Hey, guys. @ryper@lemmy.ca brought to my attention that Valve already addressed the situation about the batteries for the steam deck LCD.
For those who are out of the loop, I posted this news article earlier today: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/07/it-looks-like-ifixit-wont-be-getting-any-more-steam-deck-lcd-spare-parts/
Here’s the most relevant bit from this article:
The Reddit story wasn’t necessarily false. Earlier today, iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens confirmed to The Verge that it had indeed heard that Valve would no longer make replacement batteries or screens for the original Steam Deck LCD.
But by afternoon, Valve and iFixit had already managed to change that. “They have hooked us up with a supplier, we’re working on it,” Wiens now tells me. And if Valve does decide to sunset the part in the future, iFixit says it’ll be ready to take up the torch by using an aftermarket supplier instead. “I want people to know we are going to find a way to get batteries for these things,” says Wiens.
Well, I wasn’t worried about my OG steam deck battery. Now I feel like I need to buy one just to have in reserve.
tl;dr: Valve WILL stop supplying batteries and screens, iFixit WILL continue selling them, with third-party suppliers.
Plot twist: Valve was never in the battery manufacturing business, they were always third-party batteries just sometimes embedded in devices for first party sale.
Okay, but whan if I want a second-party battery
*lol I thought I was making a silly english language is silly joke but apparently it’s actually a thing? :o
That would be directly from the supplier I guess?
I’ve always assumed 2nd party is just when the 1st party sells you a 3rd party’s goods/services.
Kinda like subcontracted?
I used to get my old Oneplus phones repairs scheduled through the Oneplus website, but I was just given a shipping label for a different company in texas. I consider that 2nd party🤷♂️
From my understanding, the first and second parties are the seller (Valve) and the buyer (you). They are the two who have a contract between them. A third party, then, is any party which isn’t signed on the contract. That is, an outsider to the contract.
Any other meaning of second party is probably a back-formation from a misunderstanding of the terms 1st and 3rd party.
Disclaimer: I literally have no idea what I’m talking about
As far as I understand it, there’s no actual “official” definition. Second-party can mean both:
From the main supplier but retaining a different supplier’s branding (as opposed to rebranding, which makes it first-party again even if the manufacturer doesn’t change).
OR
The buyer, analogous to the second-person point of view (“you”), so in that context, a second-party battery would be one you build yourself.
Nice! They either heard the feedback or quickly realised themselves how they should do more.
Makes me wonder how much of it was bad timing.
Turns out they’re just really great guys 😝
