Valve delivers up to a 12% battery boost with Steam Frame OS update

Valve has boosted the Steam Frame’s battery life with a new OS update

Less than a month after launching its Steam Frame VR headset, Valve has released a new OS update that significantly extends the device’s battery life. With this update, Valve has delivered battery life gains of up to 12%, though results vary depending on framerates and content. Note that this battery life boost applies to both Streamed and locally rendered games.

This update is available now through Steam Frame OS’ beta channel. You can access it through Settings > System > System Update. An option has also been added for single eye tracking, allowing the headset to track only the user’s dominant eye.

SteamOS 0.4.3 (Beta) for Steam Frame
SteamOS 0.4.3 (for Steam Frame) has just been released for all users.
This update is for the Steam Frame Beta channel, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > System Update Channel.
General
  • Improved power efficiency and battery lifetime during both streaming and local gameplay, with gains of up to 12%. Note: Result vary depending on framerate and content.
  • Added accessibility option for users who want to limit eye tracking to a single eye. VR Settings -> General -> Track Dominant Eye Only. (requires enabling “show advanced settings”)
  • Fixed an issue that prevented controller bindings from loading for certain games, including Google Earth VR and Thumper.
  • Improved focus behavior when interacting with grab/resize handles
Streaming:
  • Further VR streaming reliability improvements, including additional fixes for “Error 17.” Note: On the PC, you must also opt into SteamVR 2.18.2 or later to reduce “Error 17” connection issues. At the time of this release, SteamVR 2.18.2 is available on the SteamVR [beta] branch.
  • Fixed steam frame wireless adapter connectivity issues that affected users in some countries.
This OS release includes SteamVR (2.18.2)

This OS update also improved VR streaming, reducing the number of issues some users face with “Error 17” messages. This beta update is expected to roll out to more Steam Frame users soon, after Valve verifies its stability.

Join the discussion on Valve’s Steam Frame battery boosting update on the OC3D Forums.

Mark Campbell

Mark Campbell

A Northern Irish father, husband, and techie that works to turn tea and coffee into articles when he isn’t painting his extensive minis collection or using things to make other things.

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