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While SteamOS 3.0 has been around for a while now, launching with the OG Steam Deck back in 2022, we’ve yet to properly test a non-Deck handheld making use of the Linux-based operating system. The SteamOS version of the Lenovo Legion Go S should be coming this May, however, and it looks like Valve is laying the grass roots of support down in its SteamOS 3.7.0 Preview: Pi Day update.
The release notes confirm that this particular update, available in the Preview channel only, ships with the “beginnings of support for non-Steam Deck handhelds.” The Lenovo Legion Go S is the only one we’re currently aware of, although it’d make sense that more are likely to follow in the next few years.
The other major upgrade is the inclusion of Plasma 6.2.5. This update to the Deck’s desktop mode brings with it an upgraded interface, snazzy floating panels, a re-organised settings menu, and the return of the “famous” cube effect, in which your multiple desktops can be rotated around like you’re in a hacker movie from the late ’90s.
It’s worth mentioning that, as a Preview update, you’re likely to encounter the odd issue. I installed it on my personal Steam Deck and ran into the odd bug, like single pressing the power button resulting in a flashing desktop and the occasional unexpected hang.
You do get a new wallpaper to play with, though, called Scarlet Tree:
Pretty, ey? Aside from the extra handheld support and the upgraded desktop interface, Valve has also announced a host of fixes to Bluetooth devices, some compatibility improvements for displays when using the Deck Dock, and a fix for “cases where applying system updates could fail if certain configuration files were corrupted or malformed.”
So, perhaps not the most exciting of updates for regular Deck owners, but for those of you that’d like to see Valve’s handheld OS come to more than just the Deck and the Legion Go S, the future’s looking slightly rosier.
One has to wonder, however, whether all this may come as too little, too late. Most non-SteamOS supported handheld gaming PCs now ship with a game launcher interface that, while not integrating with Steam directly, does a fine job of launching and categorising your games inside Windows 11. Or you could just launch Big Picture Mode from inside Steam itself, although you’ll have to button hunt on a smaller screen.
Nothing’s quite as slick or as easy to use as Valve’s effort, though, and having Steam integration right at the forefront of the operating system does make for a smooth gaming experience on the go. So while SteamOS seems to be taking its time to arrive on other models, I still welcome it. Better late than never, at least.
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Kurt Indovina
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