For the first time, the official dock and Steam Deck from Valve are freely accessible.

Additionally, SteamOS 3.3.2 promises to enhance the docking experience with third parties.

 

The organisation that created the Steam Deck, Valve, has announced that the long-delayed official dock is finally able to be ordered. The dock was supposed to launch earlier than the Steam Deck, but this summer’s postponement was caused by problems with the supply chain.

 

Officially known as the “Steam Deck Docking Station,” it serves as a charging station as well as a port for an external monitor or TV. It contains a gigabit Ethernet port, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, and three USB-A 3.1 ports in addition to one USB-C charging port with passthrough. It also comes with a power supply that is identical to the one found with a Steam Deck. Although Valve claims it can also run on the Steam Deck’s battery, doing so reduces the ports’ bandwidth.

 

Don’t anticipate your Steam Deck to operate any differently while docked, in contrast to the Nintendo Switch in docked mode.

The Steam Deck Docking Station is available right now for $89 with quite quick shipping, at least for the time being. However, if demand exceeds supply, according to Valve, the product may transition to a reservation-based ordering system.

 

Speaking of reservation-based ordering procedures, the Steam Deck has also received some significant news.

 

Interested parties in purchasing a Steam Deck have been required to make reservations and wait for an email from Valve for months. However, Valve claimed that supply is now catching up with demand. The business has previously declared its intention to complete all pending reservations by year’s end.

 

It appears that the procedure was successful because purchasing the Steam Deck in the US and Canada no longer requires a reservation. Even those without reservations can anticipate getting their hands on the gadget in one to two weeks after ordering.

 

Another noteworthy event involving the dock is that the Steam Deck has received a firmware update (SteamOS 3.3.2), which Valve promised would dramatically enhance the Steam Deck’s allegedly subpar user experience with both the official dock and other USB-C docking stations as well.

 

Third-party docks were the only choice prior to the release of the official dock, but users and reviewers frequently criticised them for being a touch janky—a far cry from the Nintendo Switch’s plug-and-play docking experience.

 

For instance, SteamOS 3.3.2 “automatically avoids troublesome resolutions like 40962160 or 30Hz modes on external displays” and “adds an external display output resolution and refresh rate option UI in Display Settings.”

 

All Steam Decks currently have the latest firmware.

by Valve, a listing picture