I was convinced for me it would be the 90hz refresh rate, or the improved touchscreen/haptics - but the moment I picked up the new OLED I knew my answer straight away:
The 30g they removed from the weight.
I’m sure that sounded minimal and inconsequential for a lot of us when we heard about it, but when you pick it up, you feel it immediately.
The original steam deck was always a bit too heavy for me to hold comfortably. Especially as I struggle with a disability which makes me pretty weak in general.
Now the device is so much more comfortable to hold. I can actually pick it up and hold it with one hand now, whereas before it would always overbalance and I could never keep it straight.
What’s the best upgrade from your experience so far, if any of you are lucky enough to have an OLED now?
Acoustics. I had the noisy version of the 2 fans on my OG without even realizing it. It was so noisy it limited what I would play and ended up hardly using it. Found out that I had the noisy fan and that the new deck both runs cooler and has an even quieter fan. That was an instant sell for me paired with the OLED. I went from having a whiny fan blasting on full in Coral Island to having it unnoticeable. I love it.