A New Steam Deck Rival Is Coming With A Slide-Up Display And Keyboard

Liliputing reports that GPD is at it again with another portable gaming PC, even while it’s currently engaged in a crowdfunded campaign for one such device. Unlike the Steam Deck and its competitors, however, the GPD Win Max 2 is actually a 10-inch laptop that has gaming controls built-in. As you can imagine, this might not be the best for the “handheld” scenario, but it is going to appeal to gamers that also want to use the same computer for serious business.

The upcoming GPD Win 4, in contrast, is a true handheld device, and at first glance, it doesn’t seem to differ from others in the market. Its secret, however, is that its 6-inch screen slides up to reveal a tiny physical keyboard underneath. It remains to be seen whether the design will be good for thumb-typing, but it’s already significantly better than the capacitive glass that its predecessor used.

The GPD Win 4 will run on an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U processor with RDNA 2 graphics, a chipset that seems to be a favorite among handheld PC makers. From these details, it would almost seem like it will be a worthy rival to the Steam Deck, but there are a few caveats that might spoil the fun. The biggest one will be the price, as these devices usually start at around $900, which is significantly higher compared to the even highest Steam Deck configuration. The GPD Win 4 is more powerful, of course, but some might wonder whether it’s worth simply paying the price of a laptop instead.