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Why the Steam Deck 2 Isn’t Coming Anytime Soon

Why the Steam Deck 2 Isn’t Coming Anytime Soon

Like an annoyed parent, Valve has reiterated again and again that it won’t make a Steam Deck 2 until you stop asking about it. While there are several new handheld PCs many times more powerful than the aging Steam Deck, Valve isn’t just looking for a mere specs boost. The technology that will enable the next era of handheld gaming is on the way, but it will have less to do with core counts on the latest and greatest chips and more to do with upscaling software that may finally unlock a true console-like experience on the go.

After Valve launched a whole new family of gaming hardware in the form of the Steam Machine console/PC hybrid, the Steam Frame VR headset, and a new Steam Controller, the next question hovering on every gamer’s lips was about a sequel to the popular Steam Deck OLED. Various Valve engineers effectively said the same thing to multiple news outlets: the technology isn’t there yet. The next handheld would need to have the same power range, weight, and battery life so it could sell for roughly the same price.

Valve software engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais told IGN that Valve doesn’t care about a “20, 30, or even 50% more performance at the same battery life.” The makers of Steam seem to imagine there will be a future SoC, or system on a chip, that makes such massive architectural advancements that the next Steam Deck could bring easy AAA gaming right to your hands. That makes sense when you consider what’s on the horizon and what we know about PlayStation’s supposed upcoming handheld, dubbed “Canis.”

Look to 2027 for the future of gaming handhelds

The Steam Machine is running a ‘semi-custom’ AMD chip running on slightly older RDNA 3 GPU microarchitecture. © Valve

Recent leaks from reliable AMD rumormonger Moore’s Law is Dead explained how Sony is working on a dockable PlayStation handheld akin to the Nintendo Switch 2. This device will run on AMD’s unreleased RDNA 5 GPU architecture, which is faster than today’s current RDNA 4. It may be powerful enough to run many PS5 games natively. More importantly, it will be able to run a more advanced version of AMD’s hardware-specific FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 4, an upscaling technology that takes frames run at lower resolution and bumps them to a higher resolution while keeping the improved performance. AMD hosts hardware-agnostic versions of FSR, like FSR 3 and FSR 3.5, but FSR 4 was a massive improvement when we saw it on the company’s latest GPUs.

We won’t see any sign of Canis until at least 2027, according to Moore’s Law. Intel also has new Panther Lake chips incoming, including a version with 12 Xe3 GPU cores that’s especially promising for future kickass gaming handhelds. We don’t know what Valve thinks about Intel’s chips, but for now, it and every other console maker are sticking with AMD. The Steam Frame is running on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, a mobile chip that won’t necessarily be powerful enough for AAA gaming by itself. However, it’s also running a new emulation layer called Fex, which could prove to be a boon for any future chipmakers who want to make a powerful ARM-based SoC for handhelds.

Steam Frame VR headset
The Steam Frame is running a well-known mobile chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. © Valve

Valve is correct that the true “generational leap” in performance and power efficiency that the company is looking for hasn’t arrived, judging by this year’s slate of handhelds. It probably won’t be here in 2026, either. The problem with handheld PCs is that the power demands of higher-end chips will require larger batteries and drive up costs. The latest handhelds sporting the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip enable better performance with higher TDP, or thermal design power. However, those new handhelds will drain any gamer’s wallet. The most powerful version of the Lenovo Legion Go 2 costs $1,350 and the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X demands $1,000. These devices have enough juice to play some demanding games natively, but they’re not too much better than the Steam Deck when you consider their cost.

Valve’s Steam Deck, which starts at $450 for the LCD version, still has the best bang for the buck among handheld PCs, despite running on old AMD Zen 2 architecture. It won’t play all the latest AAA games at their peak, but it’s more than enough for smaller indie titles, and it’s become my favorite way to stream games through Nvidia’s GeForce Now. A Steam Deck 2 needs to offer more than just a new way to play demanding titles on the move. Valve is obviously interested in creating a gaming hardware ecosystem that can rival PlayStation and Xbox. In that way, it’s better off waiting for something to come along that non-PC gamers can actually afford.

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#Steam #Deck #Isnt #Coming #Anytime

Thanks to EU regulations, gadgets with user-replaceable batteries are making a comeback, as my colleague Dominic Preston wrote recently. Starting on that February 2027 date, EU rules mandate that many types of gadgets, including portable game consoles, must allow users to relatively easily remove and replace their batteries.

