Valve's Steam Deck boasts a powerful desktop experience within a compact, handheld form factor, appealing to gamers who want to play PC games away from their desktops. However, while it excels at running PC games, limitations in security, software installation, and battery life hinder its effectiveness as a standalone, everyday computing device.
The Steam Deck's "immutable" Linux distribution prevents user modifications critical for robust desktop use, such as locking the screen or installing essential software packages directly. This leaves users wanting more flexibility for a true desktop replacement experience.