Valve made a big return to PC hardware this week. The company, most famous for its PC gaming platform, Steam, announced a new home console called Steam Machine alongside a new version of the Steam Controller, and a new virtual reality headset dubbed the Steam Frame.
The Steam Machine is a revival of Valve’s original Steam Machine, a failed attempt to bring PC gaming to the living room almost exactly 10 years ago. Now, it’s back, built on the success of the Steam Deck handheld. Valve claims the new Steam Machine is six times more powerful than the Steam Deck, and it’s kind of like a compact PC. We don’t have exact measurements yet, but some early hands-on impressions have called it similar in size to the Nintendo GameCube. The Steam Machine uses a custom Zen 4 CPU from AMD, and will reportedly be sold in several memory and storage configurations, which are user-upgradable. The new Steam Controller is meant to be paired with the Steam Machine, and it has two haptic-feedback trackpads and the typical assortment of thumbsticks, buttons, triggers, and bumpers.
Lastly, there’s the Steam Frame. This long-awaited VR headset is the follow-up to the Valve Index, which is over six years old. Valve calls the Steam Frame a “streaming-first” VR headset, meant to be connected to a PC for lag-free, wireless gaming. To overcome the problem of latency, the Steam Frame will come with a dedicated wireless module to connect to your PC to ensure all the visual data is transferred as smoothly as possible.
The Steam Frame can also be used as a stand-alone headset, running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, meaning you’d be playing x86 games on ARM in SteamOS. It’s a tricky endeavor, but based on the success of the Steam Deck in juggling the emulation layers required, I trust Valve to do it in a way Microsoft has always struggled with. As for the headset itself, it only weighs 440 grams, which is significantly lighter than both the Meta Quest 3S and the recently announced Samsung Galaxy XR. It has two pancake lenses with two LCD screens at 2160 x 2160 pixels per eye.
Gear Roundup
All the top gear news of the week in one place. Here’s more you may have missed this week:
Hate Meta? Even Realities Is Making the Smart Glasses You WantWaymo’s Robotaxis Can Now Use the Highway, Speeding Up Longer TripsOnePlus 15 Review: The OnePlus 15 Has Two-Day Battery Life. ’Nuff Said
There’s a lot more to learn about these devices, and none of the new hardware has a firm release date or price yet, as is customary with Valve. All we know is that these devices will begin shipping in early 2026. —Luke Larsen
A Pouch for Your iPhone
You’ve probably already seen or heard about the iPhone Pocket. Inspired by a “piece of cloth,” it’s a tiny shoulder bag designed to carry around your iPhone, and it stems from a collaboration between Apple and Japanese design brand Issey Miyake. The two companies have enjoyed a long history—Steve Jobs famously wore Issey Miyake’s black turtlenecks on stage during every major launch event.
The cloth is a singular 3D-knitted construction made in Japan and will be able to fit any iPhone model. This isn’t the first time Apple has suggested you put one of its products in a piece of cloth. In 2004, Apple debuted the iPod Socks, a simple and fun way to keep your iPod screen protected when traveling. They cost $29 at the time (about $50 today).
Unfortunately, you’ll be paying a heck of a lot more for the iPhone Pocket. The pouch comes in a short-strap version for $150 and a long-strap design for $230. Both are available in a range of colors, but since this is a special-edition release, you’re only able to purchase them at select Apple Store locations and Apple.com in France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and the US. (It’s already sold out online.)
Digital ID Comes to Apple Wallet
You already have your boarding pass on your iPhone, why not your passport, too? That’s the idea behind Apple’s new Digital ID, a new way to add information from your US passport into Apple Wallet. Acceptance is rolling out in beta at TSA checkpoints in more than 250 airports around the US for domestic travel, though Apple says that will expand in the future.
You’ll be able to present this form of identification even if you don’t have a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID. (You can already add your driver’s license to Apple Wallet, but this is only available in select states.) It’s important to remember, though, that Apple’s Digital ID does not replace a passport, which is still required for international travel.
Samsung’s Movingstyle Screens Can Go Wherever You Do
Samsung has announced a new line of “portable” monitors that are meant to travel with you around your house or office. The Movingstyle (LSM7F) and Movingstyle M7 Smart Monitor (M70F) are standard 27- or 32-inch displays, with one big twist: They come with a rollable floor stand with hidden wheels. Rather than have separate large screens in each room, the idea behind these Movingstyle monitors is to have a screen on the go—similar to LG’s StanbyMe range. It’s not hard to imagine scenarios where this could be convenient. Maybe you’re following a recipe in the kitchen or want to finish a show you’re watching on your television in the bedroom. Samsung claims the wheels are quiet and stable on both hardwood floors and carpet.
