When the Valve Index launched six years ago, it was the gold standard for high-end VR headsets. The landscape has shifted dramatically since then—headsets have gone wireless, processors have grown more capable, and expectations have changed. Valve seems to recognize that with its newly announced Steam Frame, a headset that trades the Index’s tangle of cables and base stations for a sleeker, more flexible design.
The Steam Frame isn’t aiming to revolutionize VR overnight, but it does look like a serious step forward. By going standalone—cutting the cord from the PC entirely—it joins a growing class of headsets that prioritize convenience without giving up power. And perhaps most importantly, Valve appears to be thinking beyond VR this time. The Steam Frame doesn’t just promise immersive worlds—it promises to be a headset for everything, from traditional Steam games to massive virtual screens. Will it work? That’s just one of many questions that remain to be answered.
Cutting Cables Is Key
It’s clear with the Steam Frame that standalone (or at least wireless) functionality is vital for VR. Strapping a headset to your face is already a big ask, but running a long cable to a PC or game console creates a constant tripping hazard. This was a necessity in VR for years, but the Meta/Oculus Quest headsets proved that you can enjoy VR without a wire.
A good mobile processor (Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 for the Quest 3 and 3S, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for the Steam Frame) can go surprisingly far, and keeping optional wired connectivity for users who want the kind of graphical power a full PC can provide isn’t difficult. Valve even takes it a step further on that front by giving the Steam Frame a 6GHz wireless USB adapter for seamless gaming on a PC.
Valve recognizes that VR isn’t enough, too. That’s why the Steam Frame, as stated on its product page, is designed for both “VR and non-VR gaming.”
Cutting the cable between the headset and the PC, and making the PC optional, isn’t the only big and necessary change that Valve makes with the Frame. It removes the need for external base stations, which the Index and most other tethered PC headsets require to function. Instead, it relies entirely on four outward-facing cameras. Again, just like Meta’s headsets.
Basically, the Steam Frame has sloughed off the rougher and more inconvenient aspects of the Valve Index’s VR in favor of what amounts to a cross between a Meta Quest and a Steam Deck. This isn’t an insult; it’s exactly what a new headset from Valve has to become to keep up with the changing VR world. Besides standalone functionality, Valve has to take another big step with its VR headset: reach beyond VR.
Our Favorite Standalone VR Headset
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What Our Ratings Mean
- 5.0 – Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 – Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 – Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 – Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 – Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 – Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 – Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 – Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 – Dismal: Don’t even think about buying this product
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Meta Quest 3
SEE ALL SPECS
Specs & Configuration
Editors’ Choice
4.5
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What Our Ratings Mean
- 5.0 – Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 – Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 – Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 – Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 – Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 – Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 – Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 – Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 – Dismal: Don’t even think about buying this product
Read Our
Editorial Mission Statement
and
Testing Methodologies.
Editors’ Choice
4.5
Outstanding
What Our Ratings Mean
- 5.0 – Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 – Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 – Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 – Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 – Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 – Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 – Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 – Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 – Dismal: Don’t even think about buying this product
Read Our
Editorial Mission Statement
and
Testing Methodologies.
Meta Quest 3
VR Headsets Need Non-VR Games
VR experiences can be a lot of fun and immersive in ways conventional video games are not. A pure, first-person view and 1:1 motion controls make games like Half-Life: Alyx, Bonelab, and Superhot VR feel special. Compelling VR games are few and far between, though, and they haven’t been coming out at a fast pace. What was the last high-profile VR game you heard about? If you actually can think of an answer, I’d wager it’s 2024’s Batman: Arkham Shadow, a VR title that was a heavily promoted pack-in game for the Quest 3 and 3S until last April.
I just glanced at Steam’s VR page, and the games it’s highlighting in the top carousel include Elite: Dangerous (2015), Blade & Sorcery (2018), Beat Saber (2019), Assetto Corsa (2014), Subnautica (2018), and Half-Life: Alyx (2020). There simply aren’t enough new and interesting VR games on any VR platform to justify regular hardware use, unless you’re a big fan of VRChat or assembling a VR racing or flight sim cockpit.
