The Steam Deck is very popular. So big that Valve's handheld console is still not available from stock almost half a year after the market launch, although production has recently been doubled. However, the official docking station will not be produced at all: It has been postponed indefinitely.
Third-party providers see delay as an opportunity
Valve announced this at the beginning of June, after the dock was actually supposed to appear in February together with the Steam Deck. The manufacturer is now working flat out on the docking station, but has not announced a new date. Third-party providers see this as an opportunity and want to fill the gap. These include JSAUX, a Chinese supplier of charging cables, Qi chargers and USB docks.
Two docking stations based on Valve's concept
Back in June, the company launched its first docking station for the Steam Deck; a first batch was quickly sold out. The product, simply called “Docking Station for Steam Deck”, adopts the docking concept proposed by Valve itself more or less unchanged: the handheld console is placed upright in a stand and connected to the station via USB-C. The latter then charges the Steam Deck via USB Power Delivery with the maximum possible 45 watts; theoretically even 100 watts would be available. In addition, the docking station offers an HDMI 2.0 connection (up to 3,840 × 2,160 pixels at 60 Hertz), two USB-A sockets according to generation 2.0 and an RJ-45 socket for the LAN connection.
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Upgraded Docking Station for Steam Deck (Image: JSAUX)
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Upgraded Docking Station for Steam Deck (Image: JSAUX)
Now, JSAUX already introduces an improved variant, the Upgraded Docking Station for Steam Deck. On the one hand, the new model now has three USB-A sockets, which, in accordance with USB 3.0, allow significantly higher data transfer speeds and are therefore not only suitable for input devices, but also for external hard drives, for example. Gigabit Ethernet is also new. The price increases from 40 to 50 US dollars, although the first variant is now available again.
Deliverable to Europe, but…
JSAUX promises from a purchase value from 25 US dollars “free worldwide shipping”, but shipping to Europe takes up to two weeks. However, buyers must be aware that the provider does not take care of the corresponding taxes and import fees and also assumes no liability for shipping.