There are signs that Valve has been working on software for what looks like a Steam Frame OLED headset. A development branch dubbed ‘deckard-plano’ has been unearthed in the Linux kernel sources used in SteamOS for the Steam Frame, which seemingly evolved from the prior ‘deckard-oled’ branch.
These findings come from Steam Frame Hub, a site dedicated to covering the headset that also runs the r/SteamFrame subreddit. It notes that Valve had been working on the deckard-plano branch as recently as October 2. Changes coming several weeks after the launch of the LCD headset suggest this isn’t a defunct branch, and the codebase also contains details about the OLED system’s potential specifications.
Chief among them are resolution and refresh rate, which sit at 3552×3840 and 90Hz according to the kernel. However, it seems Valve is targeting half that output and running the headset at 1776×1920. These pixel counts likely refer to per-eye measurements, with the latter falling much closer to the 2160×2160 offered by the Steam Frame.
MicroOLED lenses naturally consume more power than LCD alternatives, so a reduction in resolution could help make up some of the difference. Nonetheless, it seems Valve is working on a “1.5x mode” for those who want to prioritise sharpness ahead of uptime and performance. This will push the headset up to 2368×2560 via Display Stream Compression (DSC).
The reason that DSC is necessary at all likely stems from bandwidth limits regarding the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip’s display output – Qualcomm says this chip can handle 4K at 60Hz or QHD+ at 144Hz. Steam Frame Hub claims Valve is using the same SoC for Steam Frame OLED, and this approach seems likely. After all, the firm used the same core specifications across Steam Deck LCD and OLED, despite making some minor efficiency changes across Aerith and Sephiroth designs.
While these kernel changes give me hope that a headset refresh with OLED lenses could see the light of day, there’s every chance that none of this work will make it outside of Valve’s labs. If the massively delayed launch of both the Steam Machine and Steam Frame taught me anything, it’s that we should doubly learn to temper our expectations for hardware releases as the memory crisis rages on.
Check out our Steam Controller review if you’re hungry for more Valve hardware chatter.
