Whereas SteamOS 3.0 has been round for some time now, launching with the OG Steam Deck again in 2022, we have but to correctly check a non-Deck handheld making use of the Linux-based working system. The SteamOS model of the Lenovo Legion Go S must be coming this Might, nevertheless, and it appears to be like like Valve is laying the grass roots of assist down in its SteamOS 3.7.0 Preview: Pi Day replace.
The discharge notes affirm that this explicit replace, obtainable within the Preview channel solely, ships with the “beginnings of assist for non-Steam Deck handhelds.” The Lenovo Legion Go S is the one one we’re at the moment conscious of, though it’d make sense that extra are more likely to comply with within the subsequent few years.
The opposite main improve is the inclusion of Plasma 6.2.5. This replace 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 “well-known” dice impact, by which your a number of desktops might be rotated round such as you’re in a hacker film from the late ’90s.
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SteamOS beta may very well be obtainable to obtain to your handheld gaming PC of selection as quickly as April
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I acquired palms on with the Lenovo Legion Go S handheld PC with Valve’s SteamOS—and it looks like a little bit of a winner to me
It is price mentioning that, as a Preview replace, you are more likely to encounter the odd situation. I put in it on my private Steam Deck and bumped into the odd bug, like single urgent the ability button leading to a flashing desktop and the occasional sudden dangle.
You do get a brand new wallpaper to play with, although, referred to as Scarlet Tree:
Fairly, ey? Apart from the additional handheld assist and the upgraded desktop interface, Valve has additionally introduced a number of fixes to Bluetooth gadgets, some compatibility enhancements for shows when utilizing the Deck Dock, and a repair for “instances the place making use of system updates might fail if sure configuration recordsdata have been corrupted or malformed.”
So, maybe not essentially the most thrilling of updates for normal Deck house owners, however for these of you that’d prefer to see Valve’s handheld OS come to extra than simply the Deck and the Legion Go S, the long run’s wanting barely rosier.
One has to surprise, nevertheless, whether or not all this will likely come as too little, too late. Most non-SteamOS supported handheld gaming PCs now ship with a recreation launcher interface that, whereas not integrating with Steam immediately, does a tremendous job of launching and categorising your video games inside Home windows 11. Or you possibly can simply launch Large Image Mode from inside Steam itself, though you may must button hunt on a smaller display screen.
Nothing’s fairly as slick or as straightforward to make use of as Valve’s effort, although, and having Steam integration proper on the forefront of the working system does make for a clean gaming expertise on the go. So whereas SteamOS appears to be taking its time to reach on different fashions, I nonetheless welcome it. Higher late than by no means, not less than.
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