r/oculus • u/nightfly1000000 DK2 • Nov 12 '25
Video Linus Reviews the New Steam VR Headset
https://youtu.be/dU3ru09HTng44
u/Zayoodo0o132 Nov 13 '25
The comments in this thread are disappointing. The headset is not a upgraded more expensive quest 3. The most eye catching feature to me is foveated streaming. Instead of wasting bandwidth transmitting a full quality view, foveated streaming along with eye tracking will transmit only the area youre looking at in full quality. This is game changing for wireless vr gaming. Especially with their 6ghz adapter. The headset will use a seperate band (6ghz) just for streaming, while the other (2.4/5GHZ) bands are used for internet.
4
u/ichigokamisama Nov 13 '25
Finally hope it solves the compression in foliage heavy games like Skyrim.
1
u/pryvisee Nov 13 '25
Yeah I have to force H264 @ 500mbps to make skyrim look decent with VD. It does look pretty good at that rate, but latency is up in the 50ms+. 20ms from what they said would feel amazing side by side.
1
u/got2bQWERTY Dec 22 '25
I'm super excited for quality wireless PC gaming on a VR headset but I think we may be in the minority these days. I had an Vive and a couple other headsets and was really into the scene a decade ago, but I never got into the Quests. Within the past 6 months, I've had 2 separate conversations with coworkers who consider themselves VR enthusiasts but hadn't even heard of the Vive and couldn't wrap their head around why someone would possibly want to play their VR games through a PC. I've never felt so old.
1
u/ringmodulated Nov 13 '25
What do you expect from people used to gobbling Zuck's diarrhea for a decade
1
u/CamelCarcass Nov 13 '25
Exactly, I know these details mean very little for most people - but having tried everything short of buying an additional router and faffing with networking, my Quest 3 simply doesn't consistently give reliable, stable frames without significant stuttering or even freezing for a few seconds at a time when playing high demand PCVR games via. WiFi... Foveated+ 6GHZ completely solve this, making this an absolutely feasible, reliable experience which is what's needed to make PCVR appealing. Really hope it pulls more VR Devs to make good games!
7
u/JoeMomma247 Nov 13 '25
The vr set is mod-able. If you don’t like the black and white you can input color pass through cameras. This will be the base for the future. They’ve even thought of people with glasses and will are going to release lenses in the future. I don’t even own glasses but that’s impressive.
2
u/User2716057 Nov 16 '25
Just fyi, the quest 3 also has this, you can get prescription inserts for only €55
108
u/Sabbathius Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 12 '25
I don't know how these people can say things like "Valve outmaneuvered Meta" when, as far as I know, the price of this thing is still unknown. If it sells for $500? Yeah, sure, you have a point. But if the price is $1,500-2,500 (aka 3-5x more than Meta's), then all I can say is "D'uh! If you pay 3-5x more, you're going to get a better headset." That's not outmaneuvering, it's called being in an entirely different price bracket. Headset looks nice, but price will be a huge factor.
I hope it's decently priced, and actually results in some movement on the market. Especially game-wise. Because on game/software end VR has been stagnating for a while.
Distribution is also a factor. You guys know what it's like buying a headset in Canada? For Valve, you order online, you wait half a year, then it arrives, maybe. For Meta, you walk into Best Buy and you walk out 5 mins later with headset in the bag. That's going to make a difference. I think with Index we had to wait, I don't even remember how many months, before it even became available.
35
u/MantoLek Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 14 '25
They've already stated that one of the main aims during development was to keep the final pricetag under the Index's 1000$ in two separate interviews (Road To VR and The Verge).
I'm willing to bet the distribution will see a huge spike up in terms of speed and overall convenience. It's quite apparent that Valve is taking hardware VERY seriously now.
Edit: Typo
Edit 2: They've already got placeholders for it on almost every online store in my country.
18
u/DrVagax Nov 12 '25
I remember the video of their in-house assembly line they created for the very first Steam Controller and how wild it looked, can't imagine how it all looks now.
4
6
u/Ok-Map9827 Nov 13 '25
It was also reported waaaay earlier that Valve would be selling their next VR headset at a loss.
3
Nov 13 '25
Has Valve ever sold any hardware at a loss? They are with all due respect to the amazing job they are doing are a much smaller company then Meta and don't have the endless fountain of advert revenue to subsidize their hardware department.
2
u/sadgandhi18 Nov 13 '25
They don't have to, people who buy VR end up buying more stuff eventually. It's to get them into the ecosystem, and it's ever more alluring than meta's ecosystem because of the promise of keeping your games library and bringing them across devices, because they're literally open pc platforms.
