1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:06,879 Everyone knows that outside in tracking is just better for VR gaming. It's 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:12,880 faster, more accurate, and it's more reliable. Well, here's the thing. Valve 3 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:18,800 isn't everyone. And the new Steam Frame took my expectations of a lousy, flaky 4 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:26,160 experience in a standalone VR headset with camerabased positional tracking and 5 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:28,160 blew them away. They also blew away my 6 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:30,880 expectations for their new Steam Machine and Steam Controller, but that's a 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:39,040 separate video. We'll have that linked down below. In two words or less, this thing is impossibly good and maybe more 8 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:40,879 importantly, impossibly versatile. They 9 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:45,440 managed to make it lighter, more comfortable, and higher fidelity than 10 00:00:42,719 --> 00:00:49,680 the OG Index for PC VR gaming. They managed to bolt an ARMbased computer to 11 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:55,039 it that runs mobile VR games and applications. You can even just 12 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:58,399 sideloadad an Android APK. And the whole 13 00:00:55,039 --> 00:01:00,320 thing runs freaking Steam OS with a new 14 00:00:58,399 --> 00:01:05,840 element to their Proton compatibility layer called FEX that allows you to play 15 00:01:02,559 --> 00:01:10,560 desktop VR games. I'm talking x86 16 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:13,280 Windows VR games on your ARM Linux VR 17 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:16,320 headset. I would mic drop this, but I think I'd [music] get in trouble. The 18 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:20,560 last part I wouldn't believe if I didn't experience it for myself. But they did 19 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:24,159 all of this with latency that is indistinguishable from the best VR 20 00:01:22,530 --> 00:01:28,000 [music] experiences that I've had. But is it indistinguishable from the best 21 00:01:25,759 --> 00:01:33,600 Segway I've ever had? To our sponsor, Jawa. Jawa is your one-stop shop to buy 22 00:01:31,119 --> 00:01:37,040 and sell used gaming equipment and PC parts. If you're looking to build a new 23 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:40,799 computer or upgrade your current one, check them out today using our link in 24 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:45,439 the video description. Frame is a fundamental shift for Valve. Rather than 25 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:50,000 being an accessory for your gaming PC, it's meant to be a standalone device 26 00:01:47,439 --> 00:01:57,439 that can also be enjoyed alongside your PC using wireless streaming for VR, 27 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:59,759 which sounds horrible, but somehow it's 28 00:01:57,439 --> 00:02:03,680 not. Let's take a closer look at the hardware, then we can talk about how 29 00:02:01,759 --> 00:02:08,239 they did it. The headset that I'm holding is actually made up of multiple 30 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:14,319 components. The core module contains the actual computer and weighs under 190 g. 31 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:19,120 Then next is an audio module that can be detached with three clips under the foam 32 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:22,560 gasket. Then there's the head strap and a battery pack that is cleverly 33 00:02:20,959 --> 00:02:26,080 positioned at the back to help counterbalance the device, improving 34 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:30,000 comfort and also to make it a little bit easier to cable manage if you wanted to 35 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:35,200 have an external battery pack. The optics are simply [music] put flipping 36 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:40,080 incredible. Like other leading headsets, they're using pancake lenses. But unlike 37 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:45,040 some other headsets that use pancake lenses, there was very little in the way 38 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:49,120 of internal reflections visible in the demo applications that I use today. It 39 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:52,720 is possible that with brighter light sources, it could show up a bit more, 40 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:56,319 but that's going to be something that I'll have to save for the full review. 41 00:02:54,400 --> 00:03:02,480 What I can tell you is that under each lens is a 2160x 2160 LCD display that's 42 00:03:00,319 --> 00:03:09,200 capable of anywhere from 72 hertz presumably for power saving up to 120 Hz 43 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:11,760 with a 144 hertz experimental mode just 44 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:16,879 like we had on the Valve Index. As for why Valve decided to use LCD rather than 45 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:22,000 OLED, it basically came down to the light losses due to the pancake lenses. 46 00:03:20,159 --> 00:03:25,120 Oh, since I'm pointing at them, on the inside of each lens, maybe you could 47 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:29,200 even see them if you went crosseyed enough, is an eye tracker that's [music] 48 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:34,239 obviously going to be great for, you know, social VR experiences, but perhaps 49 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:39,280 more importantly enables Valve to do what they call fiated streaming, which 50 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,239 I'm going to have to explain later because it gets a little in the weeds. 