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Valve Index vs Steam Frame

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Valve Index vs Steam Frame compares the Valve Index, a tethered PC VR headset from Valve Corporation released in 2019, with the Steam Frame, a wireless headset from the same company that streams games from a PC and can also run games on its own processor. The Index uses external base stations for tracking and connects to the PC by cable through DisplayPort 1.2 and USB 3.0, while the Steam Frame tracks itself with four outward-facing cameras and connects to the PC over an included 6 GHz wireless adapter.[1][2] The Steam Frame has 2160 x 2160 LCD panels per eye, pancake lenses, eye tracking and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with 16 GB of RAM; the Index has 1440 x 1600 LCD panels per eye, canted dual-element lenses, no eye tracking and no onboard processor.[1][2][3] Valve was no longer manufacturing the Index by November 2025, and on 13 October 2026 it posted a "Valve Index Sunset" notice offering remaining stock at new, lower prices while supplies last.[4][5] Reservation sign-ups for the Steam Frame opened on 14 September 2026 at US$1,059 (256 GB) and US$1,299 (1 TB), and Valve began fulfilling orders on 18 September; as of October 2026, people holding reservations were told to expect their order email either by December 2026 or in 2027.[6][7] Tom's Hardware lists the Index headset at 809 g without its cable, while Valve gives 440 g for the Steam Frame's core module and headstrap.[8][2]

Reviewed 14 October 2026. Every specification, price, date, status and quotation checked against Valve's Index and Steam Frame store pages, Steam Hardware news posts, Steam package price data, Steam Support requirements and the cited Verge, Tom's Hardware, UploadVR, Road to VR, Auganix, PC Gamer, Engadget and Kotaku articles. About review dates.

Specifications at a glance

Specification Valve Index Steam Frame
Maker Valve Corporation Valve Corporation[1][2]
Announced Full details and price announced 30 April 2019, about a month after Valve first revealed the headset; pre-orders from 1 May 2019[9] 12 November 2025[10]
Released Shipping began 28 June 2019[11] Reservation sign-ups opened 14 September 2026; Valve began fulfilling orders on 18 September 2026[7]
Status (October 2026) No longer produced; remaining stock sold while supplies last; still supported on Steam and SteamVR[5] On sale through regional reservation queues and waitlists[7]
Launch price (US) US$999 full kit (headset, two controllers, two base stations); US$749 headset and controllers; US$499 headset only[9][8] US$1,059 (256 GB); US$1,299 (1 TB); both include the headset, controllers and wireless adapter[6][2]
US Steam store price, 14 October 2026 US$799.20 full kit; US$599.20 headset and controllers; US$399.20 headset only (20 percent below launch prices, remaining stock only)[1] US$1,059 (256 GB); US$1,299 (1 TB)[2]
Type Tethered PC VR headset[11] Wireless streaming headset that also runs games standalone[2]
Processor and memory None in the headset; a PC is required (minimum Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD RX 480, 8 GB RAM)[12] 4 nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (Arm64), 16 GB LPDDR5X RAM[2]
Storage None in the headset 256 GB or 1 TB UFS, plus microSD slot[2]
Display Dual LCDs, full RGB per pixel, 1440 x 1600 per eye[1] LCD, 2160 x 2160 per eye[2]
Refresh rates 80, 90, 120 and 144 Hz (144 Hz experimental)[1][13] 72-144 Hz (144 Hz experimental)[2]
Field of view (manufacturer figure) Approximately 20° more than the HTC Vive for typical users, with optimized eye-relief adjustment[1] "up to 110 degrees"[2]
Optics Double-element, canted lens design[1] Custom pancake lenses with glass and non-glass optical elements[2]
IPD adjustment 58-70 mm physical adjustment range[1] 60-70 mm target range[2]
Tracking SteamVR Tracking 2.0 sensors; works with SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 base stations[1] Inside-out tracking with four outward-facing monochrome cameras and IR illuminators[2]
Eye tracking No[3] Yes, two interior cameras, used for foveated streaming[2]
Passthrough Stereo 960 x 960 global-shutter RGB cameras[1] Monochrome, through the tracking cameras[2]
Controllers Valve Index Controllers: hand strap, finger tracking, grip force sensor, rechargeable 1100 mAh battery rated at 7+ hours[1] Steam Frame Controllers: gamepad layout (ABXY, D-pad, bumpers), magnetic TMR thumbsticks, capacitive finger tracking, one AA battery each rated at 40 hours[2]
Audio 37.5 mm off-ear Balanced Mode Radiators; 3.5 mm headphone output[1] Dual speaker drivers per ear in the headstrap[2]
Microphones Dual microphone array[1] Dual microphone array[2]
PC connection 5 m tether with 1 m breakaway trident connector; DisplayPort 1.2, USB 3.0, 12 V power[1] Wireless: Wi-Fi 7 (2x2) with dual radios, plus included Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz) adapter; no DisplayPort or HDMI input[2][3]
Expansion port Front "frunk" with a USB 3 Type-A port[14] Front port with 8 lanes of 2.5 Gbps MIPI camera interface or 1-lane PCIe Gen 4[2]
Weight 809 g headset without cable (Tom's Hardware)[8] 440 g core module and headstrap; 185 g core module (Valve)[2]
Battery None; 12 V power through the tether[1] 21.6 Wh lithium-ion in the rear of the strap; USB-C charging at up to 45 W[2]
Operating system None in the headset; the PC runs Windows 10, SteamOS or Linux[12] SteamOS 3 (Arch-based) with KDE Plasma desktop[2]

