GoKawiil
Tech News
DroidDeck, an Android app offering a SteamOS-like PC gaming experience, released version 0.6.7 on GitHub adding Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming and Battle.net storefront integration. The update also improves sleep-mode battery efficiency, second-screen functionality on dual-screen handhelds, and adds Steam-style brightness/volume controls and quick-access menus.
A Steam Frame user posted in Valve's forums asking for external optical drive support so they could watch movies and install older disc-based games. A Valve developer, gaberowe, responded the next day and pushed a kernel commit enabling the feature in under 10 minutes, adding it to the SteamOS ARM Linux kernel repository used for the device.
Best Buy is selling the SteamOS version of Lenovo's Legion Go S handheld for $999.99, a discount off its original price. This configuration pairs the Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, running the same SteamOS as Valve's Steam Deck OLED but with an eight-inch 1080p, 120Hz display and two-stage triggers.
Valve's Steam Hardware Survey shows Linux usage dropped 0.85 percentage points to 3.05% for September, down from a March peak of 5.33%. The same survey recorded a 7.42-point jump in Simplified Chinese language use to 31.39% of all Steam users, a shift that historically correlates with Windows gains and Linux declines. Within the Linux segment, CachyOS rose 2.65 points to 18.12%, edging past SteamOS Holo's 17.37%, while AMD chips remain dominant among Linux gamers.
Following Valve's official Arm64 SteamOS release for its Steam Frame headset, open-source developers have expanded the Armada project to bring a similar Linux-based Steam experience to Android gaming handhelds. The system combines the Linux kernel, Valve's Arm64 Steam build, the FEX emulator, and Proton to run Windows x86 games on Arm hardware, with support already available for devices from Ayaneo, Ayn, Retroid and Konkr.
Valve's Steam Deck supports a built-in factory reset option accessible through Settings > System > Advanced, without needing a PC or USB drive. The reset process takes about 10-15 minutes and requires an internet connection if reinstalling SteamOS afterward, while microSD cards remain unaffected but should still be removed as a precaution.
Valve has released the source code for Lepton, its Android compatibility layer that lets developers run existing Android games on the Steam Frame VR headset without rebuilding them from scratch. The code, hosted on Valve's GitLab, reveals how Valve customizes an Android environment for VR on SteamOS, including graphics access, developer tools and debugging support. It follows the Steam Frame's launch and Valve's earlier announcement of Lepton alongside Steam Frame Verified certification requirements.
Valve says it's actively working to bring functional Nvidia graphics drivers to SteamOS, the Linux OS behind the Steam Deck and Steam Machine, but the effort could take years to complete. Internal testing has already gotten Nvidia drivers running and rendering graphics on certain GPU generations, though performance still trails AMD hardware.
Alongside Proton, Valve is deploying additional compatibility layers to make Windows games playable on the Arm-based Steam Frame headset running SteamOS. Chief among these is FEX, an open-source x86-to-Arm binary recompiler that Valve has funded since 2018, well before the Steam Frame's existence, working with lead developer Ryan Houdek to make it robust enough for production use.
Gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally run full PC operating systems—SteamOS or Windows—so they suffer from the same software buildup issues as desktop computers. Periodically restarting these devices can resolve problems like game crashes, frame drops, lag, and audio glitches by clearing background processes and giving the system a fresh start. Valve itself lists restarting as an early troubleshooting step on its official Steam Deck support page.
New handhelds like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, Ally X, and Lenovo Legion Go line now outperform the Steam Deck in benchmark tests and frame rates, though the gap is often small. Despite a price hike from $450 to $500 in September 2026, the Steam Deck remains cheaper than these rivals, while the Nintendo Switch 2 also stands out as a pricier but capable alternative with DLSS and HDR support.
California's Assembly passed Bill 1856, amending the Digital Age Assurance Act to exclude operating systems and software meant to be freely copied, redistributed or modified from mandatory age-verification requirements. This shields most Linux distributions, though derivative projects with proprietary layers like Valve's SteamOS may still need to comply. The bill also fixes the DAAA's overly broad definition of 'user' and restricts sharing of age data to law enforcement requests.