According to Datamined Source Code, Valve May Be Working on an OLED Steam Frame

The Steam Frame launched a month ago and, while it is one of the best PCVR headsets, its lenses were not as good as some competitors'. However, Valve appears to be working on a mid-cycle refresh with OLED optics.

The Steam Frame was released a month ago, and while it's one of the best PCVR headsets out there, its lenses weren't as high quality as some of its competitors. However, it looks like Valve may be working on a mid-gen update with OLED optics.

According to SteamFrameHub, which has reviewed some Steam Frame core source code, the operating system refers to a different Steam Frame with OLED optics, codenamed "Plano". Take this with a grain of salt, of course. But if it's real, the Plano headset has pretty much the same specs as the existing Steam Frame, just with 3552x3840 OLED panels compared to the Steam Frame's 2160x2160 pancake lens.

A higher resolution OLED screen would do wonders for the Steam Frame, especially for people using it for PCVR rather than trying to play standalone games. Better lenses cost much more. As SteamFrameHub points out, the leaked optics specs match up well with the lenses found on the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, which costs around $1,799. However, this headset was launched before the RAM crisis started, so a Steam Frame to match its specs will likely be at least a little more expensive.

Just like the rest of Valve's hardware this year, the Steam Frame was supposed to usher in a new era of accessible PC hardware powered by SteamOS at its core. However, due to an ongoing RAM crisis that won't end anytime soon, this effect is greatly reduced. However, at least there are people who seem to be buying the Steam Frame and Steam Machine, as both are still completely sold out at the time of writing.

Since Valve is still working on the reservation and waiting list for Steam Fame, it's safe to assume that even if the Steam Frame OLED is something that actually exists, it probably won't be out for a long time. So the real question is whether or not this will happen before Valve finds the perfect chipset that will force the company to build Steam Deck 2. Just like with everything Valve, we'll simply have to wait and see.

If you're going to get a Steam Frame, how are you going to get the most out of it?

Running non-VR games (locally or streamed from a PC)