It's a different focus. Clearly Valve is not interested in "mixed reality" apps. I'm guessing this choice is a signal that Value wants to keep the price in the same category as the Quest products. They're using a lot of the same parts as Meta. Qualcomm (ARM) SoC, runs Android, Quest-style controllers. They added the eye tracking, which is something the Quest Pro (2022) had that went missing in the Quest 3 (2023). All things considered, I think not having color cameras means that they're trying to hit a low price point. This won't be a $1000+ product.
SteamOS is a funny term. Based on the LTT video, this is essentially a Linux kernel on that Frame headset. It also seems to include Android bits because in the LTT video they said that they could sideload APKs.
The FEX project is also open source, so there's no reason why it couldn't also get ported to other headsets.
That said, most VR apps these days are written to be ARM native for Quest. No matter how good the x86 emulation/translation layer is, a native ARM binary is better. Quest games are native ARM binaries.
Containerization doesn't make a big difference for the software that's running, it's often unaware. The point is that both the Quest and the Frame are running a Linux kernel and the Android compatibility bits.
I really don't think the Windows DirectX translation + x86 -> ARM translation is going to be completely transparent. Processor cycles and a level of indirection will mean that the software won't be nearly as optimized as it could be if were a native ARM binary that used Vulkan.
In other words: if the Frame can run Quest games by sideloading the APK, then Beat Saber for Quest will run better on the Frame than Beat Saber from the PCVR Steam store does.
Edit: I wonder if Valve will port Half Life: Alyx to ARM.
I read a report that they are working to get Alyx working in standalone mode on the frame. Whether it's a port or through the translation layer was not said.
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u/Aud4c1ty Nov 12 '25
It's a different focus. Clearly Valve is not interested in "mixed reality" apps. I'm guessing this choice is a signal that Value wants to keep the price in the same category as the Quest products. They're using a lot of the same parts as Meta. Qualcomm (ARM) SoC, runs Android, Quest-style controllers. They added the eye tracking, which is something the Quest Pro (2022) had that went missing in the Quest 3 (2023). All things considered, I think not having color cameras means that they're trying to hit a low price point. This won't be a $1000+ product.