All good things.
Valve’s dock for the Steam Deck missed out on the handheld’s initial launch, but the company has made good use of its extra time by updating some of the features listed in its tech specs.
The original specifications of the Steam Deck’s dock featured a single USB 3.1 and two USB 2.0 ports, as pointed out by Review Geek. Now, that same listing has changed to reflect the presence of three USB 3.1 ports instead of the dual USB 2.0 connections. This may not sound like the most significant change but considering that USB 3.1 has a data transfer rate of 10Gbps, it is effectively 20 times as fast as USB 2.0. This could improve the experience of using storage drives alongside the Steam Deck.
Another big change to the dock’s specifications is the Ethernet port that was previously unspecified. Valve has since changed the specs list to include a Gigabit Ethernet port, which will still sit alongside a USB-C port for power, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, and connection for the Steam Deck itself as well as the previously mentioned USB 3.1 ports.
Overall, these changes seem to be nothing but good and will likely provide more flexibility for users than the USB-C docks many have used to make due until the official dock arrives. Valve still hasn’t narrowed down its late Spring 2022 release window, so those in need of a dock will have to continue to settle for a third-party USB-C dock.
The Steam Deck launched Feb. 25, 2022, with only first-round reservations being shipped. Since then, Valve has allowed for rolling reservations. But if you reserve a Steam Deck today, you’ll be waiting until Q3 2022, which will be October or later. Valve allows reservation holders to add on a docking station to their order as well.
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