I realize this will most likely get closed and linked to megathread, but posting this anyway for those who may be interested. Some of this info was in a previous post that was closed.
I received my 1TB limited edition (LE) oled Steam Deck and a regular 1TB Oled Steam Deck last week. Here are a few observations in no particular order from someone who is kind of OCD about this stuff. If I say something appears better or worse, it is just my opinion or preference. Also, these observations apply to my specific hardware and do not represent every unit of the same type.
- The LE is approximately 22g lighter than the regular version. This could be due to the case materials, oled panel differences (next bullet), or some other internal differences. This weight difference is more apparent than you might think.
- My LE has a BOE oled panel and the regular edition has a Samsung oled Panel. It seems nearly all LE versions have the BOE panel.
- I recorded both displays running a loop of colors (I used this test when checking for dead pixels) and the LE BOE panel is consistently more vibrant across all colors. This is not necessarily an indication of panel quality but more likely just how the screens were calibrated out of the box.
- Almost no mura effect or graininess at all on the LE BOE panel, while the Samsung panel has typical (slight) mura/graininess on some colors, particularly dark greys.
- No dead pixels or any apparent defects on either panel.
- I used high fps capture on my phone to record both units playing several different motion tests. Both displays appeared to handle motion pretty much perfectly with almost no variation between them.
- When looking at the slow-motion video, both displays had some degree of flickering whit the Samsung panel showing more visible flickering than the BOE panel. I am not an expert, but I assume this means both displays are using PWM and the PWM frequency is not the same for both panels. I did not notice any effects of PWM under normal use from either.
- The etched glass coating on the LE BOE panel is different from the etched glass on the Samsung panel. Off angle (greater angle than is likely typical under normal use), the Samsung panel starts to get a rainbow/oil slick effect that I find a bit distracting and distorts the colors. I put a glass screen protector on both so this is not really relevant for me anymore.
- The LE BOE panel has less gap between the glass and the panel. It’s hard to describe how this translates into use, but, for me, it’s easier to focus on the finer details of the screen and almost looks like you’re viewing/touching the panel directly.
- When powered off and viewing both units side by side at any non-direct angle, the Samsung display picks up more reflections and the line between the panel and the bezels is clearly visible while the BOE panel appears less visible. This is hard to describe, but the Samsung display almost appears as though it is turned on when viewed from an off angle.
- I prefer the feel of the case material on the LE over the regular edition. The regular edition feels almost chalky and shows fingerprints and hand oils more visibly than the LE. Both feel great in the hand overall.
- Structurally, the regular edition feels more solid. There is no flex at all, and it feels really strong for something so long and thin. The LE still feels strong but there is a bit of flex when pressing in several areas such as on the underside directly beneath the screen. I can also get the LE to creak if I apply enough pressure or twist my grip whereas the regular edition remains rock solid.
- The regular edition left touchpad has a different audible frequency than the right. I am not sure if this is intended, but I do not notice this on the LE.
- The R1 L1 bumpers are stiffer on the LE (maybe too stiff?).
- The dpad and face buttons feel identical on both versions.
- The charging light on the LE is visible from the front and is quite annoying. This has been a well-documented complaint. Apparently, this can be turned off completely via bios and there may be an update coming to reduce the led brightness.
- Personally, I like the look of the regular edition better, as I prefer a cleaner/simpler look with most things. While I like the case material of the LE, I find the orange accents on the thumbsticks a bit distracting. I think I would like the LE case with black accents and may try this in the future.
- Overall, if I was only going to keep one, the LE is slightly preferred due to lighter weight, preferred screen, and material feel. However, I think both are awesome and can see benefits to both.
I just found these pictures in the dead pixel thread here on reddit:
Look at the third picture. That’s a BOE panel and the mura effect is clearly visible. My SD OLED with a Samsung panel looks just like this. Can you please please take a few pictures of both your units displaying the desktop or the home menu and upload them?
