I was watching this video the other day and our friend Bob made a comment about the steamdecks trackpads, essentially calling the bad. I want to know what the community thinks.
For me, they are a game changer. They are not the best implemented trackpads I’ve ever seen but on a handheld it made a world of difference setting up any desktop software like emudeck, and any of the associated emulators. Civ games in my opinion are easier to navigate and I would be hard pressed to try to play any type of RTS game without them. Not to mention that after a year of having the Deck, I just learned how to comfortably type with them. I’ve bound them to be a radial dial of tools within games and with the desktop mode.
This morning I heard of the Aya Neo Kun, a 75 watt hour x86 handheld with trackpads. Outside the GDP WIN 4 with it’s physical keyboard this is the only other x86 handheld I think I could consider using. I believe its physical trackpads would help me navigate the nightmare that is windows 11. I will always prefer a mouse and keyboard but on the go, they’ve been a handy tool to getting things done.
Love em, hate em, or just don’t care about em, I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts.
I use the Steam Controller and play with dual pads and I have to say I much prefer the circular pads, since the way I set it up is so that a full swipe of the touchpad results in a 180 degree turn in every game I use with mouse input. And circle has been better at providing a more consistent 180 output on swipes over a square where the it can result in varying lengths of travel depending on the angle you enter in at. Square leads to more room for error for the consistent predictable output I want from touchpad use. I don’t use stuff like acceleration, so consistency is really what I value.
And I also prefer circle for movement too. I’m not trying to replicate a square display experience when I’m using the touchpads. I really prefer circle for movement and for twin stick shooters over a square surface to rotate around when at the edge.
The square trackpads that have always been that way have been for people using it for slow desktop navigation as opposed to games.