So you’re looking to buy Valve’s first standalone VR headset, the long-awaited Steam Frame? There are a few things you should know though before plonking down your hard-earned cash.
What is Steam Frame?
Let’s get this one out of the way before we get into the nitty gritty. Here’s the short of it:
Steam Frame is Valve’s wireless VR headset, largely seen as a successor to the Valve Index, a tethered PC VR headset released in 2019.
It includes the ability to stream high-quality VR and non-VR games wirelessly from your gaming PC using a dedicated Wi-Fi 6E 6GHz wireless adapter, or play games locally via its onboard Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and 16GB of RAM, running SteamOS.
Motion controllers come in the box, and can be used for both VR gameplay as well as regular gamepad input, since they feature input parity. AA batteries offer up to 40 hours of life. The headset itself has over two hours of battery life, although we’re still putting it through its paces.
There are a number of technical questions we’re working on answering at this time, including everything from ergonomics, long-term comfort, chromatic aberration, motion blur and more. Our full review is coming soon, which we’ll link here, so check back to learn more.
Steam Frame is Expensive (but it could be worse)
Valve initially delayed Steam Frame because it was getting increasingly expensive to source components, which basically left everyone with an impending sense of doom around the headset’s price tag.
It was originally envisioned to come in somewhere around the price of Valve Index (2019), but because Index was priced at $500 for the headset, and $1,000 for the all-in kit, that left a lot of room for interpretation. Many hoped for something somewhere in the middle.
All things considered, it’s actually not that bad: the 256GB version is priced at $1,059, with the 1TB fetching $1,299. Learn more about pricing and release date here.
Is Steam Frame Really Worth it?
The value of a dollar (Euro, Pound Sterling, Roman Denarius) is different for everyone, so that’s a question I can’t really answer.
Much like Steam Deck, Frame is hopefully going to be the first of many such VR headsets designed around SteamOS and the Steam storefront. Will there be cheaper Frame-esque headsets in the future? Maybe. Hopefully. For now though, that really depends on whether early adopters find it worth their while. And I think they will.
There Are Only a Few Official Accessories Right Now
Official accessories are fairly slim at this point, as they include:
- Dedicated PSU: $29
- Ergonomic Accessories Kit (2 controller hand straps, 2 controller hand strap battery doors, 1 headset top strap, 1 extended light blocker): $59
- Accessory Replacement Kit (1 face gasket, 1 head cushion, 1 light blocker): $49
There’s also an official color passthrough camera add-on for $150 coming from Arcturus Vision which will not only replace Frame’s monochrome passthrough, but also allow for real-time environment mapping, spatial video recording, and also support Gaussian Splatting with tools. First batches of those appear to be coming starting September 20th.
Can I Wear Glasses with Frame?
Yes, you can wear glasses with the Steam Frame, but it depends on the width of your glasses frames. How wide, we can’t say just yet.
As it is, Valve includes a magnetic spacer in the box to create extra room between your glasses and the headset lenses, so you won’t be scratching either.
The company says we should also expect prescription lens inserts from Zenni Optical at some point, but no word on when those will arrive and how much. There are some third-party companies to look out for too, including VR Optician, WidmoVR, and VR Rock that advertise Frame prescription lenses right now.
Isn’t Steam Frame Just Like Quest?
Yes and no. It’s true they’re both standalone VR headsets with the ability to play PC games wirelessly, but the comparison needs a little nuance.
Meta Quest 3 and 3S can play PC VR games wirelessly in addition to regular PC games via a number of streaming solutions, including Virtual Desktop, Steam Link, as well as Meta’s own Horizon Air Link. Getting good results from any of these methods can be a bit of coin toss depending on your Wi-Fi router setup though, which can be a bottleneck.
That’s really not a problem with Frame, which has a dedicated Wi-Fi 6E dongle that plugs right into your PC, effectively cutting out the router middleman. It also makes for imperceptibly low latency thanks to some help from the headset’s built-in eye-tracking for foveated streaming, which dedicates available bandwidth to the image in the center of the user’s vision. It just works when you plug in the thing, which is how it should be.
The really big difference though is Frame can actually download and play Steam’s entire catalogue of flatscreen games natively, in addition to any PC VR game you can get reliably running on the device.
On the flipside, Quest has the massive library of specially optimized titles, which for now is a bit of a sore spot for Frame, which is still building its native standalone compatibility list. Learn more in our breakdown of Frame vs Quest.
Can Steam Frame Work without a VR-ready PC?
Steam Frame isn’t just a wireless PC VR headset; it’s a Steam Deck for your face. Or more precisely, it’s a whole Linux computer for your face, replete with the ability to use any Bluetooth device you want: mouse, keyboard, headphones, they all work.
And unlike other standalone headsets with locked bootloaders, Frame is open to modding and installing anything you want. You could even try installing Windows 11 on the thing. Valve is just as content to let you make bad life choices.
That, and Frame will truly let you download anything from Steam and give it a whirl. If it’s a flatscreen game, you can natively play it on virtual screen. SteamVR games on the other hand can be a bit of a gamble if they don’t include the Frame Verified badge, but nothing is stopping you from trying. Learn more about why you don’t need a PC at all to use Steam Frame.
What are the Specs?
| Weight | 190g core, 435g (core, headstrap, incl. facial interface, rear battery) |
| Chipset | Snapdragon Series 8 Gen 3 (SM8650), 8 core CPU ARM processor (4nm) |
| RAM | 16GB Unified LPDDR5 RAM |
| Operating System | SteamOS |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7, 2×2 – Dual 5Ghz/6Ghz streaming for simultaneous VR and Wi-Fi |
| Storage | 256GB / 1TB UFS storage options |
| Expanded Storage | microSD card slot for extended storage (up to 2TB) |
| Optics | Pancake optics |
| Display | 2,160 × 2,160 LCD (per eye), 72-120Hz refresh rate (144Hz experimental) |
| FOV | up to 110 degrees |
| Tracking | 4x outward facing monochrome cameras for controller & headset tracking |
| Dark Environment Tracking | Outward IR illuminator for dark environments |
| Passthrough | Monochrome camera passthrough (1,280 × 1,024 resolution) |
| Eye-tracking | 2x interior cameras for eye tracking |
| Foveated Streaming | Eye-tracking drives video stream, sending highest resolution to where you’re looking |
| Other | Wireless Adapter included, Wi-Fi 6E (6Ghz) |
| Audio | Dual speaker drivers (per ear), integrated into headstrap |
| Mic | Dual microphone array |
| Port | USB-C |
| Expansion Port | User accessible expansion port – (2x 2.5Gbps camera interface / gen4 PCIe) |
| Battery | 21.6 Wh Li-On Battery |
Steam Frame Controllers
- Full 6-DOF tracking and IMU support
- Capacitive finger sensing
- Magnetic thumbsticks (TMR) for improved precision, responsiveness and reliability
- Haptic feedback
- Input parity with traditional game pad
- Replaceable AA battery (40hr life)
- Optional straps
We’re currently updating this piece. In the meantime, if you have any burning questions, let us know in the comments below.
