Briefly: Valve has moved ahead with its long-teased plan to carry SteamOS to extra units past the Steam Deck. The secure construct provides help for techniques from Lenovo, Asus, and others, providing a extra secure Home windows various for handheld gaming PCs. It additionally introduces new options and bug fixes.
Now out there for set up, SteamOS 3.7.8 introduces official help for the Lenovo Legion Go S and improves compatibility with different handheld gaming PCs, together with the Asus ROG Ally. The discharge may dramatically alter the person expertise on these units.
SteamOS’s gamepad-friendly interface is best suited to small screens than Home windows 11, giving the Steam Deck a notable edge over extra highly effective moveable PCs. Current updates to the Linux-based system have steadily revealed Valve’s broader launch plans, with the most recent patch opening it up for public testing. The working system now makes use of a more recent Arch Linux base, the Linux kernel has been upgraded to model 6.11, and desktop mode runs on Plasma 6.2.5.
Early adopters ought to obtain a SteamOS restoration picture and comply with Valve’s setup directions. Valve optimized 3.7.8 particularly for handheld units, however it at present helps solely PCs with AMD {hardware} and an NVMe SSD.
The system necessities probably cowl units constructed on comparable AMD APUs, together with the Ryzen 8840U, Ryzen AI HX 370, Ryzen Z1, and Ryzen Z2. Valve supplies particular set up directions for the unique Lenovo Legion Go and the ROG Ally. Nonetheless, the most recent construct ought to theoretically help handhelds such because the GPD Win, Ayaneo 3, and Zotac Zone. The Intel-powered MSI Claw stays the one unsupported moveable PC, and whether or not Valve plans so as to add Intel help remains to be unclear.
Adventurous testers will probably discover whether or not “AMD {hardware}” extends to desktops or different Ryzen-based kind components. It stays unclear if SteamOS helps Radeon devoted GPUs and various wi-fi chips.
The replace has a helpful new function that lets customers set a battery cost restrict, with Valve recommending an 80 % cap to increase battery life on continuously docked units. It’s functionally just like the optionally available 90 % cap Nintendo lately launched for the upcoming Change 2. SteamOS 3.7.8 additionally provides body price limits for inside and exterior VRR shows, whereas Bluetooth controllers can now wake the unique LCD Steam Deck from sleep. As the primary model 3.7 construct to succeed in the secure channel, quite a few options have additionally exited beta.
Lenovo plans to launch the Legion Go S with SteamOS pre-installed within the coming weeks, providing it at a considerably lower cost than the Home windows 11 model.
