Steam Deck gets a long-awaited feature as Windows handhelds are left staring longingly — raw power means nothing against a superior handheld experience

Valve has rolled out a new beta update for the Steam Deck that lets the handheld finish active downloads with the screen off to save power. It’s enabled by default when plugged into a charger, and you can turn it on for battery use in Settings, under Power.

The feature kicks in after an idle period while something is downloading, and the Steam Deck will drop into full sleep if the battery falls below 20%, even if a download is still running.