Display and optics

The Steam Frame's panels have 2160 x 2160 pixels per eye against 1440 x 1600 on the Index. UploadVR described this as twice as many pixels as the Index.[3] Both headsets use LCD panels. At the Index launch, Valve said its RGB LCDs had 50% more subpixels than OLED and a fill factor three times better than OLED, which it said greatly reduced the screen-door effect.[14][13] Valve lists a backlight persistence of 0.330 ms at 144 Hz for the Index.[1]

The optics differ in kind. The Index uses dual-element lenses with displays canted outward by five degrees, and Valve's stated field of view is a comparison: approximately 20 degrees more than the HTC Vive for typical users, helped by an eye-relief adjustment.[1][13] Road to VR describes those lenses as Fresnel lenses and gives the Index field of view as 108 degrees horizontal and 104 degrees vertical.[15] The Steam Frame uses custom pancake lenses with what Valve calls a "large FOV (up to 110 degrees)".[2] Reports differ on how the two fields of view compare. At the announcement, UploadVR reported that Valve described the Frame's field of view as "slightly less than Index" and "conservatively" 110 degrees horizontal and vertical.[3] Tom's Hardware's review called the Frame's horizontal field of view of up to 110 degrees "a slight improvement over the 108 degrees on the Index".[16]

Lens spacing is adjustable on both: 58-70 mm on the Index and a 60-70 mm target range on the Steam Frame, which also lists a maximum glasses width of 140 mm.[1][2] The Index also adjusts eye relief, the distance from lens to eye, which Valve tied to its wider field of view.[1][14]

Performance and hardware

The Index has no processor of its own. Every game runs on a Windows, SteamOS or Linux PC, with Valve's minimum requirement set at an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD RX 480 graphics card, a dual-core processor with Hyper-Threading and 8 GB of RAM; Valve recommends a GTX 1070 or better.[12]

Valve's product page says "Steam Frame is a PC". It runs SteamOS on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB or 1 TB of storage, so it can play some VR and non-VR games without a PC.[2] Valve still calls it a "streaming-first" headset: one radio streams audio and video from the PC and the other connects to the home Wi-Fi network, and its eye tracking drives "foveated streaming", which sends the most detail to where the wearer is looking. Valve says this "typically offers over a 10x improvement in image quality and effective bandwidth".[2] At launch, Valve said more than 100 games were rated Steam Frame Standalone Verified for local play.[6]

