One of the best things about the Steam Deck is the reparability factor. Unlike some handhelds - I'm looking at you, Nintendo Switch 2 - you can source and fit a lot of replacement parts for Valve's handheld yourself. However, that just got a bit trickier for anyone with an LCD Steam Deck, with the price of a battery replacement up $100 compared to this time last year.
In the last few days, the official Steam Deck LCD battery part has gone up to $179.99 on iFixit, or $184.99 for the iFixit kit. Worse still is that this is the second time we've seen a price increase for this specific part in the last month alone, jumping from $79.99 to $129.99 in July. Simply put, while the Steam Deck might still be one of the best handheld consoles, it's getting more expensive to maintain if you run into battery issues.
It's worth noting that this price increase currently only applies to the LCD version of the Steam Deck. Battery replacement parts for the OLED model are still available for the lower price of $79.99. There is a bit of weirdness there, in that the OLED's battery is a fair bit bigger than the pricier LCD's, but at the time of writing, neither Valve nor iFixit has offered a reason for the price increase or the difference.
This new price hike wouldn't feel so egregious if it weren't for the fact that the Steam Deck itself is now significantly more expensive than it was this time last year. Essentially, if your LCD Steam Deck runs into battery issues, the only two options you've got - pick up a Steam Deck OLED or try to replace the battery yourself - are now vastly more expensive, which is only really good news for brands behind some of the more impressive Steam Deck alternatives, such as Lenovo and Asus.
Valve does occasionally sell refurbished Steam Deck units for as little as $279, but they go out of stock quickly, and there's no way to tell when they'll be available again. All of this makes me hope that we don't have to wait too long for the Steam Deck 2, as it's starting to feel like the original is nearing the end of its life cycle