// PC GAMER — GAMING
Turns out you can download more battery as Valve's latest update for Steam Frame adds up to 12%
Some power efficiency improvements for Steam Frame in the 0.4.3 beta update.
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Valve has pushed yet another update for SteamOS on the Steam Frame. It includes power efficiency improvements, eye tracking accessibility, and improved streaming reliability. Also something about grabbing handles?
It's the battery life improvements that most will feel the benefit of. A 12% improvement is pretty impressive for a single software update—the Steam Frame runs for around two hours while streaming, so you're looking at another 15 minutes or so from that bump alone. Though, as Valve notes, that's dependent on what you're playing and the power setting.
Valve also recently improved charging on the Steam Frame, allowing it to fast charge even when the headset is turned off. That dramatically decreases charging times in my testing.
SteamOS for Steam Frame is a whole new project for Valve. A version of its Arch-based Linux distro, used on the Steam Machine and Steam Deck, except built for virtual reality and Arm-based processors. Specifically, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the Frame, though laying the foundations for any further Arm-powered projects. I'd love to see an Arm-powered Steam Deck, though a recent rumour suggests the Steam Deck 2 will use another AMD chip instead.
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Jacob has been writing about PC hardware and technology for over eight years. He earned his first byline at PCGamesN before joining PC Gamer. He spends most of his time building PCs, running benchmarks, and trying his best to learn Linux.
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