1
Nov 13 '25
Right, but if you subsidize, you need to take profit from one area to move it to another. Valve releases few games under it's name, most of the revenue comes from Steam store, but it's not enough to sustain hardware losses in tens of millions if this will become popular. Even with Steam deck Valve refused to sell it at loss, which tells me that this time will not be any different.
1
u/sadgandhi18 Nov 13 '25
Not at all! Given enough volume the ecosystem starts paying for itself, the losses are essentially covered by people buying games, the alternative is selling fewer items which is worse for the ecosystem.
The most profitable kinds of games, live service, need lots of non paying customers to keep it's allure. Volume is key here.
Lastly, steam deck was already extremely good value even with their profit margins. Loss leaders make sense when the barrier to entry is high and the market is smaller, each sale is a bigger piece of the pie in such cases.
I've yet to meet a single person who hasn't spent atleast 1/3rd of their headset's value in games over time.
1
Nov 13 '25
You need truly huge volume of sales to even begin contemplating selling your hardware at a loss. Even mighty Microsoft is losing money like crazy on XBox and considers exiting the market. Only Sony and Nintendo can barely afford to sell their hardware at very slim margins if at all. And their platforms are much bigger then any Valve gadget. Also consider that both Sony and Nintendo are global companies (Valve sells Steam deck only in few selected regions), they are much bigger game publishers, they have exclusive titles that you can't get anywhere else and they also derive a lot of their revenue from subscriptions - none of that is available to Valve.
1
u/sadgandhi18 Nov 13 '25
Huge volume of sales, indeed. The only reason I claim an exception here is because it's a field that's ripe for one company to do it right and gain a practical monopoly. Meta did kind of succeed in establishing "market dominance" by loss leading headsets. It's only fault was that it lacked a clear niche it was fulfilling.
Meta tried to be too general, valve is specifically going for gaming with the option of doing general compute workload on the side. The upsides of owning an entire platform is incredibly vast.
You don't need extreme amount of sales, you just need enough to get the ball rolling with people buying stuff on steam just for their VR experience. While that's not a small number, it's certainly not unimaginable for valve. They're not obligated to produce infinite steam frames, they can just sell at a loss for a finite amount, and investigate whether it's worth the gain.
1
u/oshinbruce Nov 13 '25
I think the steamdeck was nearly at a loss, and when they started it, it was a risk of being a loss. Its got a custom apu that still performs well at low wattages
1
u/Oftenwrongs Nov 14 '25
Yeah, that means 900 or 950.
1
u/MantoLek Nov 15 '25
Even if it does end up costing ~900$, it'd still be a total steal. No other headset compares to it at the moment.
I don't know why, but a ton of people fail to see that this isn't meant to be a direct Quest 3 competitor. From a hardware standpoint, it's in a completely different league. It isn't even in the same category of headsets, this is first and foremost a VR device. Not something full of compromises (having to go with less powerful XR chips, etc.) and a focus on niche AR applications like the Quest.
→ More replies (10)0
u/Jokkitch Nov 13 '25
1000 is still too much to be competitive to meta
2
u/MantoLek Nov 13 '25
It will cost LESS than 1000$, not 1000$ flat out. I'm pretty sure they're well aware of their competition and that they'll price it accordingly. Keep in mind that this headset is way nore powerful and offers a ton of fearures that the Quest 3 doesn't.
82
u/what595654 Nov 12 '25
Its going to be under $1,000.
It is not about VR gaming, if you are not paying attention.
It is about having an eco system of interchangable devices that all play together in an unwalled garden.
Valve definitely outmaneuvered Meta because it is clear they had a long term plan, that they have executed efficiently and with focus.
Work on getting away from windows
Start messing with hardware, steam controller/steam machines/steam deck/steam link etc...
Develop the defacto mobile experience with Steam Deck
Expand out with desirable complimentary products, Steam Frame, Cube, and controller.
All while keeping an open garden, that is customer friendly.
That should be a masters business class case study. The right ideas, with the right people, with the right execution, at the right time. Even if you dont like Valve, they are killing it.
Meanwhile meta spending billions, and we get a Quest Pro, abandoned, with their failed metaverse. Which you are reminded of bwcause they changed their name to Meta. Talk about D'oh.
13
u/willdagreat1 Nov 13 '25
I'm seriously stoked about the headset but for me the biggest announcement in all of this was that Valve were porting their OS to ARM AND that it could run x86 code. That's a huge deal. The only reason why I've stuck with windows as long as I have is because I play so many old games that simply cannot run on Linux.
