Valve will soon be forced to revise a new Steam Deck (and I can't wait)

Features
By Rebecca Spear
published

Same goes for the ROG Ally, Switch, and anything with a battery.

Steam Deck next to a battery pack.
My Steam Deck's battery isn't great so I often have to play it plugged in or connected to a battery pack. (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

It's a frustrating (but true) fact that we've all experienced with our phones, laptops, gaming handhelds, and other electronics — batteries degrade over time, making it so they eventually cannot hold as much power or last as long. As many of us have experienced, my well-loved Steam Deck already doesn't have the best battery life, which is why I'm sure I'll eventually have to replace the battery the minute it degrades to a horrible degree. This might be a whole lot sooner than later. I'm not looking forward to this, as the process for removing the Steam Deck battery is unreasonably difficult. 

But thanks to a new battery regulation passed in the EU, it looks like Valve will be forced to manufacture new versions of the Steam Deck that feature replaceable batteries even though it had no plans of releasing a new version any time soon. I cannot even tell you how excited I am about this. For one thing, having a Steam Deck designed with a replaceable battery gives me more control over my favorite gaming device, and for another, it ensures that I will be able to fix my handheld without accidentally breaking it. 

We sorely need a new Steam Deck with replaceable batteries

Inside of a Steam Deck with the battery highlighted. (Image credit: Windows Central / Valve)
More handheld gaming

ROG Ally turned on and on main Windows 11 screen.

- Steam Deck is still unchallenged
- ROG Ally vs Steam Deck
- Steam Deck vs Switch OLED
- Best Steam Deck accessories
- Best ROG Ally battery packs
- Can I play Starfield on Steam Deck?

For savvy Steam Deck fans, replacing the SSD and fans has already been a popular hobby to improve the performance of the handheld. However, the act of replacing the battery has notoriously become a frustrating undertaking due to the amount of unnecessary work it takes. 

You see, the Steam Deck battery is tightly nestled between other components, and it's so strongly glued into place that it takes a long patience-filled time to carefully pry up the adhesive and get it out. As such, it's very easy to get frustrated and damage the battery and the other components around it, even if you're using the proper prying tools.

It's tempting to want to use heating to loosen the glue, but that can also prove to be extremely dangerous since damaging the Steam Deck battery can lead to it swelling and not fitting properly or, worse, catching fire later on. This made me hope that a newer version of the Steam Deck would make the battery easier to remove, but that didn't seem likely to happen in the near future.

The Steam Deck battery is so strongly glued into place that it takes a long patience-filled time to carefully pry up the adhesive and get it out.

Just earlier this year, Valve designer Lawrence Yang and engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais explained in an interview that Valve didn't have plans to release a new Steam Deck model any time soon. "A true next-gen Deck with a significant bump in horsepower wouldn't be for a few years" (thanks, Rock Paper Shotgun.) Fortunately for my battery desires, things are a-changin'. This new EU battery regulation will require Valve to start making a new version with a replaceable battery, at least.

As further information, the Council of the EU's regulation on new batteries and waste batteries makes it so any company hoping to sell devices in the EU, including Valve, will have to make it possible for consumers to replace their own batteries in devices by 2027. The idea is that this regulation "aims to reduce environmental and social impacts" while also encouraging competition between battery manufacturers to produce more efficient batteries.

My Steam Deck on a wood table. (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Of course, that means that Valve will need to start manufacturing new versions of the Steam Deck that come with intentionally replaceable batteries, thus removing the frustrating hassle we currently deal with. I expect this new Steam Deck to be much like what the Switch OLED was to the Nintendo Switch, where most of the components were exactly the same save for one or two semi-big changes. As Yang previously told us, the "next-gen Deck" likely won't release for another few years yet.

This regulation will require the same replacement battery rules for Nintendo Switch, ASUS ROG Ally, and virtually any other device with a battery as well since it applies to "all waste portable batteries, electric vehicle batteries, industrial batteries, starting, lightning and ignition (SLI) batteries (used mostly for vehicles and machinery) and batteries for light means of transport (e.g. electric bikes, e-mopeds, e-scooters)."

