The Steam Deck LCD battery saga has a new chapter, and now it comes with a bigger price tag.
A few weeks ago, iFixit confirmed that Valve had quietly discontinued replacement parts for the original 2022 Steam Deck LCD, with the battery being the most crucial hit. That sparked real concern among owners, since a dead battery with no official replacement basically means a bricked handheld. Valve walked it back within days, and iFixit confirmed a fresh batch of batteries was on the way shortly after.
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The batteries are back in stock now. However, the price has jumped from $79.99 to $129.99 for the part alone, a gigantic 63% increase. If you grab the Fix Kit, which bundles in the spudger, tweezers, opening picks, and other install tools, the total climbs to $134.99. Currently, iFixit has not given a reason for the increase, and Valve has stayed quiet on it too.
For context, the Steam Deck OLED replacement battery is still sitting at its old $79.99 price, so this bump is specific to the LCD model for now, though the OLED part could follow once its current stock runs out.
This kind of price creep is not unique to Valve’s handheld. Apple raised the cost of several out-of-warranty iPhone and Mac battery replacements a while back, and the pattern feels familiar. Although other repair options exist, companies can quietly make them less appealing. The Steam Deck built a reputation on being one of the more repairable handhelds around, which is exactly why this affects it more than a typical price hike.
I think the bigger concern here is precedent. A 63% jump on a single part, right after a scare over its availability, is not a great look, even if it is technically still available. Owners holding onto an aging LCD Steam Deck now have to weigh a pricier battery against just buying newer hardware outright.
It also complicates the maths for anyone eyeing a cheap secondhand LCD Steam Deck. A used unit with a worn-out battery used to be an easy fix for under $80. At $130 or more, that repair starts eating into a meaningful chunk of what the handheld itself is worth on the resale market, which could push more buyers toward newer models instead.
Right-to-repair advocates have been pushing manufacturers toward easier, cheaper battery access for years, and some progress has been made elsewhere. Nintendo, for example, is building a Switch 2 variant with a removable battery to comply with EU regulations.
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I thought repairability was supposed to get better and cheaper, but this new price hike runs against that trend.