Valve has just checked off a long-requested wishlist item for the Steam Deck: Downloading games even when the screen is turned off.
The feature, available now in the Steam Deck's beta client, is enabled by default when the Steam Deck is plugged in. The handheld will automatically complete all downloads in the queue with the display off, then enter sleep mode.
Display-off low power downloads can also be enabled when the system is running off the battery. After updating to the latest beta client, you can find the option under Settings > Power and scrolling down. You can also disable the feature altogether there, if you'd rather the Steam Deck's display stay on whenever you're slurping down some game updates.
"Display-off downloads are accessible in two ways," Valve explains in an update post on Steam. "While Steam Deck is downloading content, pressing the power button now brings up a new dialog, asking whether you'd like to continue downloading with the screen off. Select Continue, and Steam Deck will go into the new low-power download mode. In addition, Steam Deck will automatically go into this mode after an idle timeout.
"While in this mode, if you press a button or move Steam Deck, a new status screen will be shown with download progress. From here you can fully wake Steam Deck or let it continue downloading with the screen off."
If you do opt to use the screen-off downloads while unplugged, the system will automatically go to sleep if the battery drops below 20%. That won't leave you much juice to actually play anything, but it'll at least save you from the risk of data corruption or other funkiness as a result of downloading 150 gigabytes of Baldur's Gate 3 or whatever on battery.
Based on Valve's usual cadence, expect the feature to make its way from SteamOS's beta branch to stable within the next month or so.
