How to Apply Screen Adhesive in your Steam Deck OLED
Tools
These are some common tools used to work on this device. You might not need every tool for every procedure.
Background
The Steam Deck OLED is a handheld, portable gaming console made by Valve. Announced November 9th, 2023 and released November 16th, 2023, the Steam Deck OLED is the much-anticipated update to the ever-popular Steam Deck with LCD display. Still considered a first-generation device, its new 7.4-inch OLED display is bookended by two non-removable controllers that feature thumbsticks, haptic trackpads, and a full suite of triggers, bumpers, back buttons, and menu buttons—plus the standard ABXY and D-pad.
The Steam Deck OLED, just like the Steam Deck LCD, runs a custom AMD APU on the 64-bit x86 CPU architecture. Valve worked with AMD to update the OLED model's APU silicon to 6 nm, down from the 7 nm process used on the Steam Deck LCD.
Notable upgrades over the original Steam Deck include the new, larger 7.4-inch 90 Hz HDR OLED display, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, a thicker heatsink, a larger fan, faster memory, redesigned thumbsticks and trackpads, and a 22% larger 50 Wh battery. It's also lighter.
The console runs SteamOS 3, which is a modified version of Arch Linux that supports Proton, allowing most Windows games to be played on SteamOS. The console also supports multi-boot with a user-accessible BIOS menu.
Notably, Valve is deprecating the 64 GB eMMC and top-range 512 GB models of the Steam Deck LCD, leaving the midrange 256 GB Steam Deck LCD in the Steam Deck lineup as the new entry-level option. Valve is also offering a limited-quantity special edition 1 TB model with a custom transparent shell and bright orange accents, leaving the new lineup as follows:
- Steam Deck LCD (256 GB) for $349
- Steam Deck OLED (512 GB) for $549
- Steam Deck OLED (1 TB) with etched glass for $649
- Steam Deck OLED (Limited Edition, 1 TB) with etched glass for $679
Identification
The Steam Deck OLED is a black, rectangular device with a screen in the center. Two square touchpad inputs can be found on either side of the screen. Above each of these touchpads rests a joystick. In the upper right corner, a traditional button array can be found (A, B, X, Y), with a directional button pad on the upper left. The shoulders of the Steam Deck feature two buttons each, for your typical R1, R2, L1, L2 triggers, as well as four additional buttons on the back (two on each side) for R3, R4, L3, L4.
There are two variants of the Steam Deck OLED:
- A model with 512 GB of storage.
- A top tier model with 1 TB of storage, featuring an etched anti-glare coating on the glass.
You can find which version of Steam Deck you have by navigating to the Settings menu and navigating to Settings > Model/Serial Numbers (under the Hardware header).
The Steam Deck OLED can be identified by model number 1030.
The Steam Deck OLED has identical exterior dimensions to the Steam Deck LCD, but the OLED model can be quickly identified by either its bright orange power button or fully-black thumbstick covers.
Specifications
Announcement Date: November 9, 2023
Release Date: November 16, 2023
Dimensions and Weight: 298 × 117 × 49 mm (11.7 × 4.6 × 1.9 in), 640 g (22.58 oz)
Display: 7.4-inch multi-touch HDR OLED (16:10, 1280 × 800 px, 90 Hz), made by Samsung
Operating System: Steam OS 3 (based off Arch Linux)
Processor: Custom AMD APU: 4-core, 8-thread Zen 2, 6 nm
Graphics: 8 AMD RDNA 2 CUs
RAM: 16 GB LPDDR5 RAM (6400 MT/s)
Storage: 512 GB (configurable to 1 TB) M.2 2230 NVMe SSD
Battery: 50 Wh
Sensors: Gyro, Ambient light sensor, Capacitive finger detection (thumbsticks)
Controls and Input:
- A B X Y buttons, D-pad, L/R analog triggers, L/R bumpers, 4 assignable rear grip buttons
- 2 analog sticks with capacitive touch
- Two 32.5 mm square trackpads with haptic feedback
- 6-axis gyro
Audio:
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Left and right speakers
- Dual microphone array
Expansion: microSD: UHS-I (supports SD, SDXC, and SDHC)
Connectivity:
- 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi 6E
- Bluetooth 5.3 (with antenna)
- USB-C port with USB 3 Gen 2 (supporting DisplayPort 1.4)