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Just remember that, wires or not, you’ll never look cool using a VR headset (Credit: Valve)
Valve recognizes VR isn’t enough, too. That’s why the Steam Frame, as stated on its product page, is designed for both “VR and non-VR gaming.” It can run ordinary Steam games, which is a significant advantage over the competition. After all, the Steam Frame’s a wearable display that can show anything you want as a virtual theater screen that’s larger than your monitor or TV. The controllers even provide the full span of conventional gamepad controls. You get four face buttons on the right and a direction pad on the left, while the Valve Index and Meta Quest have only two face buttons on each side and no direction pad. It’s all you need for conventional games you can play with a gamepad.
The Steam Frame isn’t the first case of a VR headset promoting its non-VR uses. A few months ago, Meta and Microsoft revealed an Xbox-branded Quest 3S that heavily emphasized the ability to play Xbox games via cloud streaming. That wasn’t a new Quest feature. Cloud streaming and local PC game streaming through Steam Link were available on Quest headsets before that announcement. But with the black-and-green version of the headset, Meta effectively stated, “Look, there might not be a ton of big VR games, but you can really play anything on this! It doesn’t have to be VR!”
Non-VR game compatibility is key (Credit: Valve)
The big screen these headsets deliver lean into that idea. I don’t wave my arms and stumble across my living room. I sit back and watch, play, or work on what I want with a huge private display in front of my eyes. That’s far more appealing to the average consumer.
Monochrome and Mobile Misgivings
A few potential missteps have me a bit concerned, though. The Frame is still very much a VR headset rather than a mixed reality headset like the Quest 3 and 3S—that’s clear from its cameras. According to Valve’s specs, the Steam Frame uses monochrome pass-through cameras instead of color ones like on the current Quest models. Color is the biggest difference between the pass-through view, which lets you know when you’re about to walk into furniture, and integrating your surroundings into the experience. Virtual reality completely replaces your environment, while mixed reality augments it (it’s called “mixed” reality because it’s a mixture of virtual and augmented reality). The black and white view is troubling, especially since the $300 Quest 3S features color cameras.
I also question the Steam Frame’s capability to run games. On one hand, the headset uses SteamOS, so it should play many titles with ease. On the other hand, it’s powered by an ARM64 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, rather than an x86-64 processor like the Steam Deck’s AMD Zen 2 and the new Steam Machine’s AMD Zen 4 chips. Qualcomm’s high-end mobile chipset has plenty of power, and the lines between ARM and x86 processors have been blurring.
Recommended by Our Editors
However, in architecture, the ARM64 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor is a different beast from the Zen 2/4, and the Ryzen chipsets that power other handheld PCs, such as the Asus ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go S. Similar to Steam Deck verification, Valve will add Steam Frame Verified badges for games that can run directly on the Steam Frame and don’t require streaming from a PC. I have a feeling that list is going to be smaller than the Steam Deck game list.
It looks good on paper, but the Steam Frame has unanswered questions (Credit: Valve)
With these compromises, it’s clear the Steam Frame doesn’t aspire to be a comprehensive wearable computer with next-generation controls and numerous non-gaming features. This isn’t a new Apple Vision Pro (that’s the Samsung Galaxy XR’s job for now), and that’s fine. Apple’s headset is a technical marvel, but it costs a hefty $3,500. That’s too much money for most users.
2 Make-or-Break Questions: How Much and How’s the Battery?
First, there’s the price. The full Valve Index kit was $1,000. The Meta Quest 3S is $300. The Steam Frame will almost certainly fall between those extremes, but it’ll need to shy as far from four digits as it can. I think $500 would make it a strong competitor to the Quest 3. Considering the Steam Frame’s more powerful CPU and the inclusion of eye-tracking sensors for foveated graphics, $600 would be reasonable for the package. Higher than that? Starting to push it.
Battery life is another issue, but it’s one that no standalone headset seems to have cracked. Whether it’s the Apple Vision Pro or Quest 3S, you’ll get two, maybe three hours of wireless use before you must plug it in. I don’t expect Valve to have made huge battery advances with the Steam Frame, but pushing past three hours would be a significant achievement.
Valve will answer these questions in early 2026 when the Steam Frame is planned for release along with the new Steam Machine and Steam Controller. Until then, the Steam Frame appears to be the type of headset Valve needs to replace the Index. We’ll just have to see if it’s enough.
About Our Expert
Will Greenwald
Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics
Experience
I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I’ve served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.
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