Do we want a big battery for Steam Deck 2?

[kP3HyBd4QAtETt91Dk1N]

So the OG SD has 40wh battery and the SD OLED has 50wh battery.
One of the main reasons why people loved the OLED is the bigger battery.
That much is fact.

I talked with Valve support recently about the possibility of 70wh-80wh or heck, smth like 98wh battery for SD2, meaning Airport sized battery. Proposed to them to take into account how much people loved the bigger battery from OG SD to OLED SD.

Also how many people are buying accessories to mount even huge batteries on the back, even with the bad ergonomics of the straps / mounts plus the external batteries themselves.

So if people have been doing that, imagine 98wh but balanced ergonomics-wise, because it's built-in, straight-up. Replaceable, preferably.

My perspective and proposition to them was as follows:
- Proton on ARM for SD2 ? Then 40-50wh battery should mind-blow us.
- Not ARM for SD2, 2026-2027 ? Then take 98wh into account.

The did suggest to open up the discussion here too, because the Deck team at Valve views the forums.

What do you all think?

[Zef]

Originally posted by Sky:

200wh battery and stop ruining the earth with air travel...

Why stop there, think bigger, a portable diesel generator can run the steam deck for months.

[Sky]

Originally posted by Zef:

Originally posted by Sky:

200wh battery and stop ruining the earth with air travel...

Why stop there, think bigger, a portable diesel generator can run the steam deck for months.

200w is a sweat spot. I currently have a 148wh (40ah) batter tied to the back with jsaux bracelet. Total with built-in battery is 198wh. It's amazing. Not too heavy, not too little. Would be even better if it was hidden under the hood, even though I found an amazing 12cm usb type-c rubbery cord, it's still annoying to need to connect battery via it...

[kP3HyBd4QAtETt91Dk1N]

Originally posted by Sky:

200wh battery and stop ruining the earth with air travel...

And isn't it ironic.. Sky?

Troll answers aside, I guess people would be interested in a bigger battery.
Ofc, reallistically what made the SD what it is, is also Valve's strategy of subsidizing some of the cost.

How many times have we heard about a "Steam Deck killer", only to see devices that go to like $900? So yeah, ofc we all (in theory) want better battery life and better performance and what not.

As consumers and trying to stay realistic, I think we need to realize though, that we can't really have all these things that both cancel each other out, as well as drive manufacturing costs past certain accessible purchase costs, or acceptable points of subsidy.

So, were I to choose, I'd like some better performance (whatever generational progress there is, but fingers crossed for a leap rather than a progress), yet still - choose better battery as the main thing, because it's an easy win here for both the SD as well as the customer.

[@R+5]

Originally posted by kP3HyBd4QAtETt91Dk1N:

I guess people would be interested in a bigger battery.

about batteries:

bigger = heavier
heavier vs portable = bad
lighter + swapable + rechargeable = better

imo, if the form-aspect of the case could be preserved, but internally optimised to allow using two "easily swappable" batteries, that would be a huge improvement.

bigger isnt always better, specially when is about batteries you want for a portable device

that could allow removing one without turning off the device, then the other, and you get a fully charged deck without having to connect it directly with the usb cable, and maybe risk damaging the port (ive read playing while charging a phone or something like steam deck can create enough mechanical stress that can eventually lead into damaging the usb port, and then leading to a shortcut that can seriously damage the device).

but the downside would be maybe those smaller batteries may be less efficient, or could become, i dont know, so, maybe improved heat dissipation should be included in the next version of the steam deck. the deck is already very big, and heavy (even if the ergonomics may reduce a bit the impact of the weight)

Also, imo it would be a good idea if this concept of two swappable batteries are used in a new version of the steam controller (hopefully with big trackpads as the original version), could be mixed with that next version for the deck, in the sense that both steam deck and steam controller had the same kind of rechargeable+swappable batteries.

imo the batteries could be large and flat, and work similar to those in dslr, mirrorles, etc digital cameras.

maybe, these kind of batteries could also be implemented as part of a sort of "min-ups" for new mini-pcs using steam os.

ive been recently trying to learn a bit about mini-pcs, and one common issue i found is that many people have commented how they didnt thought about using an ups with their mini-pcs, and one day after an unexpected power surge or similar issue, their mini-pcs were dead. if someone made a mini-pc, with a small integrated ups system (similar to some arduino etc projects), but compatible and efficient enough to protect the computer, it would be a lot better than most stuff currently available.

most mini-pcs come with fast nvme "disks", and more efficient cpus and at least ddr ram. a system like that running with linux (ie steam os v3) could be fast enough to properly close whatever it needs, and then disconnect to avoid serious hardware problems.

[Sky]

Originally posted by @R+5:

Originally posted by kP3HyBd4QAtETt91Dk1N:

I guess people would be interested in a bigger battery.

about batteries:

bigger = heavier
heavier vs portable = bad
lighter + swapable + rechargeable = better

imo, if the form-aspect of the case could be preserved, but internally optimised to allow using two "easily swappable" batteries, that would be a huge improvement.

bigger isnt always better, specially when is about batteries you want for a portable device

that could allow removing one without turning off the device, then the other, and you get a fully charged deck without having to connect it directly with the usb cable, and maybe risk damaging the port (ive read playing while charging a phone or something like steam deck can create enough mechanical stress that can eventually lead into damaging the usb port, and then leading to a shortcut that can seriously damage the device).

but the downside would be maybe those smaller batteries may be less efficient, or could become, i dont know, so, maybe improved heat dissipation should be included in the next version of the steam deck. the deck is already very big, and heavy (even if the ergonomics may reduce a bit the impact of the weight)

Also, imo it would be a good idea if this concept of two swappable batteries are used in a new version of the steam controller (hopefully with big trackpads as the original version), could be mixed with that next version for the deck, in the sense that both steam deck and steam controller had the same kind of rechargeable+swappable batteries.

imo the batteries could be large and flat, and work similar to those in dslr, mirrorles, etc digital cameras.

maybe, these kind of batteries could also be implemented as part of a sort of "min-ups" for new mini-pcs using steam os.

ive been recently trying to learn a bit about mini-pcs, and one common issue i found is that many people have commented how they didnt thought about using an ups with their mini-pcs, and one day after an unexpected power surge or similar issue, their mini-pcs were dead. if someone made a mini-pc, with a small integrated ups system (similar to some arduino etc projects), but compatible and efficient enough to protect the computer, it would be a lot better than most stuff currently available.

most mini-pcs come with fast nvme "disks", and more efficient cpus and at least ddr ram. a system like that running with linux (ie steam os v3) could be fast enough to properly close whatever it needs, and then disconnect to avoid serious hardware problems.

your solution with hot swapable batteries already exist - just use powerbank and battery holder/jsaux case with mini pd cable (I got 12cm with one L type plug) to not stress the port...