The Steam Deck’s latest update improves battery life

By Cristina Alexander April 27, 2022

PC gamers who are lucky enough to have gotten their hands on the Steam Deck amid the ongoing supply chain shortages will be happy to learn that Valve has updated it to improve its battery life, retool performance, and add a lock screen.

The company says that thanks to the latest update, which went live on Monday, the Steam Deck won’t deplete its battery if it’s idle or not being used for long periods of time. The average battery life for the portable system runs between two to eight hours, but program it with the wrong settings and it’ll run short of 90 minutes, which had prompted players to buy a battery pack to keep it running for longer.

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The improved battery life also helps the system’s power, making the LED backlight screen dim automatically a few seconds after disconnecting it from a charger to make the gameplay experience better in dark environments. This might be beneficial for those who play on the Steam Deck in a dark bedroom during those late-night hours.

Valve has also given the Steam Deck a lock screen. You can set this feature to pop up for you to enter the PIN when you turn Steam Deck on, boot it up, log in to it, or when you switch it to Desktop Mode. The PIN can be put in using the touchscreen or the controls, depending on your preference.

Valve has also added localized keyboards for 21 additional languages (excluding Korean, Japanese, and Chinese for now), as well as other new keyboard layouts. You can also switch between multiple windows within a single app or game, which is useful for web browsers or games with launchers.

You can find the full patch notes on the Steam Deck website to learn more about new features that came with the update. If you want a more simplified version of the notes, you can visit Valve’s news page.

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