this post was submitted on 24 May 2024
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While the Steam Deck is technically a handheld PC, as a Linux enthusiast who's tried to use the desktop mode for laptoppy things... No it isn't.
It works in a pinch (well... Not for my job, but I also don't expect Valve to put lxd into SteamOS), but the comparison to the Switch (which I also own) is much better than comparing it to even a gaming laptop. In fact, if I were the type of person to emulate stuff (which, don't worry Nintendo, I totally am not), I would say my Steam Deck makes a better switch than my switch. If I'd emulated a Switch to play Mario Kart (which obviously I haven't) I'd say it was a better experience on my Steam Deck than on my switch.
Desktop mode is literally just KDE, and you can install whatever OS you want on it anyway. In what way is it not a handheld PC?
I think they mean functionally.
I know everytime I've had to do extended work in desktop mode I've had to use a USB mouse and keyboard. Obviously, it's a handheld PC, but it's not really designed to replace your laptop.
You could use it as a desktop computer with a dock though, I suppose.
It's not supposed to replace a laptop.
Companies making similar products seem to be aiming for this use case (for example, the GPD Win 4 has an optional dock, and can connect to an external GPU (they even sell one) through its USB 4 port).
What I'm saying is that the PC comparison simply misses the point, whereas the Switch comparison is a comparison of how the devices are intended to be used (and for the most part actually used). The Steam Deck is not a good device for running a development environment or most of the things one thinks of as "PC tasks." It's not designed for that.
One can use it in that way, but one of the biggest differences between the Steam Deck and its "more pc-ish" competitors like the Ally is that Valve has done a lot of work to make desktop mode unnecessary for the vast majority of users. The user experience puts it much more directly in competition with the Switch than with other handheld PCs, and that's a strength of the Deck, not a weakness.
One can install Linux on a Switch too, at which point it's basically an ARM-based handheld PC. But a reviewer who reviewed the Switch for its power as a handheld Linux machine would be missing the point too.
Sorry but no, you're the one who missed the point. The point (in the comment you originally replied to) was that it's obvious a handheld PC will have more games than the Switch, as the Switch is a console that came out a few years ago while PC games have been a thing for decades.
Whether or not you consider the Steam Deck a handheld PC doesn't change this.
If it's "just a handheld PC," how do I setup cups as a service that starts on boot?
The answer: as a minimal change I have to enter developer mode and understand that the next update will wipe that away. (If I want to use it for this purpose regularly, it'd be better to install another OS, at which point you might as well call the Switch a handheld PC too.) This is a limitation of the Deck, but it's a very intentional one. It's a gaming appliance first and foremost, which makes the comparison to other gaming appliances apropos.
Are "Steam Deck has X many games that Valve have certified on it, up from Y 17 minutes ago" articles particularly useful? Only really to people who are using them for ad revenue. But that doesn't make the comparison to the Switch a bad one. In fact, comparing the Steam Deck to the Switch is a better comparison than comparing it to a gaming desktop.
Did you even read the comment you replied to? The last line was:
You then proceeded to try and convince me it isn't a handheld PC in your comment, anyway.
I don't want to argue the semantics of whether or not it is a handheld PC (it's pretty subjective anyway); I'm just saying since it uses hardware and software which is common to PCs it can run most games a "normal" PC can, which means it can run way more games than the Switch (even if you install Linux on your Switch you won't be able to run the vast majority of PC games, as they're built for x86 processors).
The original comment in this thread compared the Steam Deck to a PC to highlight the fact that the amount of games available on these platforms isn't comparable, so articles such as this are pointless (especially when it's wrong, as the difference in the amount of games you can play on the Switch and the Deck is way more than 29%). You replied that calling it a PC is wrong, but that comment was only calling it a PC to highlight this obvious difference.
And yet that's exactly what you're doing, and missing the forest for the trees as you do so...
I did this in my very first comment to you, realized it was very subjective, and stopped.
All my comments to you after that did not, in fact, try to argue this. Work on your reading comprehension.