Steam Deck gets a lock screen and more in its latest update

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The Steam Deck continues to improve as Valve constantly pushes updates to the device. The most recent update shipped earlier this week and includes a new smartphone-like lock screen among a few other additions.

Valve, the company behind the Steam Deck and the Steam PC gaming platform, announced its latest update in a blog post earlier this week. The key feature included in this update is a PIN code lock screen to keep unwanted people out.

The lock screen looks similar to what you might find on a smartphone or tablet. You can set a six-digit PIN that you’ll have to enter whenever you want to play.

Additionally, you can set when the lock screen will come up so you can personalize your security to match your needs.

Like a phone lock screen, you will be able to enter your PIN using the touchscreen on your Steam Deck. Alternatively, you can use the Steam Deck‘s controller to enter your PIN by pressing the corresponding numbers.

READ MORE: Valve tripled the number of verified Steam Deck games since launch

Additional features in the update include an improved achievements page. The page now loads faster and the user interface has improved. Valve also added keyboards for 21 different languages and layouts, with plans for Japanese, Chinese, and Korean keyboards currently in the works.

READ MORE: iFixit will stock almost every Steam Deck replacement part

And the last major feature added with this Steam Deck update is the ability to switch between multiple windows. Now in games and apps that can have multiple windows, such as web browsers, you can press the Steam button on your device to open an overlay and navigate between those windows.

The Steam Deck continues to improve since its launch in February. Early impressions said the handheld gaming console was pretty rough around the edges but had loads of potential.

You can read the full patch notes for this update here. As long as Valve maintains consistent updates and improvements like this, I have no doubt that the Steam Deck will become a popular gaming machine among PC gamers.

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