Square because trackpads have always been that way my dude and can be set to a ratio similar to common screen sizes.

what? the only two controllers i know of that have trackpads are round. apart from ps4 controller - i don't think many people use that for camera movement. and if you're talking about laptop touchpads: you don't hold a laptop like that, and they're also 4 times the size. they're incomparable

Not awkward at all seeing how we hold smartphones these days and the onscreen keyboards are typically in the same location our thumbs need to reach when using both smartphones and the deck trackpads.

the deck is much heavier than a smartphone; and has two bumpers, two triggers, and a four back buttons that i need access to. again, that's not really relevant. unless you just use them for typing, and never in games

Sure you can argue size is small but most likely the deck internals won’t allow for larger size.

yeah. great. i'm sure you're right. that doesn't preclude my point that they're useless for gaming. also, i would rather have larger pads and eschew the face buttons and dpad

I liked/like the steam controller. I’ve got four. But the steam deck trackpads have been far and above more responsive for me.

like i said; sensitivity-wise they're perfect

Square because trackpads have always been that way my dude and can be set to a ratio similar to common screen sizes.

I use the Steam Controller and play with dual pads and I have to say I much prefer the circular pads, since the way I set it up is so that a full swipe of the touchpad results in a 180 degree turn in every game I use with mouse input. And circle has been better at providing a more consistent 180 output on swipes over a square where the it can result in varying lengths of travel depending on the angle you enter in at. Square leads to more room for error for the consistent predictable output I want from touchpad use. I don't use stuff like acceleration, so consistency is really what I value.

And I also prefer circle for movement too. I'm not trying to replicate a square display experience when I'm using the touchpads. I really prefer circle for movement and for twin stick shooters over a square surface to rotate around when at the edge.

The square trackpads that have always been that way have been for people using it for slow desktop navigation as opposed to games.