Valve’s limited edition $679 Steam Deck OLED is giving some owners splitting headaches. Last year, the Portal maker upped the ante and released a hardware refresh for its ever-popular portable gaming device – dubbed the Steam Deck OLED. It features a gorgeous OLED screen that is bigger, brighter, and faster. Suffice it to say it was an instant hit. Except now, users have begun reporting that the limited transparent shell version is starting to crack.
Thankfully, the reports are few and far between, at least for now. Specifically, the hairline cracks tend to be found where the orange-accented screws meet the body of the device. I think it’s safe to theorise that the cracks are caused by overly-tightened screws adding pressure to the special plastic shell that gives the Steam Deck its transparent appearance.
“I woke up this morning to an unfortunate surprise. The plastic shell next to the vent cracked and now the section near the SD card slot is wobbly,” posted a Redditor on April 1. “I’ve never dropped my deck and I always store it in the provided case when not in use,” they added.
As much as I adore transparent electronics, they tend to be more brittle than their opaque counterparts. Being a kid from the 90s and 00s, I’ve witnessed many cracked Game Boy Advance consoles and PlayStation controllers. Admittedly, most (but not all) of them were cheap aftermarket shell swaps and not a near-$700 limited edition device.
For now, even though Valve has not issued an official response, some owners have been able to get them repaired. One Redditor also claimed that Valve told them it was not under warranty, but it would replace it anyway. Thankfully, it appears to be only cosmetic damage, albeit annoying, especially for a five-month-old device.
