Valve announces Steam Frame VR headset with Snapdragon chipset and standalone functionality | Infinium-tech

Valve has announced its latest VR headset, the Steam Frame, with Steam Machine and Steam Controller. As well as being able to play VR and non-VR games, the Steam Frame can also run games seamlessly in a standalone configuration thanks to its onboard Snapdragon processor.

The Steam Frame is first and foremost a streaming VR headset. It includes a wireless adapter with dual radios that you plug into your PC, Steam Machine, or Steam Deck and stream games to the headset. Dual radios maintain separate connections for streaming and connecting to your Wi-Fi to eliminate bandwidth congestion.

The headsets feature dual 2160×2160 LCD displays with a refresh rate of 72-144Hz. The headset uses foveated streaming so only the parts of the screen you’re actively looking at are streamed at high quality. This is achieved using a pair of eye tracking cameras inside the headset. There are also four more high-resolution monochrome cameras on the outside to track the controller and headset, and infrared LEDs make it possible to use the headset even in low-light environments. The headset also has built-in stereo speakers that force cancel each other out to avoid vibration.

The headset comes with a split controller layout. The controllers use a specific gamepad layout so that VR and non-VR games work as expected. These controllers also use the advanced second generation magnetic joystick used on the new Steam controller. They each have a claimed AA battery life of about 40 hours.

The Steam Frame’s biggest party trick is that it’s essentially a SteamOS PC. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip with 16GB of LPDDR5X memory, and a choice of 256GB or 1TB of UFS storage with microSD expandability. It also has an onboard 21.6Wh battery. This allows Steam Frame to be used completely on its own without any wired or wireless connection to another device, and run games natively on it. The headset does this by immediately emulating x86 games in ARM64 using an emulator called Flex. You will also be able to run Android games natively.

Valve will soon release a developer kit of Steam Frame, which should help improve compatibility. It will also eventually provide pre-converted versions of x86 games so you can run them directly without emulating, which will improve performance.

Like the Steam Machine and Steam Controller, the Steam Frame will be available in early 2026 for an undisclosed price.

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