A Steam Deck highly-requested feature has finally arrived with a new Beta Client update that went live a few hours ago.
The official November 4 Beta Client update notes confirm that the system now features display-off low power downloads. This feature allows the Steam Deck to complete all active downloads in a new display-off mode before going to sleep. This feature is enabled by default when the system is plugged in to power, and can be toggled on and off by going into Settings and then Power.
The new Steam Deck Beta Client update also fixes a couple of additional issues, swuch as SteamOS updates failing to respect HTTP proxy configuration and regression where the performance graph wouldn't display while streaming.
The new Steam Deck display-off low-power downloads feature was further detailed in a dedicated blog post, which outlined the two ways to access the feature. The first way is to press the power button while the system is downloading content, which will bring up a new dialog box asking the user if they wish to continue downloading with the display off.
The second way is automatic, as the system will go into this mode after an idle timeout. Pressing a button after this happens will bring up a new status screen with the download progress, from where the user can either wake the system up completely or let it continue downloading in the new low power mode.
The new feature introduced in the latest Steam Deck Beta Client update is just one of the many improvements that have been added to the system launched in 2022, which helped kick-start the handheld PC gaming market. You can learn more about the portable system by checking out Kai Tatsumoto's review. If you already own the system and want to make the most out of it, you should also consider the Chizha Mount Ling Dock, which we reviewed last month.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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