•According to a report by SteamFrameHub, which examined source code for the Steam Frame kernel, Valve may be developing an updated version of its VR headset featuring OLED optics. The operating system contains references to a different model codenamed “Plano,” though such findings should be treated with skepticism until officially confirmed.
The current Steam Frame launched about a month ago and is considered one of the better PCVR headsets available, but its lenses were not as high-quality as some competitors. If the Plano headset materializes, it would likely carry largely the same specifications as the existing model, with OLED panels offering a per-eye resolution of 3,552×3,840 compared to the 2,160×2,160 pancake lenses in the current Steam Frame.
A higher-resolution OLED display would benefit the Steam Frame was supposed to kick off a new era, particularly for PCVR use rather than standalone gaming. However, such improved optics would likely come at a significantly higher price. As SteamFrameHub notes, the leaked optic specifications align closely with those found in the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, which starts around $1,799. That device launched before the RAM crisis began, so an equivalent Steam Frame OLED would probably be even more expensive.
Like other Valve hardware released this year, the ongoing RAM crisis has greatly reduced its impact on making accessible PC hardware mainstream. Despite these challenges, some consumers appear to be purchasing both the Steam Frame and Steam Machine, though both remain completely sold out at the time of writing.
Because Valve is still processing reservations and waitlist orders for the headset, any OLED variant would likely not arrive for quite a while if it materializes. The broader question remains whether such a device would launch before Valve identifies the ideal chipset that will make the company want to make a Steam Deck 2.
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