TechRadar: Steam Deck 2 Needs 120Hz 1080p OLED and Stronger AMD APU to Compete in 2027

The original Steam Deck was announced in mid-2021 and shipped in February 2022, with the Steam Deck OLED following in November 2023. TechRadar said the first model used a semi-custom AMD APU with a four-core, eight-thread CPU clocked between 2.4 and 3.5 GHz and eight RDNA 2 compute units clocked at 1.6 GHz. That hardware could push demanding PC games to 30 FPS and above at the device's native 1280 x 720 resolution, according to the report.

TechRadar said that level of performance is now behind the market. Competing handhelds have Full HD 1080p displays or better and use AMD Ryzen Z1 or Z2 APUs, or Intel Arc G3 APUs, that outperform the previous-generation Steam Deck. The article listed five features the Steam Deck 2 needs; the first two it detailed were the display and the processor.

For the display, TechRadar said both the Steam Deck LCD and Steam Deck OLED use a 1280 x 720 native resolution with either 60Hz or 90Hz refresh rates. It said every competing product has surpassed that, so the Steam Deck 2 needs at least a 120Hz 1080p panel to be viable. The report pointed to the 2023 Asus ROG Ally, with a 7-inch 120Hz 1080p screen, and the original Lenovo Legion Go, with a 144Hz 8.8-inch QHD+ display. It added that several later devices, including the MSI Claw A1M, Zotac Zone, Asus ROG Ally X, Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go S, Lenovo Legion Go 2, and MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, launched with 7-inch Full HD screens. TechRadar said 1440p is unnecessary on a seven- or eight-inch display, but a better screen is required to avoid being left behind.

For the processor, TechRadar said Valve has favored semi-custom components rather than standard parts. The competition has used AMD Ryzen Z1 or Z2 chips or Intel Arc graphics, while Valve used a semi-custom APU in the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED. The report said Valve repeated that approach with the recently released Steam Machine, which has a semi-custom AMD APU with a six-core, 12-thread Zen 4 CPU and an RDNA 3 GPU with 28 compute units and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. TechRadar said the Steam Machine was described as offering 'six times the horsepower' of the Steam Deck, and that its technology could be a blueprint for the Steam Deck 2.

The report cautioned that a portable Steam Deck successor is unlikely to match the Steam Machine because of its size, lack of active cooling, and price. The Steam Machine draws around 170W from the mains, with 110W for the GPU, 30W for the CPU, and 30W to 60W for the rest of the components, according to TechRadar. The Steam Deck OLED draws a maximum of 45W when plugged in, or 15V at 3000mA, and between four and 27W on battery depending on the task. TechRadar said battery life must remain a major consideration for a handheld, so power draw will not reach 100W. It noted that the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ can provide 30-60 FPS at High settings in 1080p at 17W or 35W on battery, but at a cost. The report said the closest approximation for a future semi-custom RDNA 3 or RDNA 3.5 APU may be the performance jump from the AMD Ryzen Z2 over the Z1.

Editor's Summary

TechRadar's September 20, 2026, article argues that Valve's Steam Deck 2 will need a 120Hz 1080p OLED display and a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 and RDNA 3.5 APU or better to compete with newer handheld PCs. It cites the original Deck's 720p screen and older AMD APU as increasingly outmatched by devices using Ryzen Z1/Z2 or Intel Arc G3 chips. The report also points to Valve's Steam Machine as a possible hardware blueprint, while noting that battery life and portable power limits will constrain how close the handheld can come to that design.