In short: Valve’s SteamOS Linux distro is arguably the Steam Deck’s biggest asset and quite a few latest leaks point out that the software program is coming to extra units from Valve and third-party producers. A brand new console-like gadget resembling the corporate’s deserted Steam Machines is perhaps amongst them.
A latest Steam Deck kernel replace references a tool codenamed “Fremont” that options an HDMI port related on to a graphics chip. Though {hardware} particulars are scarce, the leak signifies that Valve is probably going creating a machine that runs SteamOS and connects to an exterior show.
Along with data from leaker Brad Lynch, the kernel patch describes a standard-sized HDMI port that hyperlinks to a GPU with out going by USB. This means the gadget is a standalone TV field, not a brand new Steam Deck dock.
So very probably not a handheld that may be Docked to a TV
However a totally devoted gadget with HDMI-Out as a major focus
– Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) December 6, 2024
Apparently, ChromeOS code can also be current. It would point out ChromeOS or Android integration, or Valve may merely be utilizing it to handle some background duties.
Moreover, the code mentions a improvement platform codenamed “AMD Lilac,” which has steadily appeared on Geekbench since early 2023. Most assessments make the most of Radeon 740M built-in graphics and report scores simply outclassing the Steam Deck. Nevertheless, Valve is not the one firm that has used Lilac, and it is perhaps a placeholder APU.
Valve satisfied numerous producers to ship PCs known as Steam Machines with an early model of SteamOS in 2013, however the concept gained little traction. The Steam Deck loved a far more healthy reception partly as a consequence of SteamOS’s enhancements which made putting in and taking part in PC video games with a controller simpler than ever. A brand new console-like gadget with the present model of SteamOS may succeed the place Steam Machines failed.
If Fremont is a console-like PC, HTPC, or set-top field, its management methodology is perhaps the just lately leaked successor to Valve’s defunct Steam Controller. The renders from final month present a conventional gamepad design with trackpads resembling these on the Steam Deck. A pair of movement controllers for Valve’s rumored standalone VR headset additionally leaked. Design specs point out that the brand new Steam Controller and movement controllers may enter mass manufacturing someday subsequent yr.
Moreover, Valve’s newest branding pointers recommend that it plans to permit third-party units to ship with SteamOS. Competing handheld PCs and probably extra conventional programs may quickly characteristic “Powered by SteamOS” stickers.