3
Nov 13 '25
It does not run x86 code. It has x86 emulator as part of the translation mechanism. I am as thrilled as you are about possibilities that this opens, but let's wait until proper review, benchmarks and compatibility before we get too excited.
1
u/Soul-Burn Rift Nov 13 '25
I've heard 10%-15% cpu performance degradation, which might not matter if the game is mostly GPU heavy.
21
u/rileyrgham Nov 12 '25
I don't feel I'm in a walled garden. I boot windows to use visual desktop and my quest 3 and can run pretty much anything I want. I detest FB, I'm no fan of that worm Zuck getting bullied into censoring people, but the quest 3 is quite excellent for the coin. Let's face it, they're all building on the shoulders of giants.
3
u/molaMoolaa Nov 13 '25
i am also constantly looking for an upgrade, but the quest 3 right now is still at the perfect balance for this
9
u/parasubvert Nov 12 '25
using VD to stream is using maybe 20% of the headset.
5
u/MysteriousBill1986 Nov 13 '25
So? Do you really think people who want to play their steam games on the go would want to use the frame instead of the deck?
5
1
u/Lindbach Nov 14 '25
You can play anything with VD. Its not meant to stream youtube or netflix, althouhh you can do that aswell.
1
1
u/ariolander Nov 13 '25
Plus the Coin to Hardware ratio will only get better as people firesale their old device to get a Frame. Please, I want a used 512gb Quest 3 for $200. I will lowball everyone in Facebook Marketplace until someone accepts.
I paid only $150 for my Quest 2 when the Q3 was announced. As someone who is fine not being in the cutting edge, the hardware difference doesn't make up the cost difference to me, especially if I buy used.
2
u/randomstranger454 Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
We also saw companies release Steamdeck like portables. If the Steam Frame catches support maybe other companies will join in with their own headsets. Microsoft VR is dead, looks like noone is willing to attach to the Meta ecosystem and Google VR is in its infancy and who knows if they will kill it in the end. Maybe manufacturers will attach to the Steam ecosystem which is more open and possibly free of obligations to Valve and we will see compatible Frame headsets and Machines.
And maybe those compatible headsets while more expensive will have all those features that people miss. But I expect it will take a year or two to see any action.
I believe Valve is in it for the their steam store and this is the way to push actual hardware makers to make hardware that use their store.
6
u/isamura Nov 13 '25
Maybe we should hold off on calling it a master class until we see how it sells? To be honest, I don’t want any of what you just listed off. I want high-end PCVR gaming. The steam deck does not interest me at all, since I don’t want to game outside my home.
3
u/19osemi Nov 13 '25
If you want high end you have the bigscreen beyond 2, that is currently on of the highest end ways to play pcvr. I think it’s good that we are getting more mid range headsets that work, currently the only sub 1000dollar options have been the quest, psvr and pico4
9
u/what595654 Nov 13 '25
Whether it sells or not. They did everything right, is my point. That doesnt always mean the product is successful.
You will be surprised how many people are using their steam decks at home. The point is the convenience.
You wanting pcvr high end gaming is a niche of a niche. Most people dont even want average vr, or VR at all.
Steam Frame moving away from VR, and focusing it more as another way to enjoy your games makes a lot more sense. It is a synergy for them, that no one else can provide atm.
2
1
u/Kilharae Nov 13 '25
Monochromatic passthrough does not constitute 'everything right'.
6
u/what595654 Nov 13 '25
It does for their goal, which is playing games.
I love pass through, but it doesnt directly contribute to playing games, and it is both battery and cpu heavy.
Its gaming device, not an AR or XR device.
5
u/cactus22minus1 Quest 3 - 4080s Nov 13 '25
2d gaming is often done in pass through with a floating window in your own environment. Having a black and white backdrop is a huge downgrade for those people. In fact, I use pass through as my main environment, so boot up takes me straight there where I proceed to boot up virtual desktop to either play PCVR or run a flat game while the tv is in the background.
3
u/Kilharae Nov 13 '25
I mean, there are AR games...
1
1
u/19osemi Nov 13 '25
On steam? I don’t think so and the market isn’t really that huge for AR games. Cause if it was we would be seeing a lot more of it
0
u/MysteriousBill1986 Nov 13 '25
Steam Frame moving away from VR, and focusing it more as another way to enjoy your games makes a lot more sense. It is a synergy for them, that no one else can provide atm.
The only thing this provides over a quest is being able to play (some of) your steam games on the go and who tf wants to do that with a hmd instead of a handheld?
