How the Steam Frame compares to other VR headsets

Valve just announced the Steam Frame, a new standalone VR headset that can both stream games from a PC and play games locally thanks to an onboard Arm chip. The headset is quite a bit different from Valve’s previous model, the Index, which had to be tethered to a gaming computer with a physical wire. But it also stands out from a lot of other major VR headsets on the market right now, like the Meta Quest 3, Samsung Galaxy XR, and Apple Vision Pro.

A big way the Frame separates itself from the pack is its focus on streaming your games. That’s all made possible thanks to a wireless dongle that comes with every Frame: plug it into your PC, and you can stream both your flat and VR games to the headset over a low-latency connection. I got to try the streaming for myself at Valve’s headquarters while playing Half-Life: Alyx, and I didn’t notice any discernible lag.

You can also play games right on the Frame itself because Valve has gotten SteamOS working on Arm; the headset is equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. Other headsets can play games locally, too — typically games built specifically for their respective platforms. But the Frame is actually able to run Windows x86 code and recompile it in real time using an emulator, meaning that a vast amount of the Steam library will be playable directly on the headset without you or any developers having to do anything.

That said, you shouldn’t expect to be able to play high-end games locally on the Frame. Valve designer Lawrence Yang tells The Verge that developers should target lower performance than they would for a game on Steam Deck. The Frame’s real-time emulation could affect performance; while playing Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II on the headset, both of which are relatively lower-end games, I saw some stutters that I never see on my Steam Deck. (According to Valve hardware engineer Jeremy Selan, this was a bug and the company expects to make improvements leading up to and after launch.)

Valve isn’t sharing a price just yet, but hardware engineer Gabe Rowe did tell The Verge that the company is aiming for a cost that’s less than the Index. Meta’s Quest 3 costs $499.99, while the Samsung Galaxy XR and Apple Vision Pro — two headsets that have higher-resolution micro-OLED displays and sensors that support color passthrough — cost $1,799.99 and $3,499, respectively. If you’re curious how that all compares to the outgoing Index, we’ve whipped up a comparison below; Valve sold the Index for $999 with the necessary controllers and base stations.

Valve is set to release the Steam Frame in early 2026. I recently got to try it at Valve’s headquarters, and I think the company is on to something.