IMPROVED THUMBSTICK
ERGONOMICS
When I’m holding the Steam Deck, my
thumbs always want to rest slightly outside
the space where the actual
thumbsticks reside, closer to
my hands. Although game
controller comfort can vary
from one person to the next, I
suspect anyone who’s
accustomed to holding an
Xbox controller (fave.
co/3fbzyDK) will feel the
same way.
The challenge for Valve
will be to improve its
thumbstick positioning
without eliminating its
trackpads, which can be
useful for mousecontrolled
games and
desktop mode. But if
Valve is refreshing its
hardware design around
a new processor, it may
have a chance to improve
the ergonomics as well.
BETTER
SCREEN(S)
The current Steam Deck’s
display is the one thing
that truly screams “firstgeneration
product.”
While it’s certainly bright enough, and the
resolution of 1280×800 looks adequately
sharp on a 7-inch display, the screen is
marred by several patches of light bleed

While Valve is still working
on fulfilling Steam Deck
orders for folks who
reserved one last year,
it’s not too early to start thinking about a
potential Steam Deck 2.
After all, Valve itself has confirmed that
new Steam Decks are coming (fave.
co/3xIQKa8), referring to the handheld
gaming PC as a “multi-generational
product line” with “improvements and
iterations to hardware and software.” And
although I’m personally a satisfied Steam
Deck user, I can imagine plenty of ways in
which Valve might improve the hardware
in future versions.
So let’s indulge in a bit of wishful thinking.
Based on my experience with the Steam Deck
Valve has confirmed that a new Steam Deck is coming.
so far, here’s what I’d love to see in nextgeneration
Steam Deck hardware.
THE BASIC STUFF
Let’s get the obvious improvements out of the
way first: A next-generation Steam Deck
should be faster, more battery efficient, and
perhaps a bit smaller and lighter. This may
seem like no small feat given what Valve has
achieved with its existing hardware—it’s a
portable gaming PC that flawlessly runs Elden
Ring, after all—but keep in mind that the
Deck’s custom AMD APU is based on Zen 2
architecture dating back to 2020. A jump to
Zen 3+ (fave.co/33XB32L) or even Zen 4
(fave.co/3xKGuhD) seems feasible and would
give future Steam Decks room to improve
both performance and battery life.