To emphasize the “portability” of the monitor, the 27-inch model works more as an oversized tablet, including a handle, a built-in kickstand, three hours of battery life, and a touchscreen. While the 32-inch version lacks those features, it can still be swiveled, tilted, and even rotated into portrait mode. It also comes with a higher 4K resolution. Outside of the three hours you get on the 27-inch model, you’ll still need it to be plugged into power. For that, the monitors come with a 13-foot power cable.
Both models come with the normal assortment of Samsung smart monitor features, but the 27-inch model is clearly the higher end, sporting not only extra portability features but also a faster, 120-Hz refresh rate. I’m interested to see how the 27-inch model in particular could fit into my day-to-day life. —Luke Larsen
DJI’s Neo 2 Drone Has a Display
DJI has announced the new Neo 2 drone, an update to the company’s tiny 4K selfie drone. The new version offers lidar obstacle detection, better-quality video, and longer battery life. The Neo 2 is also the first DJI drone to offer a small front display, which shows the current shooting mode.
We liked the HoverAir X1 better than the original DJI Neo, in part because the Neo was slow, but also because the footage wasn’t as good as the HoverAir’s. The good news is that the DJI Neo 2 is much faster—up to 27 mph—and the new 12-MP, 1/2-inch sensor should deliver much nicer video quality. There are new video modes, including the ability to shoot 4K 60 frames per second, up from 4K 30 fps in the original.
So far, the company has announced no plans to sell the drone in the US, a pattern we’ve seen for the last few drone launches. As it stands, if there is no federal security audit of DJI by December 23, 2025, most of the company’s products will likely disappear from shelves. DJI has requested the audit, but so far none of the five federal agencies responsible has undertaken the required review. It costs £209 in the UK. —Scott Gilbertson
Insta360’s Ace Pro 2 Gets New Accessories
Insta360 has released a slew of new add-ons for its Ace Pro 2 action camera. There are three new lenses available, mimicking GoPro’s Hero 13 Black lens lineup with an Ultra Wide Lens, Cinematic Lens, and Close-Up/Macro Lens. A complete bundle of all lenses, the camera, handgrip mount, and two batteries is available for $740. The new accessories can also be purchased individually.
There’s also a new handgrip that turns the Ace Pro into something more like a point-and-shoot camera. Controlling the camera still requires using the touchscreen, but at least you can hold it and press a shutter button just like a traditional point-and-shoot. The final, and perhaps most interesting new add-on is an instant printer that attaches to the bottom of the handgrip, turning your Ace Pro into a Polaroid-style instant camera. The Flash Print Bundle, as this is called, goes for $580 (includes camera, grip, and printer).
To go along with the hardware, there’s a firmware update for the Ace Pro 2 that adds two new Leica color profiles: Leica Eternal and Leica B&W High Contrast. Alas, there is still no 10-bit color or Log video support. —Scott Gilbertson
The R26 Concept Reveals Audi’s First Formula 1 Livery
Just over 100 days until Audi makes its F1 debut, the car company has taken the covers off its racing design. While the final car reveal will be in January, according to Audi, this R26 Concept previews the color scheme and design of the brand’s first Formula 1 race car.
For three years now, Audi has been developing its power unit for Formula 1 in Neuburg an der Donau (the only operational location of an F1 team in Germany.) The hybrid setup is a turbocharged V6, an energy recovery system, energy storage, and a combined electric motor and generator, as well as an electronic control unit—a computer “brain” of the car, controlling the engine, hybrid systems, gearbox, and other components.
Audi says the output of the electric motor will, in the future, be on a comparable level with the combustion engine, which will be powered by sustainable fuels from 2026. However, despite the new tech and a new car, Audi’s CEO, Gernot Döllner, seems well aware it will likely take years for the brand to be competitive for the world championship. “We are not entering Formula 1 just to be there,” says Döllner. “We want to win. At the same time, we know that you don’t become a top team in Formula 1 overnight. By 2030, we want to fight for the World Championship title.” —Jeremy White
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