Peripheral maker Jsaux has announced the postponement and redesign of its planned RGB Steam Deck dock. Gaming on Linux (opens in new tab)Jsaux alleges that the manufacturing partner leaked the design to a rival company, who then adopted the design, leading to the decision to withdraw the product.
Valve has an in-house steam deck dock (opens in new tab) It’s available for purchase, but it’s a bit of a high order given the long delay to release and the $90 price tag. The manufacturer has stepped in to offer a cheaper alternative to Valve’s docking stations.We’re fans of the company’s standard deck docks (opens in new tab)but I recommend paying an extra $10 for that HB0603 (opens in new tab) model.
Jsaux had already sent out preview samples of its upcoming Steam Deck product when it announced the product redesign and delay.
of Posted by Jsaux (opens in new tab)the company has shared a screenshot tweet with the account name blacked out, allegedly from a competitor. The tweet includes video footage of a hardware peripheral with RGB lighting. , tagging a number of influencers focused on Steam Decks with the caption, “Modern Steam Deck Dock with Flash Light. Coming Soon!!”
Jsaux then shared a series of screenshots from his CAD software showing the design draft of the RGB dock. The company says it filed a patent for the design in August.
Jsaux claims the competitor acquired the design through a partner manufacturer and says it will use a different factory to manufacture the product in the future.
It’s unclear at this time who Jsaux’s unnamed rival is. No trace of the tweet can be found in Twitter searches or in the activity history of tagged influencers. Also, while you won’t find imitation docks for sale on Amazon or AliExpress, I’m sure you can find them on other retailers. Steam Deck Headquarters (opens in new tab)one of the outlets tagged in the tweet said it knew the identity of the rival company through this connection, but kept that information confidential, in line with Jsaux’s supposed wishes on the matter. increase.
It’s certainly a tangled little thread of corporate espionage around the game, like an ultra-low-stakes version of William Gibson’s story. I don’t know if Jsaux is withdrawing its product. Jsaux is based in China, and its manufacturing partners and rivals are also based in China, which I think could potentially avoid the difficulties of international copyright disputes. I am not a legal expert.
In any case, Jsaux intends to bring back a new design for its RGB decks, and expects some to hit the market a few months later.