Tracking and input

The Index uses Valve's SteamVR Tracking (Lighthouse). Valve lists support for up to four 2.0 base stations, covering a play area of up to 10 x 10 m.[1] The headset needs at least one base station, and Valve recommends two; it also works with the original Vive base stations and with Vive and Vive Pro wand controllers.[12]

The Steam Frame has no base stations. Four monochrome cameras track the headset and controllers, and infrared illuminators help in the dark.[2] In a February 2026 FAQ, Valve said Lighthouse support for the Steam Frame was "not something we're working on", while noting that the headset was built to be modular so third parties could add features.[17] In his review, Road to VR's Scott Hayden wrote that the Frame's camera tracking of head and controllers "has felt consistently strong".[18]

The controllers follow different designs. A strap holds each of the Valve Index Controllers to the hand, and The Verge reported that 87 sensors track the position of the hands and fingers and how hard the player presses.[9] The Steam Frame Controllers use a split gamepad layout (A, B, X and Y on the right, a D-pad on the left, plus bumpers) so they can also play non-VR games. They have magnetic thumbsticks and capacitive finger tracking, run on one AA battery each, and are "fully backwards compatible" with the SteamVR catalog according to Valve.[2] Unlike the Index controllers, they have no built-in hand grip straps.[3] Straps that tighten around the whole hand, which PC Gamer compared to the Index design, come in Valve's US$59 Ergonomic Accessories Kit, sold separately.[6][19]

Mixed reality and passthrough

The Index's front cameras are stereo 960 x 960 global-shutter RGB cameras, which Valve described at launch as made for computer vision and applications such as high-quality stereo pass-through.[1][14] The Steam Frame's built-in passthrough is monochrome, using the tracking cameras.[2] Road to VR wrote that the Frame's monochrome passthrough "definitely feels last (last) gen over the full-color passthrough on Index".[15] For color passthrough, Valve's Steam Frame page promotes the Arcturus Vision Camera, which plugs into the front expansion port and costs US$149 from Arcturus Vision.[2][20]

Software and content

Both headsets play the SteamVR library. The Index runs whatever the connected PC runs, and at launch Valve said content bought on Steam for the HTC Vive would work with it.[14] The Steam Frame can stream the whole Steam library from a PC, laptop, Steam Deck or Steam Machine, or run games locally under SteamOS.[2] Both Steam Frame kits include Half-Life: Alyx, redeemed in the headset's settings, with one copy per device.[6]

Valve has framed the Steam Frame as a different product rather than an "Index 2". Valve engineer Jeremy Selan told PC Gamer in November 2025: "That's one of the reasons we changed the name from Valve index to Steam Frame, because we're trying to do something new with this."[21] UploadVR reported at the announcement that the Steam Frame would replace the Index in Valve's lineup.[3]

Comfort, weight and battery

Tom's Hardware gave the Index's weight as 809 g without its cable and called it "weighty", writing that it felt more substantial than the 1,017 g Vive Pro because its weight was less well balanced.[8] Valve gives the Steam Frame's weight as 440 g with the headstrap, which holds the battery at the back of the head, and 185 g for the core module alone.[2]

The Index draws power through its tether and has no battery.[1] The Steam Frame carries a 21.6 Wh battery.[2] In PC Gamer's testing, Half-Life: Alyx lasted 63 minutes running locally and 114 minutes when streamed from a PC with the headset in Playtime mode.[19] Valve later said software updates improved battery life by up to 12% in streaming and local play, with results varying by frame rate and content.[7]

The audio hardware differs as well. The Index's 37.5 mm off-ear speakers do not touch the ears, and it has a 3.5 mm headphone output.[1][14] The Steam Frame has two speaker drivers per ear built into the strap.[2] PC Gamer reported that Valve was working on a replacement Frame strap with hot-swappable batteries and BMR drivers "to match the excellent speakers on the Valve Index", without a launch date.[19]