Not sure that is mura tbh, could be an issue with the picture/camera itself. For what it’s worth, after trying out alien isolation (somewhat dark game) and thinking about trying out the LE I decided to live with the 512gb. The mura (OLED temporal dithering) isn’t noticeable most of the time and can be alleviated with playing around with gamma settings within games. Ordering an LE is a lottery in itself regarding dead pixels, and there’s a longer track record regarding how the Samsung OLEDs hold up over time compared to the BOE panel (could be perfectly fine, could be more susceptible to burn in/ dead pixels down the road)
I assume you meant to respond to me. Sorry for the awful quality in these pictures my phones camera is crap. When my wife gets home I’ll try and borrow her phone to see if I can get some more accurate shots
Took a few more with my crappy camera. Now that it’s dark in my house it’s easier to capture. I think you will be able to guess which panel is the Samsung and which is the BOE
Which photo is which?
I updated the album and labeled the pictures
Thanks for the last picture with the two screens which is the one with the green tint?
No problem. That’s the non LE with a samsung panel
Those raised blacks on the “Inside” game with the samsung screen is just nuts, im waiting for my 512 gb model to be delivered and if it looks like that its going straight back.
Is there a green tint on the Samsung OLED?
There is on my Samsung panel. I posted some pictures in another comment in this thread
I’m not happy with near black, bad black performance on OLED 512GB is visible in games.
That is quite disappointing. At least it still should be a vast improvement over the LCD.
I have the 512 original model and the 1TB OLED now. My biggest surprise is the lower fan speed and noise resulting in drastically longer battery life. My OG Deck sounds like a jet engine half the time. Playing Cyberpunk I could go ~45 min with significant issues or fan fall off at ~30% or less battery. OLED really feels like it could go all day. At a minimum, it has gone an hour with same game and settings.
I have an LE model as well with the BOE panel and have had zero issues. Thanks for taking the time to do a side by side review. I know it’s only a sample size of one, but it’s nice to have some reference points from people with both panels.
Same situation; LE, BOE panel, no apparent issues. It’s good to see how other people are doing, especially when negative experiences tend to bring far more people to a subreddit than positive oens.
People were talking how bad the etched BOE screen was going to be on the LE. Then I got mine, opened it up and fell in love. It looks stunning in comparison to the LCD. And I can actually use it indoors with lights and not worry glare.
Does the lighter weight feel significant?
The guy here https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/s/gzY2iGgZZr said that both panels look good to him in colors ,blacks and brightness maybe ur Samsung is just defective
Thank you, maybe now all the people screaming that the boe panels are way worse quality finally shut up. Except for dead pixels it seems the BOE display is actually slightly better in a lot of fields
I’ve also been comparing both and found the mura effect worse on the LE, I can see the texture of the etched display in bright scenes whereas the non-LE was just a clearer perceivable picture. No dead pixels in either display fwiw.
If LE came with gloss display, it would be my choice.
It seems it was just a defective Samsung panel he had that’s why his Samsung looked worse than his BOE
He’s not talking about bright scenes. That’s not a problem for the Samsung panel. Here’s an easy way to check the uniformity of your OLED panel on dark colors:
https://youtu.be/IM8aSFAOAkk?si=jEfaA1FB3-IIr1CD
Skip to 15-15-15 and watch from there on.
Some degree of mura on dark colors seems to be normal for OLED panels. I have yet to see an OLED panel completely free of it (tested multiple LG OLED TVs, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, iPhone 15, iPhone 14, Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, Galaxy Fold 4, Switch OLED and many more devices…).
It’s interesting that the BOE panel is reported to have less/no mura. Makes me even more pissed that there is no LE in Europe. Anyone received a normal SD OLED with a BOE panel? Are there any out there?
Bro I just got my LE and it has dead pixels and stuck reds…I’d much rather have a Samsung panel esp if I had to IMPORT it, I got mine today and was so disappointed.
yeah people that are buying LE’s from scalpers are getting the ultimate lottery :(
Yea totally, just wanted to share some of my own testing. Hadn’t seen a thread with a deep comparison of the displays other than “I don’t want to see my face in the reflection”
They both have mura its luck of the draw but Samsung is still the superior panel
I’m really surprised by how much better the BOE panel uniformity is in comparison to Samsung. I’m trying to find grain on my LE but it’s just solid and I’m really impressed with how clear the display is. The samsung panel is about as grainy as my switch OLED and I’m surprised to see that after all these years samsung did not improve the quality of their calibration and let BOE pass them up in panel uniformity.