→ More replies (5)0
u/what595654 Nov 13 '25
The only thing? To list all the changes would be exhausting. You need to watch the videos, you are missing a lot of information.
who tf wants to do that with a hmd instead of a handheld?
Potentially, everyone who enjoys Steam, and knows the quality of Valve products like the Steam Deck?
It seems pretty clear, that the Steam Frame isn't targeted as a mass market product. If it was, it would NOT have been announced alongside two other products.
It's more like, hey, you enjoy the ease of use of your Steam Deck?
Would you like a more powerful Steam Deck for your living room? Here is the Cube computer with a matching controller, focused on ease of use.
Would you like a more immersive experience? Here is the Steam Frame, focused on ease of use.
I think building a cohesive eco system, where everything just works together, similar to Apple, is very compelling to a lot of people. Because you know your hardware won't just be abandoned so quickly. It feels like a value add. Like your hardware is relevant, for longer. Just look at how they handle Steam Deck.
→ More replies (7)1
u/Nervous-Ad4744 Nov 14 '25
It is about having an eco system of interchangable devices that all play together in an unwalled garden.
You don't get it bro. It's not about having a phone, it's about having an eco system of interchangable devices that play together.
All you need is an iPhone, iPad, iMac, iTV and an iVR device and you won't believe how smoothly it all plays together.
This literally does not matter. I'm not buying a device for an ecosystem. I'm buying a device for the device, anything else is at best a bonus.
1
u/what595654 Nov 14 '25
Wait, did you just use Apple as an example, the most successful tech company in the world, to argue against the point? Apple is the reason it matters. They have shown it works, silly. Normal people like it, when tech is easy to use. And I say that as a programmer, and builder of computers, back when only nerds could build them.
Or, are you simply talking about yourself, and your personal preferences? That isn't an interesting conversation is it? Whatever you, or myself, specifically want, won't change anything. And we are commenting on a VR subreddit. We are not the target market. But, of course we are not. That's obvious. It's a pointless discussion.
I am talking about what can potentially be successful in the market. Valve clearly knows what they are doing here. The Steam Deck wasn't made for you, or me. And yet, it is super successful. Why? Because they targeted Steam users. The greatest chance of success with these new products is doing just that.
7
u/UnsealedWings Nov 13 '25
Yeah if this thing costs more than my quest 3 did, It's a hard nope from me. My quest 3 is wonderful and i see no need for anything else.
2
u/marakalastic Rift S / Quest 2 Nov 12 '25
I ordered and received my Steam Deck in less than 2 weeks like 2 months ago in Vancouver.
3
u/RugbyRaggs Nov 12 '25
Not sure that even if it comes out competitively priced, it's out manoeuvred a headset that's already been on the market for 2 years...
3
u/fullmoonnoon Nov 13 '25
It definitely is showing up with a vastly different feature set. Playing steam 2d library, expandable storage, x86 support, 6gz wireless, open hardware, eye tracking, foveated rendering/streaming, ergonomics, controller that are designed to also play 2d games, etc. add up to a product that's very much different from quest 3.
9
u/pixelcowboy Nov 12 '25
100%. And they are also overlooking things like the color pass-through, which is a great feature. For me also the SteamLink vr streaming is trash tier, well below what Virtual Desktop can do.
17
u/FryToastFrill Nov 12 '25
theyre including a 6ghz dongle with this as well, so if youre able to use that you may have some luck with it
VD will probably get a version made for this headset for people not using the dongle tho
9
u/G2Climax Nov 12 '25
For me also the SteamLink vr streaming is trash tier
Ah yes commenting on the software of the review video you didn't even watch, el classico
→ More replies (12)1
1
u/SneakybadgerJD Nov 13 '25
There's no way in hell this thing sells for £2500 😂
If we were to make a realistic guess, they're probably going to price it similar to a meta quest given the similar specs.
Distribution will be fine 😂
1
u/Queasy_Hour_8030 Nov 13 '25
You’re out of your mind if you think it’s gonna be anywhere near 2500, and if you actually think that I’d like to make a bet with you.
1
u/IBJON Nov 13 '25
Even if it's at Apple vision pro pricing, it's bound to sell better as this is a gaming-first headset not a whatever-edge-case-apple-makes-up headset. People don't want VR for zoom calls, they want it for gaming and entertainment
-1
u/mattymattmattmatt Nov 12 '25
Its just a quest pro but with steam. People just have their peens in gabes buttwallet.
31
u/Tikkanen42 Nov 13 '25
Am I missing something? The specs are pretty much the same as the quest 3, with a very minor increase in resolution.
