---
title: "I stopped using my Steam Deck as just a handheld after discovering Desktop Mode"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-my-steam-deck-as-just-a-handheld-after-discovering-desktop-mode-hkxfgfgrv
source_url: https://www.xda-developers.com/most-steam-deck-users-ignore-desktop-mode-but-turns-handheld-into-real-pc
type: article
source: "XDA Developers"
published: 2026-06-06T15:03:49.006Z
updated: 2026-06-18T02:15:43.948Z
tags: ["linux", "steam-deck", "steamos"]
reading_time: 6
upvotes: 0
comments: 0
language: en
---

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# I stopped using my Steam Deck as just a handheld after discovering Desktop Mode

**[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Steam Deck's Desktop Mode transforms the handheld into a full Linux workstation. SteamOS uses an immutable file system with A/B partitions for stability, while Flatpak containers via the Discover store let users safely install apps like Firefox, Discord, OBS, and VS Code in a sandboxed /home partition. A step-by-step guide covers connecting a dock and monitor, switching to KDE Plasma desktop, setting a sudo password, and installing apps. Non-Steam apps can be added back to the Steam library so they're accessible from gaming mode without returning to desktop mode.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.xda-developers.com/most-steam-deck-users-ignore-desktop-mode-but-turns-handheld-into-real-pc>

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---

Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#steam-deck](https://daily.dev/tags/steam-deck), [#steamos](https://daily.dev/tags/steamos)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-my-steam-deck-as-just-a-handheld-after-discovering-desktop-mode-hkxfgfgrv)