Valve has released two important updates for Steam Deck, its well-known and acclaimed portable console. The first one has reached the stable channel, and introduces important improvements in some fundamental elements of the system, such as the touch keyboard and the calibration of the input elements. This should translate into a better user experience a general level.
The second update has been the most important, and also the most interesting, although this one is limited to beta channel, and therefore does not yet have a general scope. However, the fact that it is in beta phase is good news, since it implies that its next phase will be precisely that, a general rollout in the stable channel.
It was precisely this second update that introduced Windows 11 support on the Steam Deck, and it did so with a fundamental change: enabling fTPM. As we told you at the time, the fTPM is an alternative to the TPM 2.0 chip that is present in Ryzen processors based on the Zen+ architecture and higher, and this is precisely one of the key requirements to be able to install Windows 11.
With fTPM enabled on the Steam Deck, the console already meets all the requirements of Windows 11, which means that we can install said operating system, if we want, of course. It doesn’t hurt to have another option on the Steam Deck, but considering that it is a system designed to play games, and that it comes with its own operating system for it, I think that in the end this will remain as a “niche” option. that only a minority will take advantage of.
List of changes to the beta update that Steam Deck has received
- Warnings are now shown when a charger is connected that does not meet the minimum required.
- Added option to adjust unlimited frame rate per second via “Quick Access Menu > Performance”.
- fTPM support, allowing the installation of Windows 11.
- Added button combination: holding “…” + “Volume Down” has a reset effect that helps resolve crashes caused by connecting unsupported devices via USB Type-C.
- Updated Power LED to dim a few seconds after connection to system power.
- Improved compatibility with various USB Type-C docks and power supplies.
- Improved battery life in sleep mode and at very low workload.
- Improved stability.
- Fixed issues that caused the touch screen to not work after a few boots.
- Resolved compatibility issues with some SD cards when used as boot devices.
- Fixed an ACPI bug in the kernel.
The update that has reached the stable channel improves the use experience and the functions of the keyboard in desktop mode, as well as the calibration of joysticks and touch pads, and resolves some minor issues. That calibration should resolve the recently reported drift issues.
Do you think it is a good idea that the Steam Deck allows the installation of Windows 11 or do you think it is a wrong step on the part of Valve? The comments are yours.