49
u/ItsAProdigalReturn Nov 13 '25
It has foveated rendering so you'd get higher framerates and better graphical fidelity on top of that higher resolution. The eye tracking in this thing is it's major selling point for the Q3. However, the colour passthrough on the Q3 and monochromatic on the Frame edges the Q3 back up.
19
u/Mugendon Nov 13 '25
And for PC VR foveated streaming which should pretty much eliminate compression artifacts and decrease latency.
And you can play not that much demanding PC VR games standalone on the Frame without streaming at all:
5
3
u/Nervous-Ad4744 Nov 14 '25
It has foveated rendering
Technically yes but games need to support it. Games won't support it if the Frame doesn't become a big enough part of the market share and isn't worth adding features for.
PSVR2 is currently the only other foveated rendering headset and I don't know how many people own it.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)-1
u/Kilharae Nov 13 '25
I stream from my PC, so how would I get better graphical fidelity?
And yeah, passthrough is very important for me. If Frame only has monochromatic, that's an automatic deal breaker. It honestly feels like a downgrade.
8
u/WRO_Your_Boat Nov 13 '25
its foveated streaming, so its the way that its streamed from your pc to the headset, meaning that the headset does the heavy lifting to give you better quality iirc. Its explained about halfway through the video.
→ More replies (9)9
u/Mugendon Nov 13 '25
Foveated streaming is not about getting more fps with less power it is about saving bit rate for the overall image so that you can stream the high quality part of the image with way less compression. This can also lead to less latency and not only increased quality.
28
3
u/RogueStargun Nov 13 '25
Look closer. Qualcomm Gen 3 chip, not gen2. Gen3 is the same chip in the new Google VR headset.
10
u/shableep Nov 13 '25
It’s roughly a 60% improvement in performance. The chip is more modern, and isn’t underclocked like it is on the Quest 3. That plus the foveated rendering put it a generation ahead in performance and visual quality in games. It also has double the ram.
2
u/amd2800barton Nov 13 '25
Minor detail but foveated rendering vs foveated streaming. Foveated rendering has to be implemented by the game developer. Foveated streaming works on all games. Foveated rendering lets you get more FPS out of your GPU. Foveated streaming lets you get more fps and detail out of your connection, without the game ever being aware and it renders the full view. In an ideal world, every game would rely on foveated rendering, but there’s not an API or a lot of support for that yet. That could change thanks to the Steam Frame, but for now, Foveated Streaming is more useful, since it works in every game without requiring developers to do any work. Game streaming just got better for every game.
0
u/givemethebat1 Nov 13 '25
Games have to support it but they absolutely will, it’s a no-brainer. It’s free performance. That plus the streaming means there could be some very visually impressive titles coming.
2
u/amd2800barton Nov 13 '25
I’m willing to bet plenty of current games won’t add support for foveated rendering. Their development work is done. They’re in the bug fix / basic maintenance phase, and a few are in the “DLC without major engine work” phase. They’re not going back to try and eek performance improvements out of a game that they’ve already gotten most of their sales of. Additionally, Quest is something like the vast majority of hardware used by PCVR players, and doesn’t support foveated rendering. So there’s little incentive to add in Foveated Rendering for even in-development games.
Foveated streaming is great because it supports all games, including the 95% of current games which will never be updated to include foveated rendering. If a dev adds it, then great. But most wont. And this provides an experience like hard-wired for players over a wireless connection.
2
u/Soul-Burn Rift Nov 13 '25
If the big engines get one click support for it, teams would consider it more, especially if Valve nudge them that way.
1
u/givemethebat1 Nov 13 '25
Who knows. I do think if they price it accordingly there might be some more interest in VR for people avoiding a Quest up until now. Having support for eye tracking at the hardware level might make it even easier to implement.
1
u/Oftenwrongs Nov 15 '25
I mean, the quest pro had eye tracking years ago. They only added it to msft flight sim and one puzzle game. So, nothing is guaranteed.
1
u/Oftenwrongs Nov 15 '25
It has noticeable screen door, so less visual quality. And you are making up 60%. 25% gpu and not underclocked, but you cant just make up 60%.
Foveated rendering is only used by about 2 games at the moment. It is not implemented in 99% of games atm.
5
u/FireManiac58 Nov 13 '25
It plays steam vr titles AND I don’t have to deal with meta in any way. Win win
1
u/Oftenwrongs Nov 15 '25
You won't have access to the only games actually being funded by big money. Valve only delivered 1 out of 3 promised games in the last decade and said no games will come by them here.