51 00:03:40,959 --> 00:03:46,879 First, let's take a look at the controllers. Valve [gasps] 52 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:50,879 fully acknowledges that these are very similar to other designs in the market, 53 00:03:48,879 --> 00:03:55,760 but they wanted something that was both great for VR and also great for your 54 00:03:53,760 --> 00:04:00,159 nonVR applications if you just want to use your headset as a giant virtual 55 00:03:57,599 --> 00:04:05,519 display. And they still managed to add some Valve touches to them, putting 56 00:04:02,319 --> 00:04:07,760 capacitive sensing on all input surfaces 57 00:04:05,519 --> 00:04:10,959 and on the grips, so you can still do five finger tracking just like the 58 00:04:09,439 --> 00:04:15,519 Knuckles controllers from the Valve Index. They have two-stage actuating 59 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:19,519 triggers, two-stage actuating grips, which unlocks a ton of control 60 00:04:17,359 --> 00:04:24,080 customization. They use the same magnetic thumb stick as the new Steam 61 00:04:21,759 --> 00:04:29,040 controller for better reliability, and a very small dead zone. And they each have 62 00:04:26,639 --> 00:04:34,160 their own independent gyros that can be rebound for aiming or whatever you want. 63 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:38,000 I can't tell if they were being suggestive there given the popularity of 64 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:41,360 certain VR applications, but I can't say for sure that they weren't. Both 65 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:46,479 controllers have an integrated IMU to track positional data and 18 infrared 66 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:50,080 LEDs that can be tracked by the four high field of view cameras that are 67 00:04:47,919 --> 00:04:54,639 integrated into the frames core module. These were strategically positioned so 68 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:58,479 that even if you were, say, for example, drawing an arrow from a quiver, it 69 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:02,479 should be able to maintain tracking. Now, I didn't get a chance to try that, 70 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:06,240 nor did I get to fire up BeatSaber, my favorite application for evaluating 71 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:10,240 controller tracking under extreme conditions. But from just shaking them 72 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:15,039 around in the menu, they seem to track extremely well. Valve is claiming about 73 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:18,800 40 hours of battery life off of a single double A. And this battery compartment 74 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:22,320 is a perfect transition into the customizability that's on display with 75 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:26,240 this headset. They're going to have an optional accessory kit that includes 76 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:30,240 knuckle straps for the controller as well as a second head strap with a top 77 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:34,240 velcro piece if you like a bit of additional support. I personally liked 78 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:39,199 it better, but I also didn't feel like it was necessary like it is on the much 79 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:43,199 heavier Apple Vision Pro. There's a lot more to customize on the frame itself, 80 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:48,479 too. It includes a spacer gasket for folks with long eyelashes and to improve 81 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:51,600 compatibility with glasses, but Valve fully acknowledges that not everyone 82 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:57,759 will want to use that because it does take away a little bit from their claimed about 110° field of view. So, 83 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:01,440 they are working on prescription lenses for the headset itself. We even saw a 84 00:05:59,759 --> 00:06:05,039 box of them, but there's no specific timeline on that. IPD adjustments are 85 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:09,919 handled with a little knob on the top that spins a cog on the core module. And 86 00:06:07,759 --> 00:06:14,319 this is really cool. Right between the goggles at the bottom here is an 87 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:21,919 expansion port that allows up to two 2 1/2 GB MIP cameras or a single camera 88 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:23,919 with a PCIe Gen 4x1 slot allowing all 89 00:06:21,919 --> 00:06:28,080 kinds of possibilities for additional accessories like if you wanted color 90 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:34,000 cameras for instance. the built-in ones are only monochromatic or if you wanted, 91 00:06:31,039 --> 00:06:37,600 I don't know, a smell sensor. The sky's is the limit. Since we're on the subject 92 00:06:35,759 --> 00:06:41,680 of the cameras, Valve says that they will work for inside out tracking even 93 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:46,000 in pitch darkness thanks to IR [music] emitters that are built into the headset 94 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:53,199 itself. And you can expect tracking performance on the order of about 200 to 95 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:56,080 250 updates per second, which is about 96 00:06:53,199 --> 00:06:59,039 on par with the Valve Index. Not something that I expected. Now that I've 97 00:06:57,759 --> 00:07:02,960 had a chance to gather my thoughts and eat some crappy airport food, let's talk 98 00:07:01,039 --> 00:07:08,880 about how Valve is delivering a PCVR-like experience wirelessly when big 99 00:07:06,479 --> 00:07:15,120 names like Apple and Meta have tried and never really succeeded. It starts with 100 00:07:12,319 --> 00:07:21,199 the least interesting looking part, this 6 GHz Wi-Fi dongle. Valve built the 101 00:07:18,319 --> 00:07:25,759 headset with two radios and two antennas for Wi-Fi along with a third dedicated 102 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:30,080 antenna for your controllers or your Bluetooth peripherals. One of those 103 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:34,479 Wi-Fi antennas handles 5 GHz for your game downloads, your multiplayer data, 104 00:07:31,759 --> 00:07:40,000 your voice chat, etc. The other one connects to a very high-end home router 105 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:44,400 or more likely Valve's dongle using the 106 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:47,840 so far mostly unused 6 GHz band. This is 107 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:49,440 a perfect use case for 6 GHz since it 108 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:55,199 lacks the wall penetration that you might want for home Wi-Fi, but it excels 109 00:07:52,319 --> 00:08:00,800 at avoiding 2.4 and 5 GHz channel congestion while pushing huge amounts of 110 00:07:57,759 --> 00:08:03,120 bandwidth. With that said, while the 111 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:08,160 theoretical maximum is right up there with wired connections, in the real 112 00:08:05,199 --> 00:08:15,440 world, it falls well short of that. So, what's the secret? Boiated streaming. 