Valve's Steam Frame Update Boosts Battery Life by 12%

Ever wished you could squeeze more playtime out of your VR headset? Valve's latest SteamOS update for the Steam Frame does exactly that—adding up to 12% more battery life.

This update isn't just about keeping you in the game longer. It also includes power efficiency improvements, eye tracking accessibility options, and better streaming reliability. Plus, some tweaks to grabbing handles, because why not?

The battery boost applies to both streaming and local gameplay, with gains of up to 12%. Valve notes that actual results will vary depending on framerate and content. But think about it: the Steam Frame runs for around two hours while streaming, so a 12% bump means roughly 15 extra minutes. That's nothing to sneeze at for a software update.

For those who want more control over eye tracking, Valve added an accessibility option to limit tracking to a single eye. You can find it under VR Settings -> General -> Track Dominant Eye Only. Just remember to enable "show advanced settings" first.

Other fixes include resolving an issue that prevented controller bindings from loading for certain games like Google Earth VR and Thumper. Valve also improved focus behavior when interacting with grab and resize handles, and made further improvements to VR streaming reliability, including additional fixes for "Error 17." If you're on PC, you'll need to opt into SteamVR 2.18.2 or later to reduce those connection issues—at the time of release, that version is available on the SteamVR beta branch.

Additionally, Valve fixed Steam Frame wireless adapter connectivity issues that affected users in some countries. It's all part of Valve's ongoing effort to polish the Steam Frame experience.

SteamOS for Steam Frame is a whole new project for Valve—a version of its Arch-based Linux distro built for VR and Arm-based processors, specifically the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It's laying the foundations for future Arm-powered projects, though a recent rumor suggests the Steam Deck 2 will stick with AMD. Still, an Arm-powered Steam Deck would be exciting, right?

So, will you be picking up these improvements? Let us know in the comments!