Now, it's possible that Valve will only make this change to Steam Deck units headed to EU markets. However, I'd say it's more likely that the company will just make the full switch to all of its devices, including those sold in the US. If so, it's more than likely that more third-party sellers will start producing batteries for the Steam Deck, given that many retailers already eagerly sell Steam Deck accessories.

Some of these third-party Steam Deck batteries might even be far more powerful than what Valve makes itself, which is a happy thought, indeed. If nothing else, Valve itself will be required to produce replacement batteries, which will help us Steam Deck fans keep fresh batteries in our beloved handhelds so they continue to work for the longest stretches possible.

I'd happily buy batteries for my Steam Deck

One thing is certain. I will definitely be swapping out my current Steam Deck for a new replaceable battery one if they become available here. It might be costly, but choosing a more powerful battery to replace the default one gives me more control and allows me to determine how long the system will last.

Considering that Valve needs to meet the new EU battery regulation by 2027, the company will have to get started on making plans for the newer handheld version very soon if they haven't already. Don't you worry. If we at Windows Central hear anything about that, we'll be sure to report on it right away. 

Rebecca Spear
Rebecca Spear
Editor and Reviewer

Self-professed gaming geek, Rebecca Spear, is one of Windows Central's editors and reviewers with a focus on gaming handhelds, PC gaming, and laptops. When she isn't checking out the latest games on Xbox Game Pass, PC, ROG Ally, or Steam Deck; she can be found digital drawing with a Wacom tablet. She's written thousands of articles with everything from editorials, reviews, previews, features, previews, and hardware reviews over the last few years. If you need information about anything gaming-related, her articles can help you out. She also loves testing game accessories and any new tech on the market. You can follow her @rrspear on X (formerly Twitter).

7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • GraniteStateColin
    I appreciate finding the positive perspective on this. I agree that a replaceable battery is a nice plus, and I suspect that almost everyone would agree that by itself, a replaceable battery is better than a non-replaceable battery. So why do you think companies don't do this? After all they want to win customers, so why not just build it this way in the first place? Because there are adverse effects to some combination of size, weight, cost, and time to develop/iterate, which customers care about even more.

    If enough customers really cared about this or ANY feature within reasonable engineering reach of manufacturers, they would already offer it. In fact, it was fairly recent history when many cell phones still offered replaceable batteries. Further back, I used to buy a few spares and a separate charger for my old Samsung Palm Smartphones back around 2002-2005 so I could have more power with me when I traveled for work. When one ran out, I'd just slap in the replacement.

    The reality is that CUSTOMERS told companies that thin and light were more important than a replaceable battery in certain classes of devices. Obviously, not every customer agreed with that prioritization, but that's where competition would step in to fill the gap, if there really were a market interest for this. Given that some manufactures kept offering replaceable batteries for quite a while, we can see that they did more than try. They even pushed these, promoting replaceable batteries as a critical benefit. Customers en masse said with their purchasing "we don't care about that enough to sacrifice thin and light."

    This is the PERFECT EXAMPLE of excessive government regulation harming customers (most regulations do). Some bureaucrat has data, or a personal bug up his/her butt, that users would like replaceable batteries. True. He or she then pushes for a regulation to require it with no comprehension of the market impacts of this change.

    There will surely be plenty of ignorant people praising this, because again, who wouldn't want the ability to replace the battery? But they completely miss the history and the long-term unintended consequences to this. Worse, because it's also expensive to produce fundamentally different models for different parts of the world, this means we're probably all going to suffer the consequences.

    Good for you EU, you've just made all electronic devices worse and more expensive, as proven by customer purchases over the past two decades.
    Reply
  • wojtek
    GraniteStateColin said:
    I appreciate finding the positive perspective on this. I agree that a replaceable battery is a nice plus, and I suspect that almost everyone would agree that by itself, a replaceable battery is better than a non-replaceable battery. So why do you think companies don't do this? After all they want to win customers, so why not just build it this way in the first place? Because there are adverse effects to some combination of size, weight, cost, and time to develop/iterate, which customers care about even more.