Nintendo doesn’t specify exactly what it will change with this new version of the Switch 2 to make battery replacements easier — currently, taking out the battery in the Switch 2 is an involved, multi-step process, as shown by iFixit. It’s also unclear if a revised model with a replaceable battery will be available in other regions. Nintendo didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

On its website, Nintendo says that, “For current products with model numbers starting with ‘BEE’” — which is used with the Switch 2, as shown in Nintendo’s filings with the FCC — “future compliant versions will have unique model numbers and the additional code ‘OSM’ visible on the packaging, designating them as separate products for regulatory purposes.” Switch 2 controllers like the Pro Controller and the Joy-Cons also carry the BEE moniker, and we’ve asked Nintendo if those will have user-replaceable batteries as well.

#Nintendo #confirms #sell #Switch #replaceable #batteryEntertainment,Gaming,News,Nintendo,Policy">Nintendo confirms it will sell a new Switch 2 with replaceable battery in the EUNintendo is planning to launch versions of Switch 2 hardware in the EU that will let users easily replace the battery. To meet its obligations from a new EU regulation that’s set to go into effect on February 18th, 2027, Nintendo says on its website that it is “implementing measures to comply with these requirements by preparing versions of products to meet the Regulation.”Thanks to EU regulations, gadgets with user-replaceable batteries are making a comeback, as my colleague Dominic Preston wrote recently. Starting on that February 2027 date, EU rules mandate that many types of gadgets, including portable game consoles, must allow users to relatively easily remove and replace their batteries.Nintendo doesn’t specify exactly what it will change with this new version of the Switch 2 to make battery replacements easier — currently, taking out the battery in the Switch 2 is an involved, multi-step process, as shown by iFixit. It’s also unclear if a revised model with a replaceable battery will be available in other regions. Nintendo didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.On its website, Nintendo says that, “For current products with model numbers starting with ‘BEE’” — which is used with the Switch 2, as shown in Nintendo’s filings with the FCC — “future compliant versions will have unique model numbers and the additional code ‘OSM’ visible on the packaging, designating them as separate products for regulatory purposes.” Switch 2 controllers like the Pro Controller and the Joy-Cons also carry the BEE moniker, and we’ve asked Nintendo if those will have user-replaceable batteries as well.#Nintendo #confirms #sell #Switch #replaceable #batteryEntertainment,Gaming,News,Nintendo,Policy

on its website that it is “implementing measures to comply with these requirements by preparing versions of products to meet the Regulation.”

Thanks to EU regulations, gadgets with user-replaceable batteries are making a comeback, as my colleague Dominic Preston wrote recently. Starting on that February 2027 date, EU rules mandate that many types of gadgets, including portable game consoles, must allow users to relatively easily remove and replace their batteries.

Nintendo doesn’t specify exactly what it will change with this new version of the Switch 2 to make battery replacements easier — currently, taking out the battery in the Switch 2 is an involved, multi-step process, as shown by iFixit. It’s also unclear if a revised model with a replaceable battery will be available in other regions. Nintendo didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

On its website, Nintendo says that, “For current products with model numbers starting with ‘BEE’” — which is used with the Switch 2, as shown in Nintendo’s filings with the FCC — “future compliant versions will have unique model numbers and the additional code ‘OSM’ visible on the packaging, designating them as separate products for regulatory purposes.” Switch 2 controllers like the Pro Controller and the Joy-Cons also carry the BEE moniker, and we’ve asked Nintendo if those will have user-replaceable batteries as well.

#Nintendo #confirms #sell #Switch #replaceable #batteryEntertainment,Gaming,News,Nintendo,Policy">Nintendo confirms it will sell a new Switch 2 with replaceable battery in the EU

Nintendo is planning to launch versions of Switch 2 hardware in the EU that will let users easily replace the battery. To meet its obligations from a new EU regulation that’s set to go into effect on February 18th, 2027, Nintendo says on its website that it is “implementing measures to comply with these requirements by preparing versions of products to meet the Regulation.”

Thanks to EU regulations, gadgets with user-replaceable batteries are making a comeback, as my colleague Dominic Preston wrote recently. Starting on that February 2027 date, EU rules mandate that many types of gadgets, including portable game consoles, must allow users to relatively easily remove and replace their batteries.

Nintendo doesn’t specify exactly what it will change with this new version of the Switch 2 to make battery replacements easier — currently, taking out the battery in the Switch 2 is an involved, multi-step process, as shown by iFixit. It’s also unclear if a revised model with a replaceable battery will be available in other regions. Nintendo didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

On its website, Nintendo says that, “For current products with model numbers starting with ‘BEE’” — which is used with the Switch 2, as shown in Nintendo’s filings with the FCC — “future compliant versions will have unique model numbers and the additional code ‘OSM’ visible on the packaging, designating them as separate products for regulatory purposes.” Switch 2 controllers like the Pro Controller and the Joy-Cons also carry the BEE moniker, and we’ve asked Nintendo if those will have user-replaceable batteries as well.

