Enhanced LCD Color Display and OLED Support Enhancements Introduced in Latest Steam Deck Update

The recent update for the Steam Deck has improved the color rendering on the LCD model by emulating the sRGB color gamut. This enhancement results in warmer and more vibrant colors.

The update primarily focuses on the display settings. The default setting for the LCD device has been changed to sRGB, but users have the option to switch it back to the "native" display or select the "boosted" setting for enhanced color and appearance. However, the latter may result in gradient clipping. Additionally, HDR can now be enabled when the Deck is connected to a compatible display, and VRR is also supported.

The new Color Display settings menu is shown in the image. In addition to this visual update, there are more general improvements. Now, when you connect external storage to your Deck, it will automatically mount. If you want to manage and format storage devices, you can do so by clicking on "settings" and then "storage." The update fixes a problem where certain workloads would impact CPU performance until manually disabling CMT. Furthermore, graphic drivers have been updated to improve performance for Starfield and overall.

Moreover, the update brings support for the newly released OLED models, which became available for purchase on November 16. As a result, the previous LCD models are no longer being produced and have received noteworthy price reductions. While the OLED upgrade is significant, Valve has confirmed that a Steam Deck 2 is still years away.

You can read the full patch notes or on Steam.

SteamOS 3.5.5 Update Patch Notes

SteamOS 3.5.5 has been released to the Stable channel for Deck with the following changes:

Display

The color rendering for the Steam Deck LCD has been modified to mimic the sRGB color gamut, resulting in a slightly warmer and more vibrant color display.

Introducing a new feature called "Adjust Display Colors" under the Settings menu, allowing users to fine-tune the Color Vibrancy and Color Temperature of the screen. These settings can be adjusted using a preview of a test image (shown above) or while playing your favorite game.

The default appearance of display colors, known as "Native," refers to the color rendering on the Steam Deck prior to this update.

sRGB: Imitate the sRGB primaries smoothly, avoiding any gradient clipping.

Boosted: Mimic a display with a broader color range, resulting in enhanced vibrancy. May potentially cause gradient clipping.

HDR can now be enabled in Display Settings if supported by the external display.

Added HDR Analysis to Advanced Display settings.

Enable VRR in the Display Settings if your USB-C adapter supports it.

Revamped the Quick-Access scaling settings to differentiate scaling from filtering. Introduced Stretch and Zoom scaling as additional options to accommodate various aspect ratios.

Fixed a long-standing issue where the internal display backlight would always stay on.

Fixed touchscreen orientation while external display is connected.

Compositing is no longer necessary in various situations, resulting in decreased latency and stuttering when multiple overlays appear on the screen.

Enhanced latency in specific scenarios where the application exhibits a slower rendering speed than the refresh rate of the display.

General

Added support for Steam Deck OLED.

Fixed an issue where certain workloads would exhibit severe CPU performance issues unless SMT was manually disabled.

External storage devices are automatically mounted upon connection to the Steam Deck. To format or manage these devices, access the new device management interface located in Settings->Storage.

Enhanced graphics drivers with various performance and functionality enhancements. Significantly improved performance specifically for Starfield. Addressed viewmodel corruption issues in Amnesia: The Bunker and resolved launch failures for Immortals of Aveum and Kaiju-A-GoGo.

Improved Bluetooth connection stability, especially with multiple controllers

Slightly improved sleep resume speed

Implemented the ability to switch between controller bindings and mouse/keyboard desktop bindings in the Linux hid-steam driver by long-pressing Options, aligning with Steam's default Desktop configuration.

Enhanced the fade transitions between applications.

The performance overlay's contents can be customized by creating a configuration file named "~/.config/MangoHud/presets.conf".

Resolved an issue where certain games, such as Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, could display stretched visuals if their window size didn't match their swapchain size.

Fixed Disgaea PC needing to be tapped on before input works

Fixed physical dimensions reported to games, fixing some issues with an incorrect aspect ratio sometimes being detected (eg. Returnal)

Rewrote

Addressed an issue wherein the presence of the Performance Overlay or other overlays on the screen could lead to significant stuttering when Allow Tearing was enabled. This has been resolved by eliminating the possibility of tearing in such scenarios, and it is recommended to disable the Performance Overlay for optimal outcomes.

Resolved a bug that prevented Overwatch 2 from detecting keyboard inputs.

Controller firmware: fixed an issue where some thumbstick touch sensors would lose touch periodically

Firmware 118

Added voltage offset settings.

Steam Deck Dock Firmware 121

Added VRR support.

Improves reliability when changing display modes via on-screen menus

Fixed issues with 6bpc color modes, improving high resolution/refresh mode support

Improves detection of HDMI cable hot-plug events

Updated Arch Linux base

The underlying packages that serve as the foundation for SteamOS have been updated to include the latest performance, security, and stability fixes. Notably, these updates encompass recent modifications to KDE Plasma, the Desktop Mode for Steam Deck. For more detailed information on these updates, please refer to KDE's website. Here are some of the notable improvements: a new window tiling system.

Updated Discover (app store / software manager) with a new homepage and improved search

Discover can now perform system updates from the desktop

Updated desktop widgets

Editor's P/S

As a Gen Z netizen, I am excited about the latest Steam Deck update, which introduces enhanced LCD color display and OLED support enhancements. The improved color rendering on the LCD model is a welcome change, as it results in warmer and more vibrant colors. I appreciate that Valve has given users the option to switch back to the "native" display or select the "boosted" setting for enhanced color and appearance. The addition of HDR support and VRR is also a nice touch, making the Steam Deck a more versatile gaming device.

The auto-mounting of external storage devices is a convenient feature that will save me time and effort. I also appreciate the new Color Display settings menu, which gives me more control over the appearance of my display. Overall, I think this update is a great improvement to the Steam Deck and I am looking forward to trying out all the new features.