The Steam Deck portable console has a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 × 800 pixels with 67% coverage of the sRGB color space – quite good, but clearly more modest than on many gaming PCs. And it is clearly inferior to the performance of the competing device ASUS ROG Ally. Therefore, FX Technology has developed an alternative with a higher resolution and anti-reflective coating.
FX Technology’s DeckHD display differs from the original 1920 × 1200 pixels resolution and 95% sRGB color gamut coverage – while it has the same 400 cd/m² brightness and the same frequency of 60 Hz. For comparison, the ASUS ROG Ally still has 500 cd / m² and 120 Hz. More accurate color reproduction is perhaps the main advantage of the offer. But the higher resolution, although it will be pleasing to the eye, but the Aerith chip installed in the Steam Deck with a Zen 2 processor and RDNA 2 graphics on some games can save. Even on the more powerful ASUS ROG Ally, reviewers sometimes switched the resolution to 720p to achieve an acceptable frame rate.
The anti-reflective coating on the DeckHD will also undoubtedly please the owners of the Steam Deck – only the older model with a 512 GB drive has it in the original package. Valve said that the displays and batteries on the device can be changed and, it seems, third-party manufacturers found the idea interesting. FX Technology promises that the alternative display will hit the market at a price of $99, but the timing has not yet been specified.
Valve also initially took care of the high maintainability of the device and enlisted the support of iFixit. Step-by-step instructions for replacing the display on the Steam Deck have already been published – it includes 43 steps. And those who are especially impatient can order the original anti-glare screen from the top model on the website of the same iFixit, and it costs the same $99.