#Nintendo #confirms #sell #Switch #replaceable #batteryEntertainment,Gaming,News,Nintendo,Policy
Lovable and Google announced an expanded multiyear collaboration on Wednesday. Lovable, the fast-growing Stockholm vibe-coding startup, has long been a Google Cloud user. Under the new agreement, it will be a much bigger one.

While the companies did not disclose the dollar figure, a person with knowledge of the deal tells TechCrunch it involves a fivefold increase in Lovable’s footprint on Google Cloud, including AI usage. As part of the deal, this individual tells us, Lovable will gain expanded access to both Anthropic’s Claude — the AI model widely used for coding tasks — and Google’s own Gemini models.

The Anthropic piece in particular is interesting. Google invested $10 billion in Anthropic in cash and compute credits in April, promising another $30 billion if Anthropic hits certain performance targets. It made that investment at a $350 billion valuation — just one month before Anthropic raised a staggering $65 billion round that valued the company at nearly $1 trillion. This deal stands to help Anthropic hit those targets, because Lovable is one of Europe’s fastest-growing startups on record. According to Lovable, it crossed $400 million in annualized revenue in February, having added $100 million in a single month with just 146 employees. The company claims that more than half of Fortune 500 companies use its product in some fashion.

The deal also plugs Lovable into several other parts of Google’s ecosystem. Lovable’s new agent will be available through Google Cloud’s enterprise agent marketplace, the Gemini Enterprise Agent Gallery — an arrangement the two companies first telegraphed at Google’s major U.S. cloud conference in April. And to help secure the code that both humans and agents write, Lovable will integrate with Wiz, Google’s biggest ever acquisition at $32 billion, which officially closed in March, a year after it was announced. The integration will allow Wiz to identify and remediate security problems in real time.

By selling Lovable’s agents through Google’s marketplace, the cloud giant says enterprise procurement and billing will be simplified, making it easier for Lovable to land more enterprise customers.

The calculus for Google is simple enough. If it can keep both Lovable and Anthropic growing by attracting deep-pocketed enterprises, the revenue helps fund the $180 billion to $190 billion in capital expenditures Google plans to spend this year. The company is already in the process of selling a record-breaking $85 billion in equity to cover some of that, so only another $100 billion or so to go.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Lovable #signs #multiyear #deal #Google #Cloud #usage #source #TechCrunchAnthropic,google cloud,Lovable">Lovable signs multiyear deal with Google Cloud to up usage 5x, source says | TechCrunch
Lovable and Google announced an expanded multiyear collaboration on Wednesday. Lovable, the fast-growing Stockholm vibe-coding startup, has long been a Google Cloud user. Under the new agreement, it will be a much bigger one.

While the companies did not disclose the dollar figure, a person with knowledge of the deal tells TechCrunch it involves a fivefold increase in Lovable’s footprint on Google Cloud, including AI usage. As part of the deal, this individual tells us, Lovable will gain expanded access to both Anthropic’s Claude — the AI model widely used for coding tasks — and Google’s own Gemini models.







The Anthropic piece in particular is interesting. Google invested  billion in Anthropic in cash and compute credits in April, promising another  billion if Anthropic hits certain performance targets. It made that investment at a 0 billion valuation — just one month before Anthropic raised a staggering  billion round that valued the company at nearly  trillion. This deal stands to help Anthropic hit those targets, because Lovable is one of Europe’s fastest-growing startups on record. According to Lovable, it crossed 0 million in annualized revenue in February, having added 0 million in a single month with just 146 employees. The company claims that more than half of Fortune 500 companies use its product in some fashion.

The deal also plugs Lovable into several other parts of Google’s ecosystem. Lovable’s new agent will be available through Google Cloud’s enterprise agent marketplace, the Gemini Enterprise Agent Gallery — an arrangement the two companies first telegraphed at Google’s major U.S. cloud conference in April. And to help secure the code that both humans and agents write, Lovable will integrate with Wiz, Google’s biggest ever acquisition at  billion, which officially closed in March, a year after it was announced. The integration will allow Wiz to identify and remediate security problems in real time.

By selling Lovable’s agents through Google’s marketplace, the cloud giant says enterprise procurement and billing will be simplified, making it easier for Lovable to land more enterprise customers.

The calculus for Google is simple enough. If it can keep both Lovable and Anthropic growing by attracting deep-pocketed enterprises, the revenue helps fund the 0 billion to 0 billion in capital expenditures Google plans to spend this year. The company is already in the process of selling a record-breaking  billion in equity to cover some of that, so only another 0 billion or so to go.