Price and availability

The Index launched at US$999 for the full kit, US$749 for the headset and controllers and US$499 for the headset alone, with controllers at US$279 and base stations at US$149 each.[8] In November 2025, Valve's Lawrence Yang told The Verge that the company was "no longer manufacturing" the Index.[4] Valve's 13 October 2026 sunset notice said remaining headsets, controllers and accessories were available "at the new prices below while supplies last", and that existing Index owners would keep support on Steam and SteamVR.[5] On 14 October 2026 the US Steam store listed the Index items at 20 percent below their launch prices: US$799.20 for the full kit, US$599.20 for the headset and controllers, US$399.20 for the headset, US$223.20 for the controllers and US$119.20 for a base station.[1]

At the Steam Frame announcement in November 2025, Valve told UploadVR that it was aiming to price the Frame below the Index full kit.[3] The Steam Frame launched on 14 September 2026 with the following prices, including VAT where applicable.[6]

Kit United States Canada European Union United Kingdom Australia Poland
Steam Frame 256 GB US$1,059 CA$1,529 EUR 1,049 GBP 889 A$1,609 4,539 PLN
Steam Frame 1 TB US$1,299 CA$1,859 EUR 1,279 GBP 1,089 A$1,969 5,549 PLN

Valve ships the Frame directly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia, and through its distributor KOMODO in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, with South Korea to follow.[6] A 45 W power supply is sold separately for US$29.[6] Buyers signed up between 14 and 17 September 2026 and were placed in a randomized reservation queue or on a waitlist. On 9 October 2026 Valve said reservation holders would receive their order email either by December or in 2027, and that those in the 2027 group would get more detail by January.[7][22]

PC Gamer calculated in its review that the 256 GB Steam Frame cost 6% more than a Valve Index at launch. Valve engineers told the magazine that the price had ended up above Valve's original target because of the worldwide RAM crisis.[19]

In the Steam Hardware & Software Survey for September 2026, the Valve Index accounted for 10.83% of the VR headsets recorded and the Steam Frame for 0.41%.[23]

Reviews comparing the two

Road to VR's specification comparison wrote that the Frame "handily beats Index in nearly every measurable category", with passthrough as the exception.[15] In his later review, Scott Hayden wrote that anyone coming from the Index "will be missing the legendary quality of its off-ear speakers", and that the Frame's controllers are "quite a bit more compact" than the Index controllers.[18]

PC Gamer's Jacob Ridley wrote in November 2025 that the Frame "does offer Index fans a clear upgrade", citing its resolution, pancake lenses and wireless streaming, but that it lacks the Index's BMR speakers and its "novel approach to hand tracking".[21] His review noted that the Frame's controllers are "not as elegantly designed" for hand straps as the Index's.[19]

Engadget's Devindra Hardawar called the Frame's speakers "a huge step down" from the Index's near-field speakers and pointed out that the Frame has no headphone jack. He also suggested that PC owners could find a used Index or other SteamVR headset "for far less" than the Steam Frame.[24]

Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen called the Index controllers "far superior" and wrote that the Frame's grip trigger "feels like a step down" from them.[25]

