I enjoyed my SD LCD but found it lacking in several areas. Yes, the OLED screen gets a lot of the spotlight, but there’s much more going on with this new model and overall it feels like a massive upgrade to me:
- OLED screen: it’s beautiful, significantly better than the LCD, 90Hz and fast OLED response time is very noticeable and makes even browsing around the menus much smoother. The increased screen size is more apparent in person than you’d think too and feels more appropriate to the overall size of the device.
- The -30g weight: I really didn’t think this was going to be noticeable but wow am I wrong. You immediately notice the weight reduction upon picking it up and the whole unit feels a lot more balanced and comfortable to hold.
- The buttons: every single button feels better, crispier, and more tactile to use. D-pad feels amazing, bumpers and triggers are wonderful, even the “Steam” and “***” buttons are so much nicer with noticeable tactility now. These two buttons were one of my big gripes before as they felt mushy and inconsistent.
- Trackpads: much, much improved, haptics are strong, the usability has been improved, they’re more enjoyable to use now.
- Joysticks: no more need for an extra cover or anything, stock they feel really great.
- Materials: Maybe they didn’t change the plastics or anything at all but it certainly feels like it. Something about this SD OLED case/shell just feels more premium than the original. Call this one placebo/honeymoon effect but the device feels nicer in the hands than before.
- Fan: this is so quiet compared to the original, even the Huaying fan.
- Charging cable: that extra 1m length is so nice.
- Audio: I had no issue with the original SD speakers but this is just nicer, no doubt about it.
- WiFi 6E is such a noticeable boost in speed and performance.
The list can go on and I’m sure I’m going to get some eyerolls for this post. But the SD OLED feels like a way bigger upgrade than I expected. The whole device just feels more premium, more comfortable, snappier, smoother, etc.
My expectations were already super high with this device and somehow Valve exceeded them.
Totally agree. I think the OLED SD might be the best consumer electronic device ever made IMO. Nothing Microsoft, Sony, Samsung, or Apple has ever made has been this exciting and useful to me at the same time, and the fact that it’s so relatively affordable and it fills a unique but important role in my life makes it so easy to love. I’ve been playing mine for 4+ hours a day since I got it and am not even remotely bored. Every game from the most retro to Cyberpunk looks incredible, and I am someone who also owns a desktop PC with an RTX 4080 and an LG OLED monitor that I also love. Valve knocked it out of the park with this and the fact we can have this incredible handheld gaming PC and OLED display for $550 is unheard of.