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I was questioning what sort of operation should reasonably be expected from the Deck when it comes to applications that are not being launched through Steam, and whether Valve has actually addressed this topic given the commonality between the Deck and SC's programmable all-in-one controls, and the fact that the weakest aspect of the SC was its functionality and user-friendliness outside of the Steam environment. This isn't a problem that's addressed by "having Windows drivers". "Having Windows drivers" doesn't grant the ability for your computer to automagically change your device mapping based on which application is launched/closed, or when that app gains or loses focus. The SC is a hassle outside of Steam, not because Valve deliberately makes it a hassle, but because of the nature of what it's trying to do. Having some global Xinput wrapper isn't a one-size-fits-all solution because it would mean unmapping your M/K emulation thus losing the ability to interface with the OS, so whatever system is in place has to be able to juggle the controls based on the context of application and intent of the user. This is even more of an issue with the Deck than the SC, because there's no expectation of the user having a physical M/K connected to recover the system in cases of the emulation layer crashing or getting confused about whether it should be acting as a M/K or controller.
Again: the Steam Controller lacks a D-Pad on the left and an analog stick on the right. Not having the capability of mapping x-input 1:1 is the source of the headaches you mention.
The Steam Deck basically uses a x-input layout plus 4 grip buttons and two touchpads. The buttons are allready there.
As for the system getting confused about not having M+K, the Surface line has existed for almost a decade now.
I've played plenty of games on my Surface Pro without a keyboard connected in travels and I never encountered such an issue while using a x-input gamepad.
If your concern lies on typing games like Typing of the Dead or Scribblenauts then yes, the Deck isn't good for those unless you connect an external keyboard. I don't see how using SteamOS will make it any better though.