KDE

I don't feel this is a genuine question. There are literally so many reasons it would take forever to list.. but sure,get a switch if you like paying too much for everything and being locked in a walled garden .

Its not that complicated: options.

You are presented with the Steam Deck UI by default. You don't have to use the desktop.

Installing non-steam games on desktop is handy.

Some people use the steam deck as more than just a game system.

If it's not for you, don't use it. Simple as that.

@leeloo @kde@floss.social @kde@lemmy.kde.social so you can use your Steam deck as a full blown PC with an external monitor, keyboard, if you want .. 2 devices in one.

You can always just not switch it into desktop mode, but hey you know what you want out of a console more than I do, it just seems odd to pick based between steamdeck and switch for that reason. Usually, I would expect people to make that choice based on the game library they want access to.

Becauase some people like the idea of a single device that is a pretty good lower resolution gaming handheld, and can also basically be used as a low/mid range laptop/tablet as well.

The DE mode uses a very nice onscreen keyboard which works either with your two thumbs on the Steam Decks touchpads, or, the whole screen is also touch sensitive, and you can do it that way.

Or you can just dock it and use an actual Mouse + Keyboard, and/or a distinct monitor, which can handle DE mode at a higher resolution than the Deck's built in screen.

Also, if you're into modding games or using emulators, you need to go into the desktop mode to tinker with things.

(I was actually quite surprised to find that a 3DS emulator just... worked, perfectly, with the Deck's touchscreen, without me even having to manually configure anything... so i could actually use the main controls for the main screen, and just poke the other screen that is usually some kind of inventory screen, or something like that.)

Or if you want to say... check your email.

Browse the web on a fully functional desktop browser (of your choice), watch youtube, go on lemmy or reddit, buy some stuff off Amazon or w/e.

Draw something or do some photo editing in Krita or GIMP.

Do office work style stuff with LibreOffice.

Use Discord, or record your own gameplay with OBS or something, and then edit and upload a (admittedly low resolution, most likely) video to youtube.

I've actually compiled from source and run Godot on a Steam Deck.

You can literally develop a game on a Steam Deck, and then test it in game mode, on a Steam Deck.

It's a computer....

I used the desktop mode to install non-Steam games, so it was useful for that.

@leeloo @kde@floss.social @kde@lemmy.kde.social It doesn't need one, but why hide it when it has one anyway?

Most Games on Steam are not available on the Switch. That is a pretty good reason

KDE is much more intuitive for someone coming from Windows.

KDE is much easier to configure and was more stable last time that I compared.