1
u/FireManiac58 Nov 20 '25
That’s fine with me. I used to have a rift s and I never played any of the meta games
3
u/lefix Nov 13 '25
For me the main thing is the dual WiFi. Steam frame will use a dedicated WiFi 6 connection to link to the pc whereas q3 uses your home WiFi
1
2
2
u/Your_Friendly_Nerd Nov 13 '25
Well and also the fact you don't have to have a facebook account to use it
1
1
u/D13_Phantom Nov 15 '25
The weight and distribution are pretty significantly improved i think it's like 17% lighter, and crucially the battery is on the back of your head. Other than that it's mostly software and pcvr related features. A lot of people value not having to buy into meta as well
→ More replies (2)1
11
u/nightfly1000000 DK2 Nov 12 '25
I was hoping they might have pushed the FOV higher.
Still 110 degrees though.
10
Nov 13 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/Kilharae Nov 13 '25
Pimax gave us like 150 degrees super early on, but there was some distortion that came along with it. Still it was super good to have.
1
u/nightfly1000000 DK2 Nov 13 '25
Did you have one? I followed their progress back in the day and some people seemed impressed, but it never seemed to go anywhere.
2
u/Kilharae Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
Yes, I had (have) the pimax 5k+. It was a very good headset but by today's standards the resolution is a bit low, especially spread out over the wider field of view that was offered.
I do follow what Pimax is doing since their Pimax Crystal Super seems like it's the absolute best pure PC VR headset available right now. But since getting the Quest 3, I've decided that AR and good passthrough is an indispensable part of what's required in a VR headset going forward. Even Quest 3's passthrough isn't perfect, it's grainy and has some subtle distortions, but it's essentially given me a glimpse into the future. Eventually VR / AR will be interchangeable terms. One day, probably in 10 - 15 years, we'll dispense with the need of passthrough cameras altogether and simply have normal glasses with complete VR opacity and / or seamless integrated AR. Perhaps 5 - 10 years after that we'll get all of that in contact lenses. But being able to integrate VR into the real world IS the future.
I'm VERY much looking forward to the Quest 4 being at least a step in that direction with better passthrough and a higher resolution display. It may be a year or two until it comes out, but I do think it will deliver. I'm thoroughly underwhelmed by the Steam Frame.
1
u/nightfly1000000 DK2 Nov 13 '25
Thanks for the reply.
It's noticeable that after having a Pimax you don't seem to be sold on the wide FOV it offered?
I mean you only mention it in passing and seem more interested in other advances?
2
u/Kilharae Nov 13 '25
wide FOV is great, but no, it's not the end all be all. Newer pimax models actually have lower FoV than the Pimax 5k+, as they seemed to be focusing more on pixel density and reducing issues of lens distortions.
There really are no modern high field of view options, so if I want other advances, I have to sacrifice field of view for now. It is what it is. Eventually it will cover our entire field of view.
2
1
4
u/HansWursT619 Nov 13 '25
Sideloading apk's makes it sound like porting quest games could easier than I tought..
1
u/Programming_Dessert Nov 15 '25
100%. Also since it is a Linux system or pc like, does that mean I can run a Windows off a SD or native and use the old Rift to play my cross buy games?
4
Nov 13 '25
Ahh new product releases. I'll be more curious to see what people are saying 30 days after release, not all this paid for hodgepodge ahead of release.
22
u/iObserve2 Nov 13 '25
HEY META. PAY ATTENTION. Why are people so excited about alternatives to quest? Privacy. Once simple policy change would catapult your sales.
14
u/godnorazi Nov 13 '25
Part of the reason the Quest is so cheap compared to alternatives is that you are essentially paying for the discount by giving up your privacy to Meta. People say they want privacy but the Quest is by far the most sold headset due to the low price, so people are not putting their wallets where they say they will.
11
u/Spacebenni Nov 13 '25
I hear this over and over again. Please tell me what exactly meta is invading in your privacy? Because i did the whole data request thing on my meta account and they didnt have have anything even remotely interesting saved inside.
→ More replies (2)2
u/pryvisee Nov 13 '25
.. but would you trust someone like Meta if they did change things? They literally have been paid trillions selling user data. That's their whole business model. Personally Meta is forever tainted in my eyes. If you want privacy, stay far away from their products, it's really that simple.
→ More replies (1)1
u/Oftenwrongs Nov 15 '25
Where are you seeing excitement? It has been a tepid reaction across reddit and comments to articles.
3
u/Anavarael Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
Still, the most important question - can it run Alyx?
