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.

Category	Steam Frame	Meta Quest 3	Apple Vision Pro	Samsung Galaxy XR
Colors	Black	White	Silver	Silver
Weight (grams)	185g (core unit), 440g (with head strap that adds audio and rear battery)	515g	750–800g (depending on light seal and headband configuration)	545g, though weight may vary if you wear the light shield or not
OS	SteamOS	Meta Horizon OS	visionOS	Android XR
Lenses	Pancake	Pancake	Pancake	Pancake
Screen type	LCD	LCD	micro-OLED	micro-OLED
Resolution	2160 x 2160 per eye	2064 x 2208 per eye	3660 x 3200 per eye	4K per eye
Refresh rate	72-144Hz refresh rate (144Hz experimental)	72Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz	90Hz, 96Hz, 100Hz, 120Hz	60Hz, 72Hz (default), up to 90Hz
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3	Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2	Apple M5 chip	Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2
FOV	Up to 110 degrees	Up to 100 degrees horizontal and 96 degrees vertical	Estimated to be about 100 degrees	109 degrees horizontal and 100 degrees vertical
RAM	16GB unified LPDDR5 RAM	8GB	16GB, reportedly	16GB
Storage	256GB / 1TB UFS storage options, microSD card slot	512GB	256GB, 512GB, 1TB	256GB
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 7, includes dedicated Wi-Fi 6E adapter for low-latency streaming games	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi‑Fi 6	Wi-Fi 7
Tracking, passthrough, and sensors	4 outward-facing monochrome cameras for controller and headset tracking, 2 interior cameras for eye tracking, outward IR illuminator	2 RGB cameras with 18 PPD for full-color passthrough	2 high‑resolution main cameras, 6 world‑facing tracking cameras, 4 eye‑tracking cameras, TrueDepth camera, LiDAR Scanner, 4 inertial measurement units (IMUs), flicker sensor, ambient light sensor	2 high-resolution passthrough cameras, 6 world-facing tracking cameras, 4 eye-tracking cameras, 5 Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), depth sensor, flicker sensor
Eye tracking	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Battery capacity	21.6Wh	19.44Wh	Up to 2.5 hours of “general use”	Up to 2 hours of “general usage”
Starting price	TBA	$499.99	$3,499.00	$1,799.99
Availability	Early 2026	October 2023	October 2025	October 2025

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.

Category	Steam Frame	Valve Index
Colors	Black	Black
Weight (grams)	185g (core unit), 440g (with head strap that adds audio and rear battery)	809g
OS	SteamOS	N/A
Lenses	Pancake	Fresnel
Screen type	LCD	LCD
Resolution	2160 x 2160 per eye	1440 x 1600 per eye
Refresh rate	72–144Hz refresh rate (144Hz experimental)	80/90/120, 144Hz experimental
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3	N/A
FOV	Up to 110 degrees	Up to 130 degrees
RAM	16GB unified LPDDR5 RAM	N/A
Storage	256GB / 1TB UFS storage options, microSD card slot	N/A
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 7, includes dedicated Wi-Fi 6E adapter for low-latency streaming games	Must connect headset to PC via DisplayPort, plug cameras to USB 3.0 port, and into a power outlet for power
Tracking and passthrough	4 outward-facing monochrome cameras for controller and headset tracking, 2 interior cameras for eye tracking, outward IR illuminator	At least one base station for tracking, dual 960 x 960 passthrough cameras
Eye tracking	Yes	No
Battery capacity	21.6Wh	N/A
Starting price	TBA	$499 (standalone), $999 (with controllers and base stations)
Availability	Early 2026	June 2019

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.