Tom's Hardware highlighted the weight difference (440 g with the headstrap against 809 g for the Index) and described the Index as a "streaming-only" platform compared with the Frame's onboard processor.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 "Valve Index Sunset". Steam. Valve Corporation. https://store.steampowered.com/hardware/valveindex. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 "Steam Frame". Steam. Valve Corporation. https://store.steampowered.com/hardware/steamframe. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 David Heaney (2025-11-12). "Valve Officially Announces Steam Frame, A "Streaming-First" Standalone VR Headset". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/valve-steam-frame-official-announcement-features-details/. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Matt Tate (2025-11-13). "Valve confirms that it has stopped making the Index VR headset". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/valve-confirms-that-it-has-stopped-making-the-index-vr-headset-150324456.html. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Valve Index Sunset". Steam Hardware news. Valve Corporation. 2026-10-13. https://store.steampowered.com/news/collection/steam/?emclan=103582791475000432&emgid=711161056325534523. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 "Steam Frame is here!". Steam Hardware news. Valve Corporation. 2026-09-14. https://store.steampowered.com/news/collection/steam/?emclan=103582791475000432&emgid=692020124159311887. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Steam Frame updates: Reservation timing, software updates, and more". Steam Hardware news. Valve Corporation. 2026-10-09. https://store.steampowered.com/news/collection/steam/?emclan=103582791475000432&emgid=675134162359812783. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Kevin Carbotte (2020-02-25). "Valve Index VR Headset and Controllers Review: A New Champion". Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/valve-index-vr-headset-controllers,6205.html. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sean Hollister (2019-04-30). "Valve's Index VR headset will officially cost $999, and here's what it's all about". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/30/18524167/valve-index-vr-headset-price-pre-order-date. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  10. ↑ "Announcing new Steam Hardware, coming in 2026!". Steam Hardware news. Valve Corporation. 2025-11-12. https://store.steampowered.com/news/collection/steam/?emclan=103582791475000432&emgid=578276333072679812. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Adi Robertson (2019-06-28). "Valve Index review: high-powered VR at a high-end price". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/28/19102584/valve-index-steamvr-headset-review-shipping-today. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "VALVE Index System Requirements". Steam Support. Valve Corporation. https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/105E-66E3-962A-1577. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Ben Lang (2019-04-30). "Hands-on: Valve's Index Headset Sets an Impressive New Bar for VR Fidelity". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/valve-index-hands-on-preview-valve-vr-headset/. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 Sam Sprigg (2019-05-01). "Valve reveals full specs of its new Index VR headset, pre-orders to start today". Auganix. https://www.auganix.org/?p=1865. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Scott Hayden (2025-11-12). "Steam Frame vs. Valve Index Specs: Wireless VR Gameplay That's Generations Ahead". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/steam-frame-vs-valve-index-specs/. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Brandon Hill (2026-09-14). "Valve Steam Frame Review: Competent as a standalone VR, but wireless streaming remains the focus". Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/virtual-reality/valve-steam-frame-review. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  17. ↑ "Steam Hardware: Launch timing and other FAQs". Steam Hardware news. Valve Corporation. 2026-02-04. https://store.steampowered.com/news/collection/steam/?emclan=103582791475000432&emgid=625565405086220583. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Scott Hayden (2026-09-16). "Steam Frame Review - Power-user's Playground". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/valve-steam-frame-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Jacob Ridley (2026-09-14). "Steam Frame review". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/vr-hardware/valve-steam-frame-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  20. ↑ David Heaney (2026-09-14). "Arcturus Vision Camera Adds Color Passthrough & 3D Video Capture To Steam Frame". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/steam-frame-arcturus-vision-camera-color-passthrough/. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Jacob Ridley (2025-11-12). "Valve wants you to know that the Steam Frame is not the Index 2: 'we're trying to do something new with this'". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/vr-hardware/steam-frame-not-index-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  22. ↑ Scott Hayden (2026-10-12). "Steam Frame Backorder Queue Stretches into 2027". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/steam-frame-backorder-queue-2027/. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  23. ↑ "Steam Hardware & Software Survey: September 2026". Steam. Valve Corporation. https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/?platform=combined. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  24. ↑ Devindra Hardawar (2026-09-14). "Valve Steam Frame review: Solid standalone VR that's too little, too late". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2257659/valve-steam-frame-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  25. ↑ Zack Zwiezen (2026-09-14). "I Tested Valve's New $1,000+ VR Headset And I Have No Idea Who It's For In 2026". Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/im-not-sure-about-valves-new-1000-vr-headset-2000734260. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
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