It is just immutable modded Arch Linux with some particular optimisations. While I am sure the task to create it is not so trivial. I am also sure that their hardware engineers put immense effort into designing and building the Steam Deck, which is no small feat. Selecting the components, thermal design, power design etc. considerations that need to be taken into account while building such a device is very challenging, I am sure and their hardware engineers did an excellent job. That’s why the Steam Deck is also so much superior to rival handheld devices.
The track pads are phenomenal for any game that doesn’t have great built in controller support. I use them for mouse input on games like FTL, and they are much more accurate for aiming in FPS games than emulating a mouse on a stick. I also use them as radial menus for expanded controls on games like Elite Dangerous that really need more buttons than a controller has.
I agree with your point in general, and SteamOS was the main thing that pushed me towards steam deck over other handhelds with better specs. Now that I’ve used it though, it would be hard to give up the trackpads if the other options dont have the same quality. My hope is that 3rd party devices will basically mirror the steam controller setup, since the SteamOS controller mapping and provided layouts are a huge part of why so many games work on the platform even without official controller support. It’s not just the hardware or the software but how well they work together.
The hardware is fairly trivial to engineer. Building an OS is not. That’s why we’ve seen a dozen different OEMs and zero new OS’s.
If it means Valve dedicates all the resourced they have to SteamOS and we never see another Steam Deck, I would have no problem with that.
It is just immutable modded Arch Linux with some particular optimisations. While I am sure the task to create it is not so trivial. I am also sure that their hardware engineers put immense effort into designing and building the Steam Deck, which is no small feat. Selecting the components, thermal design, power design etc. considerations that need to be taken into account while building such a device is very challenging, I am sure and their hardware engineers did an excellent job. That’s why the Steam Deck is also so much superior to rival handheld devices.
Is it? I mean as far as I can tell the only advantages it has is:
I’ve only ever had a Steam Deck but certainly I can see why many people opt for other handhelds and just put Bazzite or similar on them.
The track pads are phenomenal for any game that doesn’t have great built in controller support. I use them for mouse input on games like FTL, and they are much more accurate for aiming in FPS games than emulating a mouse on a stick. I also use them as radial menus for expanded controls on games like Elite Dangerous that really need more buttons than a controller has.
I agree with your point in general, and SteamOS was the main thing that pushed me towards steam deck over other handhelds with better specs. Now that I’ve used it though, it would be hard to give up the trackpads if the other options dont have the same quality. My hope is that 3rd party devices will basically mirror the steam controller setup, since the SteamOS controller mapping and provided layouts are a huge part of why so many games work on the platform even without official controller support. It’s not just the hardware or the software but how well they work together.