When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Lovable #signs #multiyear #deal #Google #Cloud #usage #source #TechCrunchAnthropic,google cloud,Lovable

announced an expanded multiyear collaboration on Wednesday. Lovable, the fast-growing Stockholm vibe-coding startup, has long been a Google Cloud user. Under the new agreement, it will be a much bigger one.

While the companies did not disclose the dollar figure, a person with knowledge of the deal tells TechCrunch it involves a fivefold increase in Lovable’s footprint on Google Cloud, including AI usage. As part of the deal, this individual tells us, Lovable will gain expanded access to both Anthropic’s Claude — the AI model widely used for coding tasks — and Google’s own Gemini models.

The Anthropic piece in particular is interesting. Google invested $10 billion in Anthropic in cash and compute credits in April, promising another $30 billion if Anthropic hits certain performance targets. It made that investment at a $350 billion valuation — just one month before Anthropic raised a staggering $65 billion round that valued the company at nearly $1 trillion. This deal stands to help Anthropic hit those targets, because Lovable is one of Europe’s fastest-growing startups on record. According to Lovable, it crossed $400 million in annualized revenue in February, having added $100 million in a single month with just 146 employees. The company claims that more than half of Fortune 500 companies use its product in some fashion.

The deal also plugs Lovable into several other parts of Google’s ecosystem. Lovable’s new agent will be available through Google Cloud’s enterprise agent marketplace, the Gemini Enterprise Agent Gallery — an arrangement the two companies first telegraphed at Google’s major U.S. cloud conference in April. And to help secure the code that both humans and agents write, Lovable will integrate with Wiz, Google’s biggest ever acquisition at $32 billion, which officially closed in March, a year after it was announced. The integration will allow Wiz to identify and remediate security problems in real time.

By selling Lovable’s agents through Google’s marketplace, the cloud giant says enterprise procurement and billing will be simplified, making it easier for Lovable to land more enterprise customers.

The calculus for Google is simple enough. If it can keep both Lovable and Anthropic growing by attracting deep-pocketed enterprises, the revenue helps fund the $180 billion to $190 billion in capital expenditures Google plans to spend this year. The company is already in the process of selling a record-breaking $85 billion in equity to cover some of that, so only another $100 billion or so to go.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Lovable #signs #multiyear #deal #Google #Cloud #usage #source #TechCrunchAnthropic,google cloud,Lovable">Lovable signs multiyear deal with Google Cloud to up usage 5x, source says | TechCrunch

Lovable and Google announced an expanded multiyear collaboration on Wednesday. Lovable, the fast-growing Stockholm vibe-coding startup, has long been a Google Cloud user. Under the new agreement, it will be a much bigger one.

While the companies did not disclose the dollar figure, a person with knowledge of the deal tells TechCrunch it involves a fivefold increase in Lovable’s footprint on Google Cloud, including AI usage. As part of the deal, this individual tells us, Lovable will gain expanded access to both Anthropic’s Claude — the AI model widely used for coding tasks — and Google’s own Gemini models.

The Anthropic piece in particular is interesting. Google invested $10 billion in Anthropic in cash and compute credits in April, promising another $30 billion if Anthropic hits certain performance targets. It made that investment at a $350 billion valuation — just one month before Anthropic raised a staggering $65 billion round that valued the company at nearly $1 trillion. This deal stands to help Anthropic hit those targets, because Lovable is one of Europe’s fastest-growing startups on record. According to Lovable, it crossed $400 million in annualized revenue in February, having added $100 million in a single month with just 146 employees. The company claims that more than half of Fortune 500 companies use its product in some fashion.

The deal also plugs Lovable into several other parts of Google’s ecosystem. Lovable’s new agent will be available through Google Cloud’s enterprise agent marketplace, the Gemini Enterprise Agent Gallery — an arrangement the two companies first telegraphed at Google’s major U.S. cloud conference in April. And to help secure the code that both humans and agents write, Lovable will integrate with Wiz, Google’s biggest ever acquisition at $32 billion, which officially closed in March, a year after it was announced. The integration will allow Wiz to identify and remediate security problems in real time.

By selling Lovable’s agents through Google’s marketplace, the cloud giant says enterprise procurement and billing will be simplified, making it easier for Lovable to land more enterprise customers.

The calculus for Google is simple enough. If it can keep both Lovable and Anthropic growing by attracting deep-pocketed enterprises, the revenue helps fund the $180 billion to $190 billion in capital expenditures Google plans to spend this year. The company is already in the process of selling a record-breaking $85 billion in equity to cover some of that, so only another $100 billion or so to go.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Lovable #signs #multiyear #deal #Google #Cloud #usage #source #TechCrunchAnthropic,google cloud,Lovable

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