VR/VRChat: Why You ABSOLUTELY Need to Buy the Steam Frame!

The release of the Steam Frame is right around the corner. If you’re on the fence about buying it, let me tell you... you just have to get it!!!

Why You Need the Steam Frame!

Read this when you’re debating whether to buy the Steam Frame, and by the end, you’ll probably have no choice but to hit that buy button. That’s exactly the kind of article this is!

Image Source: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steamframe?l=japanese

■ It’s So Light and Perfectly Balanced!

The total weight is 440g, which is even lighter than the standalone Quest 3 (515g)! Plus, the front core module is only 185g! The rest of the weight is just the surrounding cushions and the battery on the back! I am a bit worried that the strap looks a little too soft, but since it’s a modular design, I’m super excited for third-party straps to hit the market! ✨✨✨

■ Pancake Lenses

Image: Pancake lenses of the Steam Frame

Thank goodness we’re past the era of Fresnel lenses! This means the visuals are going to be crystal clear! We won’t know exactly how it compares to the Quest’s lenses until we actually try it, but it’s guaranteed to be at least pretty good!

■ Resolution and Refresh Rate

The resolution is 2160 x 2160, and the refresh rate goes from 72 up to 144Hz, which is plenty! 144Hz is experimental, but honestly, for VRChat, 90Hz is more than enough, right? Our PC specs probably can’t even keep up with much more anyway! By the way, the resolution is almost identical to the Quest 3 (2064 x 2208). So yeah, it’s going to look perfectly beautiful! (Maybe not 8K level, but still gorgeous!)

■ FOV (Field of View)

The max FOV is 110 degrees. Since the Quest 3’s horizontal FOV is 110 degrees, this hits the minimum requirement for me, so we’re all good here!

■ Eye Tracking and Face Tracking

YEEES, it has Eye Tracking! This is exactly what I wanted! By the way, there’s no Face Tracking right out of the box, but there’s very clearly an expansion port right by the mouth area! And it looks like a high-speed camera interface too... They’re totally going to release an add-on accessory for this, right? Right???

Image: Concept of Foveated Streaming

Also, you can use Foveated Streaming with the eye tracking! That means rendering loads and network bandwidth get drastically reduced! Foveated Streaming is basically a tech that makes processing lighter by taking advantage of the fact that human eyes don’t really focus perfectly on the peripheral edges—so the headset doesn’t have to render those parts in full detail either!

■ Tracking System

It uses Inside-Out tracking—meaning the headset’s own cameras handle the tracking. No base stations required! Honestly, for those of us who already invested heavily in Full Body Tracking (FBT) setups, this feels like a slight minus... but it’s not like we can’t use it, so it’s totally fine! (The other amazing specs make up for it anyway!)

■ Connection

Word is it comes with a low-latency adapter for PC connections! Beyond that, it supports Wi-Fi 7, allowing simultaneous communication on the 5GHz and 6GHz bands, so the networking side of things is super strong too!

■ Controllers

Heck yes! The analog sticks use Magnetic Thumbsticks (TMR), which makes them way less prone to stick drift! I mean, every VRChat player suffers from stick drift eventually, right? 💦

Image: Magnetic Thumbsticks

Plus, there are capacitive sensors on the grip areas, meaning we can move our fingers! ✨✨✨ Yaaaay~ ♪♫ (And it’s not just for the fingers; apparently, every input surface has them... does that mean the Steam button has them too???) There are so many buttons! I wonder if we can map various functions to the extra ones? It’d be so fun if we could instantly pull up the camera with a single press, what do you think~??? Also, there are two L and R buttons... maybe we can use those for something cool too??? It feels like the sheer number of buttons is flying under the radar, but it honestly seems like a huge advantage! (Though we are actively ignoring the weight and size of these controllers!!!)

■ Prescription Lenses?

I don’t think there’s any info on this yet? Honestly, I’ll be in trouble without them... But surely, with so many VRChatters bound to buy this, some company out there will make them... probably!

■ Mic and Speakers

It has a dual-mic array, so I really hope it picks up our voices with great audio quality~~~~ Of course, we won’t know for sure until we try it. As for the speakers, there are two on each side, but they seem to be attached to the core module, so I wonder how that’ll sound? I really wonder!

■ Other Specs

Honestly, for the SOC and RAM, as long as it runs VRChat via PC, I’m perfectly happy~ It probably won’t have enough performance to run as a heavyweight standalone headset anyway... Oh, and the passthrough is just a nice bonus. I’m not gonna use it anyway~!

References

• Steam Frame https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steamframe?l=japanese
• Meta Quest 3: Next-Gen VR Headset https://www.meta.com