Thank you for sharing that. It seems its not always the case that the BOE will have a reduced mura effect or perhaps my Samsung panel is a bit worse than yours. I am curious about what you described as seeing the etched glass in bright scenes as I have not noticed this (though I do not have a 512 glossy to compare to). Is your non-LE a 1tb version with etched glass?
The comparative non-LE is glossy yes. I ran a few comparisons though not as precise as yours, merely eye tests. In order to remove any lighting condition variables, I tested both displays side by side in a dark room.
The test that convinced me to go glossy was Dave the Diver, looking at the sky while on the boat. On the etched display, I could see a uniform “texture” across the clouds and sky from the etching, on gloss I could see “clear” uniform color with minimal mura.
I want to note that it took me a couple of days with both devices to finally notice this, and it’s not noticeable at a normal viewing distance. You have to get very close to the display, but it’s one of those things where once you see it, it’s in the back of your mind all the time.
Can’t go wrong with either device.
Appreciate this post and your own results!
Nice write up!! Appreciate your time, efforts and knowledge.
I’m considering placing a glass display cover over my LE but I’m concerned with quality reduction. Thoughts and recommendations?
I’ve had some phones with BOE displays. I know they have been struggling to increase yields, but as you’ve mentioned, it’s not an exact copy of Samsung, and the smaller pixel gaps and color are distinctly noticeable, especially in how well they handle low brightness.
I noticed the lower weight of the LE (vs the LCD) immediately upon taking it out of the box. I was sold based purely off that. Interesting that it’s lower weight than the regular OLED version!
I was wondering pre release if the transparent material would cause a significant weight difference but since they didnt document it, i figured it would be within margin or error between the reguar oled. I was blown away just how much lighter the oled LE was vs the lcd. Definitely worth it
Exactly this, for some reason my hands feel less fatigued holding the LE while playing for long sessions. My elbows would go stiff while using the LCD while lying down.
I am not sure if this is due to panel differences. Off angle (greater angle than is likely typical under normal use), the Samsung panel starts to get a rainbow/oil slick effect that I find a bit distracting and distorts the colors.
Happens on the glossy the Samsung panel too. That behavior is typical of Samsung rigid (glass substrate, glass encapsulation) OLED panels. The refraction of light through the glass stack causes “rainbow” viewing angles. Alternating between blue pink then green blue as angle increases.
The LE BOE panel has less gap between the glass and the panel.
That’s really interesting to me - when you shine a light on the display, do you notice any (minor) waviness/distortion of the light reflecting off the panel? Particularly on the junction between the panel and bezel.
I highly doubt it, but the BOE display could be a flexible (polyimide substrate, thin-film encapsulation) panel, which would be a first for a “tablet class” display. The easiest way to tell would be for someone to do a teardown on the LE model and look at the panel ID found on the ribbon cable.
For the BOE Steam Deck panel, if flexible, it’ll be along the lines of BF074xxx, and if rigid, something like BB074xxx.
For the Steam Deck’s rigid Samsung panel, it’s AMS740DJ01.
Unfortunately I haven’t found a full tear down for the LE, but you can usually visually identify a flexible panels (such as ones found on all OLED iPhones and practically every flagship OLED phone) as they aren’t usually perfectly flat unlike their rigid counterparts. Part of the reason why it’s Apple is rumored to use a hybrid (glass substrate, thin-film encapsulation) OLED for their upcoming iPads. Might be impossibly to discern due to the etched glass cover, though chances are the BOE panel just uses thinner glass than Samsung for encapsulating the OLED device.
Awesome teardown
Thanks for this post.
As I mentioned in a comment, for what it’s worth, after trying out alien isolation (somewhat dark game) and thinking about trying out the LE I decided to live with the 512gb. The mura (OLED temporal dithering) isn’t noticeable most of the time and can be alleviated with playing around with gamma settings within games. True blacks will still be blacks in either case.
Ordering an LE is a lottery in itself regarding dead pixels, and there’s a longer track record regarding how the Samsung OLEDs hold up over time compared to the BOE panel (could be perfectly fine, could be more susceptible to burn in/ dead pixels down the road).
At least the nice thing is that the BOE panel isn’t “all bad” as people initially thought, and it’s just one more thing it has in its favor when it comes to the trade offs.