113 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:21,039 Seeing this in action blew my flipping mind. Basically, the idea behind it is 114 00:08:18,639 --> 00:08:27,120 similar to fiated rendering, where the headset tracks your eyes and tells your 115 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:29,520 GPU, "Hey, only render the area of focus 116 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:32,880 at full fidelity and save your resources on the rest of the scene." It's a 117 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:37,519 technique that's been used to great effect on the handful of PSVR2 titles 118 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:41,919 that exist, but has been largely untapped on the PC side, largely because 119 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:46,000 it depends on game developers to implement it. And also, most headsets 120 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:51,920 don't have built-in eye tracking, so why would they bother? Foviated streaming. 121 00:08:48,399 --> 00:08:55,360 Then, again, same idea. Focus your 122 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:58,080 resources wherever the eyes are looking, 123 00:08:55,360 --> 00:09:03,680 except in this case, it's not the GPU saving on rendering resources. It's the 124 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:09,760 video encoding stream saving on bit rate. So you get crystal clear high bit 125 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:15,440 rate encoding exactly where your eyes are looking and then a little bit blurry 126 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:18,240 everywhere else. At least in theory. In 127 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:22,560 practice, it reacted so fast that no matter how quickly I tried to move my 128 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:26,160 eyes, I wasn't able to catch it. But I also don't feel too bad about that. 129 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:31,120 Valve put on an incredible demo for me in Halflife Alex where they highlighted 130 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:36,160 the maximum fidelity window as I was looking around. And even though they say 131 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:41,600 it's only about 10% of the total video stream, it ends up being a pretty large 132 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:46,160 window. Wild. As for the encoding latency, well, thanks to some clever 133 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:51,600 parallelization of the encoding, you can expect anywhere from 1 to 2 milliseconds 134 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:56,560 of extra latency on a modern GPU and four to five for a slightly older but 135 00:09:53,760 --> 00:10:00,720 still VR capable one. Not enough to notice or to contribute to significant 136 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:05,519 motion sickness. And it keeps getting better. I managed to get almost 50 ft 137 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:10,080 away from the dongle without a noticeable difference in the experience. 138 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:15,040 Now, granted, this is still line of sight, but it's a lot further than I can 139 00:10:12,399 --> 00:10:18,560 get with a tether. Now, I did bring up the possibility of more than one of 140 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:22,160 these devices causing interference with each other. And Valve said that while 141 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:25,760 they have operated multiple headsets concurrently in the same space, they 142 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:32,079 haven't explored more demanding use cases like packed VR cafes. Moving on to 143 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:37,920 audio, the built-in solution is both incredibly impressive and also a little 144 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:42,160 disappointing. I'm impressed by the audio quality. They apparently had to 145 00:10:40,079 --> 00:10:45,680 use opposing drivers to cancel out the vibrations to make sure that the inside 146 00:10:43,839 --> 00:10:50,320 out tracking wouldn't get messed up, and they sound fantastic. As for the mic, I 147 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:54,000 didn't get a chance to test it, but Valve assured me that the mic should 148 00:10:52,079 --> 00:10:58,399 carry on the Index's incredible reputation for stellar microphone 149 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:02,720 performance. I'm disappointed because I literally had the engineer who worked on 150 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:06,640 the Index and this new headset in the room with me. And when I asked her for a 151 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:12,880 gaming headset with all this same audio black magic, she just shrugged. So sorry 152 00:11:09,839 --> 00:11:14,720 y'all, I tried. In all seriousness, the 153 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:18,800 speakers don't fire directly into your ears, so there is a bit more sound bleed 154 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:23,279 than with the Index, but it doesn't seem like a gamebreaker depending on what 155 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:26,959 