Valve’s rumored Steam Deck 2 is generating a lot of excitement, despite its release still being a distant prospect. Recent reports from a Chinese forum thread on Chiphell have sparked speculation about the potential specifications of the new handheld gaming device. While these reports may not be the most reliable, they offer some interesting features that could potentially make their way to the final product.
One of the headline rumors suggests that the Steam Deck 2 will come equipped with a 900p OLED screen boasting a refreshing 90Hz rate. While the latter figure matches the Steam Deck OLED, the rumored screen resolution bump to 900p (1600 x 900) would be a significant improvement. The original Steam Deck and the OLED model both sport 1280 x 800 screens, which slightly surpass 720p due to their 16:10 aspect ratio.
Although these rumored specs fall short of competitors like the Lenovo Legion Go, with its 2560 x 1600 panel and 144Hz refresh rate, Valve has never focused on outperforming its handheld competition. Instead, the popularity of Valve’s machines lies in the ease of use that SteamOS offers and the stunning OLED screen of the updated model.
Regarding the processor, the translated Chiphell forum post mentions a “6-cylinder fourth-generation gasoline engine,” possibly alluding to the Steam Deck 2’s CPU. There is speculation that this CPU could feature Zen 4 architecture, which would be a significant upgrade from the Zen 2 processors used in both the original Deck and the Steam Deck OLED.
There is also talk of a next-gen graphics card, the “16 CU (8 WGP) GPU in conjunction with LPDDR5X 8,533.” However, no further information about the graphics card has been revealed. Currently, the Steam Deck OLED houses a GPU with 8 RDNA 2 CUs clocked at 1.6GHz.
As for the release date, the post suggests that we can expect the Steam Deck 2 to launch in Q3-Q4 of 2026. However, given the dubious reliability of the source, it is best to take this information with a grain of salt.
The translated message also mentions a potential price increase for the Steam Deck 2, with existing models continuing to be sold as low-end configurations. This aligns with Valve’s previous price adjustments when releasing the OLED edition.
While these rumors should be taken with caution, they offer exciting possibilities about the future of Valve’s gaming handhelds. As more information surfaces, it will be interesting to see how these speculations align with actual specifications.
The source of the article is from the blog procarsrl.com.ar