    If enough customers really cared about this or ANY feature within reasonable engineering reach of manufacturers, they would already offer it. In fact, it was fairly recent history when many cell phones still offered replaceable batteries. Further back, I used to buy a few spares and a separate charger for my old Samsung Palm Smartphones back around 2002-2005 so I could have more power with me when I traveled for work. When one ran out, I'd just slap in the replacement.

    The reality is that CUSTOMERS told companies that thin and light were more important than a replaceable battery in certain classes of devices. Obviously, not every customer agreed with that prioritization, but that's where competition would step in to fill the gap, if there really were a market interest for this. Given that some manufactures kept offering replaceable batteries for quite a while, we can see that they did more than try. They even pushed these, promoting replaceable batteries as a critical benefit. Customers en masse said with their purchasing "we don't care about that enough to sacrifice thin and light."

    This is the PERFECT EXAMPLE of excessive government regulation harming customers (most regulations do). Some bureaucrat has data, or a personal bug up his/her butt, that users would like replaceable batteries. True. He or she then pushes for a regulation to require it with no comprehension of the market impacts of this change.

    There will surely be plenty of ignorant people praising this, because again, who wouldn't want the ability to replace the battery? But they completely miss the history and the long-term unintended consequences to this. Worse, because it's also expensive to produce fundamentally different models for different parts of the world, this means we're probably all going to suffer the consequences.

    Good for you EU, you've just made all electronic devices worse and more expensive, as proven by customer purchases over the past two decades.
    I dint agree, to put it mildly... Phone companies market stuff (and usually follow apple... "monkey sees, monkey does") and if apple made phones that didn't have replaceable batteries then others done the same. But apple (and other popular brands) profits from battery service. Making the battery replaceable is not such extreme - not requiring special screwdrivers and not putting 200% of glue already makes it times more easier...

    Are you also arguing tha this "awful EU with to of regulation" made a disservice to the world by forcing single charger port? or to you miss times when each company had it own chargerab(yes, plural because different models had different charges)?
    Reply
  • GraniteStateColin
    wojtek said:
    I dint agree, to put it mildly... Phone companies market stuff (and usually follow apple... "monkey sees, monkey does") and if apple made phones that didn't have replaceable batteries then others done the same. But apple (and other popular brands) profits from battery service. Making the battery replaceable is not such extreme - not requiring special screwdrivers and not putting 200% of glue already makes it times more easier...

    Are you also arguing tha this "awful EU with to of regulation" made a disservice to the world by forcing single charger port? or to you miss times when each company had it own chargerab(yes, plural because different models had different charges)?
    I'm sorry, I don't understand your post or question, but I'll try to respond. I'm saying that there are unintended consequences when companies are forced by regulations to making products with features that they didn't choose to make based on market demand. I think you are asking if I would make the same argument about the Apple Lightning Connector and the EU forcing them to USB-C? If so, then yes, that was a bad policy by the EU. It doesn't matter if it superficially appears to be beneficial to users, because the problems is the UNINTENDED consequences.

    I do think there are cases where government can help implement standards, but forcing Apple to eliminate the Lightning Connector is not one of those. Where regulations are appropriate for standards, it's only when there are many competing approaches and none are gaining user acceptance because of the Babylon of connectors. In that case, a forced standard can benefit everyone. Even then, it's best to let a standards organization voluntarily resolve the issue, like happens with Wi-Fi or the USB forum.

