I'm willing to give it a try, but the smaller and less central trackpads compromise the only use cases that make it distinctive as a controller. (Same for the lack of dual-stage triggers.)

If I want to use analog sticks, I already have a ton of controllers with two analog sticks, some of which are generally excellent and have various advantages over the new Steam Controller.

There are some things that only a Steam Controller has ever made possible (e.g., dual trackpad movement), and others that only a Steam Controller has ever done as well (e.g., programmable dual-stage analog triggers, back paddles you can hit from basically anywhere). In the new design, each of them is either removed altogether or compromised and largely reduced to an ancillary role.