you're watching and who's around. The last couple of experiences I want to 156 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:31,680 talk about are a huge deal whether you plan to use them or not. The first is 157 00:11:29,279 --> 00:11:36,320 FEX, an open- source project that Valve has been contributing, and this is a 158 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:38,560 quote, quite heavily to. It's a 159 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:44,880 translation layer that allowed me to experience a completely standard Windows 160 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:47,200 x86 game, Hades 2 in this case, running 161 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:53,360 directly on the hardware on the frame. I'm talking x86 code designed to run on 162 00:11:50,079 --> 00:11:58,000 Windows, running on a Snapdragon 8650 163 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:59,839 running Linux. Holy freaking mind blown. 164 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:05,200 They're planning a compatibility list. I'll uh grade on deck for the future. 165 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:11,839 But wait a second. Running on Linux. Yeah, Valve's been busy porting Steam OS 166 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:14,720 to ARM. How did they drop so much news 167 00:12:11,839 --> 00:12:18,880 on one day? The Frame does everything that you know and love about Steam OS, 168 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:24,240 like fast suspend and resume and performance overlays, except on your VR 169 00:12:22,079 --> 00:12:27,920 headset directly. And as I mentioned briefly in the intro, if you blinked, 170 00:12:26,079 --> 00:12:33,920 you might have missed it, with this new ARM processor comes the ability to 171 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:36,399 supposedly run Android APKs by directly 172 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:40,720 sideloading them onto the Steam frame. And given how many VR experiences are 173 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:45,040 designed to run on mobile devices, this is a colossal win. And with Valve's 174 00:12:43,519 --> 00:12:48,959 commitment to putting micro SD card slots on all their devices, it can't be 175 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:52,560 too hard to install. Now, there are still some areas where the frame doesn't 176 00:12:50,639 --> 00:12:57,040 seem to be industryleading. The light seal isn't perfect, especially if you 177 00:12:54,880 --> 00:13:01,440 compare to the Beyond 2 with its custom 3D printed gasket. The pass through 178 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:04,320 cameras, they're just monochrome, so don't expect to be wearing your frame 179 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:09,440 out and about like people did with the Apple Vision Pro for the first week or 180 00:13:06,639 --> 00:13:14,320 so. From my very brief, and admittedly not side-by-side experience, it's also 181 00:13:11,519 --> 00:13:19,360 not the highest clarity nor highest dynamic range display I've ever seen. 182 00:13:16,399 --> 00:13:23,920 And it's not as light or compact as say the big screen Beyond 2. But it's the 183 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:30,079 overall package that should have the entire rest of the industry stopping and 184 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:33,279 going, "How did Valve, who as of 2021 185 00:13:30,079 --> 00:13:35,200 supposedly had less than 350 employees, 186 00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:42,000 manage to outmaneuver monsters like Meta, who spent 17.7 billion on Reality 187 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:43,680 Labs just last fiscal year. I would ask 188 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,760 Gay Ben how it happened, but I'm pretty sure he's busy on his yacht. All I know 189 00:13:45,839 --> 00:13:51,760 is that I want one. Whether it's for wireless PC gaming, native gaming on the 190 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:55,440 road with minimal bulk in my bag, or even just relaxing on the couch watching 191 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:59,440 movies on the big screen. Like, what kind of sucker needs a big TV when this 192 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:03,440 thing exists? So, with the frame clearly taking the 193 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:07,440 place of the Index in Valve's lineup, what happens to all the users of the 194 00:14:05,279 --> 00:14:11,199 Index and maybe more importantly, the third party ecosystem that exists around 195 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:16,399 its base stations and Knuckles controllers? The short answer is the 196 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:20,160 index is EOL, but the long answer is Valve would love to see other players in 197 00:14:18,079 --> 00:14:25,279 the VR space approach them about continuing to support or even continuing 198 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:27,360 to manufacture these devices. Whether 199 00:14:25,279 --> 00:14:31,279 that'll happen, I don't know, but at least Valve is open to the conversation, 200 00:14:29,519 --> 00:14:35,519 just like I'm open to telling you about our sponsor, Grammarly. Writing things 201 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:38,880 like a novel, an essay, or even a quick thank you card can be difficult, and 202 00:14:37,279 --> 00:14:42,480 everyone knows how annoying it is when the words just don't come out right. 203 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:46,240 That's where Grammarly can step in. 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If you guys enjoyed this video, go check out part 213 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:26,560 two on the Steam machine as well as the new 2026 edition of the Valve Steam 214 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:27,920 Controller. Mind-blowing stuff today. I 215 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:34,440 can't believe they blindsided me with this. They're like, "Come down. We'll tell you nothing. You have 4 hours to do 216 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,440 everything.