Valve has pushed a new Steam Deck client update to the Stable channel, giving handheld users easier access to chat and more control over downloads running on other Steam devices.
The April 28 update, detailed on Valve's Steam Deck News page, moves Steam chat into the quick access menu so it can be opened more easily during play. It also adds a quick chat feature for Steam Deck and Big Picture Mode, letting users hold the view button, select a short message with the thumbstick and send it without typing out a full reply.
Remote downloads get easier to manage
The other headline addition is Remote Downloads Management. Steam Deck users can now manage downloads on remote Steam clients from the downloads page, with Valve noting that different clients can be selected by pressing Y. App detail pages now show the same options and statuses for remote clients as the local client, though both machines need to be updated before the feature works.
That is a practical quality-of-life change for anyone juggling a Steam Deck, a desktop PC and a living-room setup. Instead of walking over to another system just to pause, resume or check a download, the Deck can handle that from its own downloads page once the clients are current.
Valve also included a batch of smaller fixes across the client. Game Recording should now handle the instant clip shortcut correctly for non-Steam games when using a gamepad, while another fix addresses screenshots taken from game recording clips. Remote Play now gives feedback if capture cannot be started on the remote computer.
The cloud-save fix may be the most important safety item in the notes. Valve says the update fixes an issue that could lead to data loss when uninstalling, reinstalling and playing a game without restarting the client between those steps.
Steam Input and wireless gamepads also get attention
Steam Input has been revised to reduce clutter in controller settings and make those menus work better with gamepads. Valve changed controller settings to use a menu and details structure instead of tabs, and it fixed cases where radial menus could fail to dismiss after releasing the joystick or controller calibration values could load incorrectly the first time the screen opened.
The general client changes also add a low-battery toast and header battery indicator for wireless gamepads, improve compatibility with Wi-Fi captive portals and add a setting to enable Switch to Desktop from the login screen. Valve also updated the Store option in the main menu so it opens the Steam Store home page instead of the Great on Deck hub.
The stable client update arrives during a busy stretch for Valve hardware. IGN recently reported that the new Steam Controller launches on May 4 for $99, while Valve has also been talking about the next Steam Machine and continued Steam Deck 2 development. The current Deck is not being left idle while that next wave takes shape, and this update is aimed squarely at the everyday friction points players hit while using SteamOS as both a handheld and a full Steam client.