Valve’s leaked Steam Deck “Model 1030” probably isn’t a full “Version 2.0”

Enlarge / The Steam Deck, doing some outdoor modeling. (credit: Sam Machkovech)

Portable PC gamers who have been anticipating a new Steam Deck with improved hardware got a glimmer of hope recently thanks to the regulatory approval of an upcoming "Model 1030" edition of the hardware. But all indications suggest this new model will not be a more powerful "Steam Deck 2.0" that offers better pixel-pushing processors to support the latest high-end games.

Last month, Valve sleuth Brad Lynch noticed a South Korean certification under the Valve Corporation for a "specific low-power wireless device" in a new piece of hardware identified only by a model number: 1030. With no additional details, speculation about what might be coming ran the gamut from a new standalone VR headset to a revamp of the defunct Steam Controller.

This week, though, Lynch dug up the FCC approval details (dated August 13) for that same revision, which notes explicitly that it is for "Valve Steam Deck/ Model: 1030." The registration was made somewhat stealthily through Valve partner Quectel, which will apparently now be supplying wireless antennas for the Steam Deck hardware.