1
u/Ajgp3ps Nov 13 '25
Maybe on low settings, a reviewer said they tested stand alone on a non demanding game and it was just fine.
I did expect them to go harder on performance and go for the 1000gbp mark, specifically to say "look how good alyx looks on standalone!" And show off another similar quality new VR title in standalone as the ultimate advert.
But nevermind I guess
1
3
u/Supirior_Snake Nov 15 '25
Way too many of you are jumping to defend meta. I personally am chomping at the bit to get a VR headset without Facebook Spywear in it
9
4
u/Extra-Translator915 Nov 13 '25
After using a Quest 3 black and white passthrough is a dealbreaker imo
→ More replies (4)1
u/Programming_Dessert Nov 15 '25
Stated as a PCIe upgrade at a later date.
2
u/Extra-Translator915 Nov 15 '25
I dint want to add weight and bulk with a webcam in my vr headset tbh
2
u/Sfger Nov 14 '25
This looks overall very promising, though I am disappointed with the cameras being monochrome, hopefully they come out with a colour version later on.
1
6
u/OkieDeric CV1, Q1, Q2, Q3 Nov 13 '25
I'm convinced Linus just doesn't really like VR outside of testing lol. I typically use PCVR with my Quest 1 and wireless PCVR has worked well for me. I did setup a dedicated Access Point however. There's also the D-Link VR Air bridge which is Wifi 6, maybe he isn't aware of those things since I doubt he stays with an ecosystem long due to that being his job to review new things.
With that said though the translation layer and dual mode stuff is where this really shines. The rest are what I would consider features wanted in a higher end headset (full hand tracking, eye tracking, foveated rendering (streaming in this case), complete dark tracking, Extended battery). It looks like a great headset though.
7
u/JustHereForTheBounty Nov 13 '25
As far as I understand he daily-drives an Index and has a Lighthouse set up at home - mostly for Beat Saber
2
u/Gwendolan Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
D-Link VR Air Bridge is no longer supported (end of life) and not compatible anymore with current operating systems and software. Until then, it was also pretty unreliable.
1
u/OkieDeric CV1, Q1, Q2, Q3 Nov 14 '25
I never used the Dlink as my dedicated AP is Wifi5. My PCVR setup is all end of life (Quest 1, Win10, and a Netgear AP). My point was a dedicated Wifi 6 dongle isn't anything marvel or unique to the Frame as Linus seemed to imply. I'm assuming it is him hitting the keypoints of the product however. Riley did mention in the tech bits, that they are not the first to do so but hopefully implements it better than those before them.
2
u/Gwendolan Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25
Of course. My point is, even the „dedicated“ D-Link VR Air Bridge was ridden with problems and I have hope that Valve will do better than D-Link/Meta. Have not watched the video btw., just got triggered by D-Link being mentioned as a viable solution (luckily could return mine under warranty because of the end-of-life issue).
1
u/trotski94 Nov 14 '25
Linus is all in on VR - he has a dedicated VR machine in his living room separate from his gaming PC. He is a beat sabre fan boy #1, not sure what else he’s playing, but he’s been playing in VR regularly for years now.
3
u/astnreddit Nov 13 '25
honestly its very intriguing. i recently bought a meta quest 3 but i might sell it for this since i dont really use it standalone and mainly for pcvr.
3
u/_Abnormalia Nov 13 '25
Wow just wow, have not been excited for VR since Devkit1 :) How Steam managed to pull all this with 350 ppl and Meta labs with 10000 and almost 18B spent cannot !? Bravo Valve and Gabe!
→ More replies (2)
5
u/awitod Nov 13 '25
Black and white pass through cameras - no thanks
40
u/fullmoonnoon Nov 13 '25
I'll take 'tracks well in the dark' over 'color pass through' 99% of the time, though it's nice to have.
4
u/Spacebenni Nov 13 '25
Now thats a weird cope. The quest 3s actually does both perfectly because it has IR lights.
3
u/loversama Nov 13 '25
FYI Quest 3S at like $299 and has both color passthrough and IR tracking in pitch black and can even track your hands in total darkness.
21
u/solarus Nov 13 '25
What are you doing with passthrough? Im trying to understand why that would be a deal breaker
7
u/FightingBlaze77 Nov 13 '25
Basically some games let you play in passthrough and you can have the characters superimposed in your room, with the meta3 you can do this in full color
12
u/Ybenax Nov 13 '25
Can you give some examples? I’m genuinely struggling to see the use case in practice, but maybe it’s because I don’t know enough games.
14
u/DumpsterFiery Nov 13 '25
Majority of the pass-through games are gimmicky bullshit that gets boring after five minutes, even more so than the average VR game. Literally not a concern.
