steam Deck 2.

For now, we'll just have to wait for other manufacturers to find a way to improve both the battery life AND the display of the incumbent Steam Deck.