The Valve Index revolutionized what it meant to play in virtual reality (VR) in 2019, but seven long years have passed since then. Since then, other great VR headsets have been released, but fans of the original Index have been waiting for Valve’s next entry into the VR space. Valve revealed this new device last year, and now the Steam Frame is finally available for purchase.
User reception to the Steam Frame has been mixed. For many, it’s a worthy successor to the Valve Index and a VR headset that towers above many others when it comes to gaming. This is true in some ways. It offers better latency than most consumer wireless VR devices on the market, its use of foveal streaming allows for more efficient bandwidth management, and many consider its PC game streaming experience among the best. If all that wasn’t enough, it even has built-in processors that allow it to run games locally to act as a standalone gaming device.
However, just as there are many who praise what Valve has done, there are also those who are disappointed with certain choices. The device is priced high, for example, but doesn’t bring any significant hardware upgrades over existing standalone VR devices. There are also many areas where it lags behind its competitors, like visual quality and battery life. This is still one of the most comprehensive packages for a gaming-centric VR headset, but there are a few things you need to know and consider before getting a Steam Frame.
1. A price that will break your wallet
Console prices have increased, largely due to rapid scaling of AI infrastructure and lack of RAM. We got a taste of it, with the Steam Machine being incredibly overpriced. Unfortunately, the cost of the Steam Frame isn’t its saving grace either. The device starts at $1,059 for the base 256GB model and goes up to $1,299 for the 1TB variant. It’s certainly not the most expensive VR headset on the market – Apple’s Vision Pro starts at $3,699 – but the Steam Frame’s price still puts it in a higher price tier than most competitors, including 2023’s Meta Quest 3, which is currently one of the most popular VR headsets on the market. The Meta Quest 3 with 512GB of storage costs $599 on Amazon, and you can get one even cheaper on the secondary market. Even paying full price, the Quest is still nearly $500 cheaper and has double the storage.
That being said, there are some factors that may justify purchasing the Steam Frame. The headset offers much lower latency than other devices, supports Steam’s extensive game library, and enables the use of a full Linux-based desktop environment in VR. However, in terms of hardware specifications, this doesn’t bring anything revolutionary. It’s still a good device if you want a VR headset specifically for gaming, but there are cheaper options that offer as much (and often more) than the Steam Frame.
2. LCD screens simply can’t reproduce OLED visuals
OLED panels have become the standard for users wanting the best visual fidelity. The ability to deliver true blacks and unmatched color contrast makes OLEDs particularly sought after for gaming. However, although Valve advertises the Steam Frame as a VR headset designed for gamers, the Frame uses two 2160 x 2160 LCD panels.
This is not a big problem for the average user. If you are used to the quality of a Meta Quest, you will have nothing to complain about. However, for VR and gaming enthusiasts, this represents a missed opportunity. Its $1,000-plus price tag puts the Steam Frame in the same price bracket as headsets like the Bigscreen Beyond 2, which has two 2560×2560 Micro-OLED displays. Even the $500 wired PlayStation VR 2 from 2023 has two OLED panels – a headset that costs less than half the price of the Steam Frame.
The visuals are still excellent, and additions like foveal streaming and a high 144Hz refresh rate make for a generally decent experience. However, for those who are used to OLED displays for gaming or for those who want to stream movies with the best picture quality available in VR, there are better alternatives.
3. Poor battery life when running games locally
The most important factor in the performance of a standalone VR headset is its processing power. After all, if the processor isn’t powerful enough to render a game, there’s no point in getting a standalone gaming headset to begin with. However, an often overlooked factor is battery life, as running games locally can be very taxing on the hardware.
Unfortunately, the Steam Frame has poor battery life, even compared to cheaper VR headsets. When streaming, the battery can last between an hour and a half to around two hours, which is the norm for VR. However, using the Steam Frame as a standalone device and running games locally may reduce battery life to less than an hour. According to testing by Gamers Nexus, the Steam Frame lasted just 55 minutes playing a game locally at 90Hz, compared to 120 minutes of playtime for the Quest 3. In this scenario, the Quest lasted twice as long as the Steam Frame while costing almost half the price. It’s also worth noting that the Steam Frame only lasted 47 minutes playing at 120Hz, although this is a more extreme scenario.
The Steam Frame’s battery issues can be alleviated somewhat. The device works well while charging, so you can use it for longer periods at home and while traveling with a power bank. There is also the option to significantly increase battery life by lowering the settings. In the same testing by Gamers Nexus, the Steam Frame’s battery life extended to 124 minutes and outperformed the Quest at the lowest settings, running at a frame rate of 72Hz.
4. The monochromatic relay limits its use as a mixed reality machine
Standalone VR headsets are rarely used just for gaming. These are exceptional productivity devices, allowing your work environment to grow with you and are perfect for watching content, like movies. The Steam Frame’s ability to run a full Linux desktop environment locally gives it an edge over most other headsets on the market. However, one limitation makes it difficult to recommend the Steam Frame as a productivity-focused VR computer.
Most VR devices have a passthrough system, which allows you to use cameras built into the device to look through the device and your surroundings. This allows users to be safer and more aware, and it’s also simply more convenient. However, what is most relevant to the topic is that it enables the use of mixed reality for productivity, where users can display digital interfaces in the real world using augmented reality (AR) and relay. The Steam Frame has passthrough, but it is monochromatic – you can’t see any colors while using it. To do this, you need to purchase a separate module which costs $149.
The lack of color makes for an incredibly poor experience if you plan to wear your headphones at home. Looking at colorful AR elements against a monochrome background can be disorienting and you lose access to one of the biggest benefits of mixed reality: the ability to use other displays while wearing a VR headset. Normally, you can use the passthrough to display additional screens next to your desktop monitor, to use your headphones while watching TV, and to look at your phone without removing the device from your head. These are not possible on the Steam Frame, unless you don’t mind half your screens being colorless and lower resolution.