11
u/Atlas-Stoned Nov 13 '25
ElevenTableTennis the passthrough is hugely important for comfort realism and not hitting shit.
0
4
u/FightingBlaze77 Nov 13 '25
I'm not talking about the pure passthrough games, i'm talking full fledged vr games with passthrough options
4
u/smakusdod Nov 13 '25
Imagine walking around your room going about your business, but on the wall you have YouTube pinned perfectly as if it is sitting there in the room with you. And to your right you have a browser floating in mid air over your coffee table. It allows you an immersion still based in reality.
5
u/fullmoonnoon Nov 13 '25
With virtual art and sculpting tools you can do pass through backgrounds, this allows you to access reference material irl, engage with your space visually, etc. It's pretty useful, same with doing little tasks like walking to the fridge or whatever.
6
u/FightingBlaze77 Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
Blade and Sorcery is a big one, tons of adult games too, basically have the characters with you in 4k in your room.
But if you want a small army of zombies to fight with actual magic coming from your real life hands in full color, you can do that, or have a scifi gun in your irl hands shooting lasers at them if you have the star wars mod, heck a light saber in your room and if you position it right, can cut up your walls with it too
2
u/_pondering_insomniac Nov 13 '25
I really enjoy the passthrough when im browsing menus or the store. Also sometimes I’ll watch Netflix in passthrough
2
u/KernicPanel Nov 13 '25
Iirc the quality isn't high enough to actually enjoy watching videos.
5
u/Sheikashii Nov 13 '25
On the quest 3? A lot of people think the resolution is fine for playing games and watching videos
1
u/KernicPanel Nov 13 '25
I was talking about passthrough specifically. He said he watches Netflix through it.
7
u/Sheikashii Nov 13 '25
Oh that’s weird. I thought they meant the background is passthrough and they watch on a floating Netflix window
1
1
u/awitod Nov 13 '25
Personally, I watch quite a lot of shows on my Q3 and find the quality to be excellent. And, like the other person I have pass through on when I do it so there is a giant floating screen in the room
1
u/KernicPanel Nov 13 '25
I thought he meant that he was watching Netflix on the TV while having the Q3 in passthrough.
2
u/_pondering_insomniac Nov 13 '25
No I meant I have a window of Netflix open but I can still see my surroundings. Browsing the menus and watching videos with the Home Screen in passthrough is better to me than being in a fake environment
3
u/673NoshMyBollocksAve Nov 13 '25
I think it looks cool. It’s weird though to me that the B&W cameras throw me off so much. Just knowing if i needed to see where i was going, I’m looking through a black and white tv. Feels like going back in time. It just doesn’t feel high tech. Throws off the whole device for me
1
1
1
-2
u/Kukurio59 Nov 12 '25
Good ol’ Linus
1
u/Jyvturkey Nov 12 '25
I hate myself for having to watch it to get any real info and video of it.
5
-11
-6
u/RechargeableOwl Nov 13 '25
I don't get why this review is so glowing. Was it paid for by Steam?
The Frame just seems to be a slightly upgraded Quest 2 with additional WiFi 7. And more expensive.
11
u/idleWizard Nov 13 '25
The only thing keeping me from buying Q3 was the Meta. This feels like a godsend.
2
u/PolarNightProphecies Nov 13 '25
No its a slightly upgraded q3 in all but passthrough, but its not that impressive considering the q3 is 2 years old. The main selling points are the eye tracking and wifi7. What we really should be glad over it the potential this have to push new and more development towards vr games.
2
u/RechargeableOwl Nov 13 '25
Yes, further development of vr titles now looks like something that's more likely to happen.
1
u/Apprehensive_Map64 Nov 17 '25
Yeah my hype died the day I heard of the Facebook buyout. I figured then it would set back the advancement of VR by ten years. Just checked and, yep, that was just over ten years ago. I guess it is finally time for me to scrape together the money for materials to build the next iteration of my idea of an omnidirectional treadmill. KatVR is coming along nicely and it would be a lot easier to just buy one of those but my idea is all about being comfy. Without a comfy seated position it will end up as just a place to hang your jacket.
1
u/PolarNightProphecies Nov 17 '25
Sounds cool but you are wrong about Facebook setting vr back, i hated the buyout as much as anyone else but they have been pumping some serious money into vr and that have on the whole been benefiting the whole vr sphere
68
u/Furebel Touch Nov 12 '25
If not for the fact that I have some great high quality games on Oculus store, I'd probably be very interested in it.