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| SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview adds initial support for the upcoming Steam Machine, Valve's compact living room gaming PC. |
By Jon Scarr
Valve has dropped SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview, codenamed "Second Clutch," and this one is a big deal. It's available now on the Steam Deck Preview channel and it's the first version of SteamOS to include initial support for the upcoming Steam Machine, the living room gaming PC Valve has been quietly building toward. There's a lot more in here beyond that headline though.
SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview Adds Initial Steam Machine Support
SteamOS 3.8.0 is the first release to lay the groundwork for the Steam Machine. None of us have one yet, but Valve is clearly getting the OS ready for it. The fact that it's in the preview channel means they're actively testing it. When Steam Machine hardware arrives, SteamOS will be waiting for it.
Steam Deck LCD Gets Hibernation and Memory Power Down
This is the one Steam Deck LCD owners have been waiting for. SteamOS 3.8.0 adds preliminary hibernation support and a new Memory Power Down option via a BIOS v133 update. Windows laptops have had an advantage over the Steam Deck in sleep mode for a while because they self-hibernate to save power while the Deck uses an instant-on sleep that drains the battery faster.
This starts to close that gap. Bluetooth Wake has also been re-enabled for Steam Deck LCD after earlier issues, which means you can power on a TV-connected Deck using a wireless controller from the couch again.
Bluetooth Headset Mics, Audio Fixes, and More
Bluetooth headset microphone support has been added to Game Mode, which is one of those features that should have been there from the start. There are also fixes for audio after sleep and resume, a fix for wired headset input switching, and an increase to the suspend timeout for HDMI devices so audio isn't cut off after a few seconds of inactivity.
Third-Party Handheld Support Gets a Big Expansion
SteamOS 3.8.0 expands controller and firmware support for a long list of third-party devices. New additions include the Lenovo Legion Go 2 and the OneXPlayer X1. Improved support covers the Lenovo Legion Go, Legion Go S, Legion Go 2, OneXPlayer F1 series, GPD Win 5, GPD Win Mini, Anbernic Win600, OrangePi NEO, MSI Claw, and the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally series.
The Xbox Ally line also gets TDP (processor power limit) control and speaker audio support. Handheld controller input latency has been reduced from 5-8ms down to 100-500 microseconds across the board, which is a significant improvement.
How to Get SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview
SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview is available now through the Preview channel. To opt in, go to Settings, then System, then System Update Channel. One known issue: some users trying to switch to the Preview channel may get pushed back to the Beta channel instead. The workaround is to enable Advanced Update Channels in developer settings. Valve says a proper fix is coming in an upcoming Steam Client update.
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