    In Apple's case, there was already a standard, USB-C, and Apple chose to offer a proprietary connector that they believe to be better for their customers. By forcing Apple to drop that in favor if USB-C, they harm all the existing iOS users with Lightning connectors, they reduce competitiveness for improving the standards (would the USB Implementer's Forum have ever come up with the reversible USB-C if not for the Lightning Connector? Maybe, maybe not. Competition drives innovation. Regulation forcing a standard kills it.
    Reply
  • wojtek
    GraniteStateColin said:
    I'm sorry, I don't understand your post or question, but I'll try to respond. I'm saying that there are unintended consequences when companies are forced by regulations to making products with features that they didn't choose to make based on market demand. I think you are asking if I would make the same argument about the Apple Lightning Connector and the EU forcing them to USB-C? If so, then yes, that was a bad policy by the EU. It doesn't matter if it superficially appears to be beneficial to users, because the problems is the UNINTENDED consequences.
    You see... you are believer of free market and that it will solve everything. However you are missing, by a huge margin, the "elephant in the room" - companies, especially bigger ones, are not driven by "making the world better", they are driven by making profit. Lightning is not the best connector (while being "flip compatible", i.e. doesn't matter how you put it, it.s slow and propiatery…) and Apple using is is just to enforce it's walled garden policy and milk users on overpriced dongles and cables... same thing was happening in the past where each company had dozens of custom, proprietary chargers... just to milk cashcows (customers)...

    Do you think that Apple with their iMessage (and fb with messanger/whatsapp) are closed gardens because it's better? No, it's just marketing to get more users = more customers... gtalk/fb messanger/skype were interoperable a decade ago, but then they gained enough users to close off the rest...

    Users don't have completely free choice - they are quite often forced to select something even though they may not be so happy about it (blue vs green bubbles idiocy from the land of the "freedom" ring any bell?)
    Reply
  • GraniteStateColin
    wojtek said:
    You see... you are believer of free market and that it will solve everything. However you are missing, by a huge margin, the "elephant in the room" - companies, especially bigger ones, are not driven by "making the world better", they are driven by making profit. Lightning is not the best connector (while being "flip compatible", i.e. doesn't matter how you put it, it.s slow and propiatery…) and Apple using is is just to enforce it's walled garden policy and milk users on overpriced dongles and cables... same thing was happening in the past where each company had dozens of custom, proprietary chargers... just to milk cashcows (customers)...

    Do you think that Apple with their iMessage (and fb with messanger/whatsapp) are closed gardens because it's better? No, it's just marketing to get more users = more customers... gtalk/fb messanger/skype were interoperable a decade ago, but then they gained enough users to close off the rest...

    Users don't have completely free choice - they are quite often forced to select something even though they may not be so happy about it (blue vs green bubbles idiocy from the land of the "freedom" ring any bell?)

    Yes, companies are driven to make a profit and, more important, that the rate of profit (as a percentage of dollars spent, called the internal rate of return orIRR) increases over time. In other words, a company can't just screw its customers to make a big profit this quarter if it will hurt it in the long-term, or its stock will suffer. Now, "long-term" can be a subjective term. Companies don't generally look much further than about 5 years with respect to profits. They may have general plans that go further than that, but they won't generally take a hit now for a win that's any further out than that, and usually it requires at least consistent IRR within 1-3 years.

    And do you know the ONLY thing a product-company can do to show increasing profits over the years? Make products that customers want to buy. If you think otherwise, you are just ignorant about how product development planning works. When we design products, we are focused on how to delight customers so they will want to buy our products and build brand loyalty so they'll also want to buy another one in the future, instead of jumping ship to another manufacturer's.

    I don't defend Lightning as a connector. I MUCH PREFER USB-C. I also don't use iMessage (because I don't use Apple products, except for testing in app development, because we release apps for iOS devices). But neither my preference nor yours nor any gov't bureaucrat's opinion should matter. That's the marketplace and each customer and each inventor making their own choices.
    Reply
  • stanto
    Windows Central said:
    A new regulation passed in the EU states that devices must have replaceable batteries by 2027. This means a new Steam Deck is on the way!

    Valve will soon be forced to revise a new Steam Deck (and I can't wait) : Read more
    This article is misleading.
    The steam deck battery is replaceable and you buy replacements from ifixit.com.
    Reply
  • wojtek
    stanto said:
    This article is misleading.
    The steam deck battery is replaceable and you buy replacements from ifixit.com.
    All batteries are replaceable. The crux of the topic is the effort.

    Even mentioned ifixit guide (https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Steam+Deck+Battery+Replacement/149070#s307400) has this gem:

    > The battery is strongly adhered to the Steam Deck. The adhesive loosens with constant, steady force, and it will require repeated heating and prying cycles.
    Reply