The Steam Deck is now three years old, and Valve has continued to support the device with regular software and firmware updates. The latest update aims to improve battery life by reducing the polling rate while the Steam Frame Limiter is active. This small change can save up to 6% on battery life when running at 30fps in low-power games.
The Frame Limiter is a utility accessible from the Quick Access menu, allowing users to cap the current game’s maximum frame rate and extend battery life. The polling rate refers to how often SteamOS checks to enforce the set frame rate, which can help reduce CPU use and power consumption.
This update benefits OLED users the most due to their device’s more power-efficient processor and battery-saving panel. To access the update, users must be opted in to the Steam Deck’s Beta channel, with the improvement expected to roll out to the Stable channel soon.
Valve has been shipping steady improvements since the Steam Deck launched in February 2022. This includes firmware updates to improve sleep/wake power efficiency and optimized fan curves to reduce unnecessary power draw. The frame limiter was also implemented early on, along with custom TDP levels and GPU clocks for each game. These optimizations benefit battery life and have significantly improved the Steam Deck experience over the past three years.
As Valve continues to refine SteamOS, these updates demonstrate their commitment to supporting the device and enhancing its performance and efficiency.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2025/02/15/new-steam-deck-update-gives-millions-of-users-a-crucial-battery-fix