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Valve is back in the VR market for the first time since the 2019 Valve Index, this time with the Steam Frame, a standalone VR headset that aims to compete on the higher-end of the market, based on its specs.
Since this is a standalone headset, it can’t rely on the power of a PC or console. As such, it’s packing some beastly specs under the plastic. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4nm ARM 8-core CPU) powers the headset, paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM for high performance. An Adreno 750 GPU delivers roughly 25–30% higher VR performance than Meta Quest 3, particularly for eye-tracked foveated rendering scenarios.
Dual LCD panels at 2160 × 2160 pixels per eye (two times the resolution of the Valve Index), with a configurable refresh rate from 72Hz to 120Hz (and experimental 144Hz mode). So-called “pancake” options allow improved clairty, and a field of view of up to 110-degrees.
Storage depends on how much money you want to spend: there’s going to be a 256gb version and a 1TB version. There’s also a microSD slot, the idea being you can quickly swap cards to and from the newly announced Steam Machine or the Steam Deck.
It’s running a version of SteamOS on the inside, but it has an added element to the Proton compatibility called Fex. This allows you to play desktop VR games – like Windows x86 VR titles – on a Linux headset. Pretty neat, right? Oh, and you can side-load mobile-based VR titles straight onto the headset. Jesus christ, Valve, calm down.
All of this packed into a very light 440g, which apparently makes it the lightest standalone headset to date. And you can mess around with the actual plastic of it too: face interfaces, headstraps, and more can be swapped or 3D-printed, with Valve planning to release official CAD/electrical specifications to encourage third-party accessories.
It also comes with a dedicated dongle for streaming games straight from your PC or Steam Machine. On top of that, non-VR games should run seamlessly in the headset, so you can enjoy 2D gaming on a giant virtual screen.
As for the controllers, the layout is pretty standard. However, they have some tricks up their plastic sleeves. Two-stage grips on the handles, for example, open up some interesting control options. Each one has IMU (inertia measurement unit) to help track positioning, along with 18 infrared LEDs to help the four sensors on the headset track your hands.
Like the Steam Machine, no pricing has been revealed. As for a release date, early 2026 is what Valve is saying right now.
Early hands-on seems to indicate the Steam Frame is an impressive piece of kit. PC Gamer, for example, really praises the wireless streaming which was demoed using Half-Life Alyx – it ran flawlessly using the 6Ghz dongle.
So far, VR adoption has been slow and I’m not sure the Steam Frame can change that. But that doesn’t stop me from being very excited to play with one.
