This Jsaux Steam Deck dock is down to £30
I've tested it and it's a good 'un.
One of my favourite Steam Deck accessories is £10 off today, bringing it to an all-time low price and more than justifying the article you're reading right now. The item in question is Jsaux's excellent now-£30 Docking Station, which holds your Steam Deck at a comfy angle while charging it and providing a ton of extra ports.
Which ports, you might ask? These ones:
- HDMI 2.0 (for 4K 60Hz output)
- 2x USB-A (that's full-size USB)
- 1x USB-C (for passthrough charging)
- 100Mbps ethernet (for quick downloads and stable multiplayer)
I've tested a slight variant on this design (which comes with three USB-A ports and no ethernet port) and it's bloody transformative when it comes to using the Steam Deck. For one, it gives you a place to place the Steam Deck between play sessions to get it nice and charged up, but more importantly it makes all the fiddling you may be doing in the Linux desktop mode much more straightforward, as you can plug in a keyboard, mouse and monitor to get a desktop-grade experience instead of trying to enter console commands or navigate the web using the touch screen, joysticks and buttons that just aren't really designed for it.
This is also a great pickup for anyone that uses the Steam Deck docked to a TV, as you can leave all of the gubbins plugged into the dock and then get an unencumbered Deck for mobile use.
JSaux also do a mean line of other Steam Deck accessories; their transparent back plates are also pretty neat although they're not yet available on Amazon. Still, $30 shipped (~£24) is a pretty decent value for a replacement back that looks cooler, is actually cooler thanks to a built-in thermal upgrade and comes with a choice of three back button sizes.
That just about does it for now, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts - what accessories do you recommend for the Steam Deck? Let me know in the comments below.