Steam Deck: the docking station looks even better than expected

News hardware Steam Deck: the docking station looks even better than expected

Published on 04/21/2022 at 17:55

Sold on the sidelines of Valve’s Steam Deck, the docking station intended to accommodate the portable console is expanding with new features before its release, scheduled for a few weeks.

Often compared to the Switch because of its design, Valve’s Steam Deck console will soon get even closer to Nintendo’s device. The reason for this: the imminent arrival of its docking station. This accessory is intended to receive the Steam Deck to recharge it, but also to connect it to USB peripherals or to a computer screen.

This will give device owners the opportunity to use it as a fully operational Linux box, to play more than 2000 already compatible games from a large screen, with wired controller and even keyboard and mouse. And, good news for people waiting to get their hands on this docking station, it turns out to perform better than Valve had expected.

Extensive connectivity for a very useful accessory

Indeed, the manufacturer had initially announced that the Steam Deck docking station would be equipped with a USB 3.1 port and two USB 2.0 ports: finally, three USB 3.1 ports will be present. Additionally, Valve has confirmed that the Ethernet port will support the Gigabit Ethernet : this is good news, since if Ethernet goes up to 100 Mb/s, Gigabit Ethernet can reach 1 Gb/s, which is a game-changer in terms of Internet connection.

The complete connectivity of the docking station

Valve seems to have responded to the criticisms made by the community regarding the connectors initially announced for this accessory. It must be said that USB 2.0 is now a bit dated and replacing it with USB 3.1 makes much more sense. The rest of the connectors include an HDMI 2.0 port and a DisplayPort 1.4.

Availability set for late spring

For the moment, it is still impossible to pre-order the Steam Deck docking station: Valve is content to indicate that it will be “available late spring 2022”. Its price is also unknown at this time.