Steam Frame: The Ars Technica review
Valve's new $1,059 VR hardware tries to revive an abandoned VR "revolution.".
Valve's new $1,059 VR hardware tries to revive an abandoned VR "revolution."
The short version
- Valve’s new $1,059 VR hardware tries to revive an abandoned VR “revolution.” In the 2010s, Valve was at the forefront of a virtual reality revolution that looked to some like it would upend the gaming industry.
- Then came the Meta (previously Oculus) Quest , a low-powered, low-cost headset that proved the vast majority of VR-curious gamers didn’t want to bother with being literally tethered to a bulky, expensive gaming PC.
- As the Quest line carved out a modest niche through the 2020s, Valve seemed more or less satisfied to let its earlier VR hardware and software ambitions wither on the vine.
What happened
The Steam Frame makes a great first impression on your face. The entire setup weighs just 440 g (a bit under a pound), a roughly 15 percent weight reduction from the Meta Quest 3’s 515 g.
Why it matters
That weight reduction inches us ever closer to the 250 g target that Meta’s former CTO John Carmack said he was once trying to achieve at the company.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.