New Steam Frame details emerge, as we wait patiently for a pre-order and release date

(Credit: Valve)

👀 More details of the Steam Frame have emerged while we await pre-order and release date information

📷 We’ve got new photos of the device, plus a range of new backend updates for usability and regional device certification

🙌 The Steam Frame is the last piece of Steam’s hardware trifecta to launch

💰 We predict its base 256GB model to cost between $899 and $999

While we wait patiently for news of the Steam Frame pre-order and release date, we’re slowly but surely getting more information on the long-awaited VR headset.

New posts from the Steam Hardware Updates account on X have posted a range of new photos of the device, showing it from all angles. It reveals details such as the battery pack headband option, and the array of buttons on the side of the device.

The account has also posted details of more Steam backend updates that show a Wireless Adapter driver update for the Steam Frame, plus the three connectivity status symbols for Steam Frame.

These come via insider SadlyItsBradley on X, where the symbols indicate that the headset is either connected to your home network or router, its dedicated Steam Frame dongle, or to a PC via a wired USB cable.

The insider has also noted that the Steam Frame has its own dedicated Performance Settings in its Quick Access Menu UI, as the Steam Deck does. Here, users should be able to configure settings such as eye-tracked foveated rendering and ARM memory compatibility.

Valve has also added Steam Frame’s input tutorial UX for SteamVR Home as part of another recent update.

All of this is a sign we’re moving ever closer to the long-awaited Steam Frame pre-order and release date announcement. Rumors had pointed to that news would arrive earlier this week after the hefty Steam Machine price announcement, but it hasn’t come true just yet.

As for the Steam Frame price, our own predictions put it at between $899 and $999 for the base 256GB model, making it more expensive than an equivalent Meta Quest 3, but under the $1,000 mark Valve charged for the full-kit version of its previous Index VR headset.

In an interview with Upload VR, Valve said it was aiming to supply the Steam Frame for less than the $1,000 full-kit that it charged for the Valve Index.

The Steam Frame is a streaming-first experience, designed for PC-grade fidelity and modular flexibility. It works standalone, too, and is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Series processor with 16GB of RAM, which is likely to be the kicker for a higher price than we may have originally gotten.

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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.