Valve has announced its first all-in-one VR headset, dubbed the Steam Frame, which runs SteamOS and is powered by a 4nm Snapdragon SoC. The headset is the first Snapdragon-based SteamOS device on the market, meaning Valve is supporting Arm with the SteamOS platform, perhaps laying the foundations for an Arm-based gaming handheld future.
Up until now, pretty much all PC gaming handhelds on the market are powered by AMD chips. Even the latest Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are powered by AMD chips, instead of Qualcomm’s own. So far, all official SteamOS devices are also x86 only, with no official support for Snapdragon-based PCs.
It’s unknown what chip Valve is using exactly, but we know Qualcomm offers OEMs a range of specialist XR chips such as the high-end Snapdragon XR2+ Gen2 SoC, which would be the right call for a fully-fledged gaming VR headset like the Steam Frame.
Of course, a wearable headset isn’t a gaming handheld at all, but that doesn’t mean foundations aren’t being laid with this device. Now that SteamOS officially supports Arm via the Snapdragon XR SoC, it’s only a matter of time before we see SteamOS running on a gaming handheld that’s also powered by a Snapdragon SoC.
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Weight |
190g core, 435g with headstrap |
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Processor |
4nm Snapdragon ARM |
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Memory |
16GB Unified LPDDR5 RAM |
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Storage |
256GB / 1TB UFS, microSD slot |
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Connectivity |
Wi-Fi 7 (2×2), Dual 5GHz/6GHz streaming |
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Optics |
Pancake optics, 2160×2160 LCD per eye, 72–120Hz (144Hz experimental), up to 110° FOV |
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Tracking |
4x external monochrome cameras, 2x internal eye-tracking cameras, IR illuminator |
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Wireless Adapter |
Included, Wi-Fi 6E, low-latency PC link |
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Foveated Streaming |
Eye-tracking driven resolution targeting |
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Audio |
Dual speaker drivers per ear, dual mic array |
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Passthrough |
Monochrome camera passthrough |
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Expansion Port |
2x 2.5Gbps camera interface / Gen4 PCIe |
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Battery |
21.6 Wh rechargeable Li-Ion |
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OS |
SteamOS (sleep/wake, cloud saves, Proton) |
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Controllers |
6-DOF tracking, IMU, capacitive sensing, magnetic thumbsticks, haptics, AA battery (40hr), optional straps |
It’s quite unlikely that this will be the only Arm-based SteamOS device going forward. With NVIDIA rumored to be launching its N1X chips next year, it’s reasonable to expect we’ll see NVIDIA-powered Arm-based gaming handhelds in the near future too, and SteamOS will be well prepared to support it.
Although not directly, this should also benefit Windows on Arm. All Windows-powered gaming handhelds to date run an x86 processor, even though Windows has fully embraced Arm over the last handful of years. Qualcomm is eager to enter this market, and there’s no reason why an OEM couldn’t make a Snapdragon-powered Windows gaming device today.
But with SteamOS now beginning to support Snapdragon, perhaps OEMs will take a second look at the architecture. It’ll be interesting to see how games perform on a Snapdragon-based SteamOS device, especially with Proton in the mix. In most cases, x86 gaming handhelds run better with SteamOS compared to Windows 11, so it’ll be interesting to see if the same happens when both OSes are powered by Arm.
Valve hasn’t announced pricing or exact availability for the Steam Frame, though it has said to expect it to arrive sometime in the first half of next year. The Steam Frame is a clear competitor to Apple’s Vision Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR headsets, both of which are premium high-end headsets, though Valve’s will have an edge in gaming.
Alongside the Steam Frame, Valve has also announced a new Steam Machine “console,” with an AMD processor. The company says it’s 6 times more powerful than the Steam Deck, and is competing directly with Xbox, PlayStation, and Windows PC gamers. It also runs SteamOS and is a clear attack on Microsoft’s vision to turn Xbox into an ecosystem.
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