Dual boot is still on the menu, too.

Recent patch notes sounded like they might be hinting at upcoming ROG Ally support, but it’s now confirmed.

  • Santo@lemmy.world
    1·
    3 months ago

    I really hope Valve takes up this market with strong software. I believe Microsoft is lagging behind just using regular Windows for that.

  • Destide@feddit.ukEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    Distros like bazzite have really picked up but they’ll always be niche projects in the eyes of game dev and publishers. Steam os at least can help them realise that Linux isn’t an instant dismiss because they haven’t used it before.

    I have friends in AAA game dev and they all have the same kinda dated idea of Linux being this sweaty crazy programmer distro even though we all play games online together.

    If valve can carry on increasing the market share it’ll definitely help get rid of some stereotypes for Devs which in turn brings more market share.

  • xavier666@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    If Asus wants some positive PR after a rough 2024, they should offer the Ally with SteamOS preinstalled.

  • orca@orcas.enjoying.yachts
    1·
    3 months ago

    It would make the Ally usable. Windows holds it back a ton because it’s a trash OS.

    There’s still some hardware issues to contend with. Like the fact that it fries SD cards due to poor card slot placement… and the control stick bug…

    Let’s just say my wife has one and we recently got her a Steam Deck instead. I had to replace one of the sticks on the Ally and still had problems. She also can’t use the SD card slot at all. It’s flawed hardware with potential (after a couple revisions).

  • CaptDust@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    3 months ago

    This is so exciting, very happy for Ally owners. Choice is a strength of PC ecosystem, and I’m confident SteamOS experience is going to win over many users. It’s a great upgrade.

    Edit-

    “And it’s not like Valve is suggesting it’ll offer SteamOS for rival handhelds anytime soon, either”

    Oh :( I thought this was further along than it is… got excited.

    • smoothbrain coldtakes@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      Bazzite is fine. It’s serviceable enough to get the job done. The hardware is supported through a bunch of different emulation tools and bespoke applications like HandHeld Daemon for hooking into power draw and managing extra buttons.

      Bazzite is based on the Holographic base that SteamOS uses, but opts for a Fedora-based immutable back-end over Arch. Running SteamOS itself is going to be better once Valve implements native support for all of these things that are covered by HandHeld Daemon, at least in theory.

      Due to the non-optimal nature of both Windows and Linux at this stage, they tend to perform about equally.

      I get that the Fediverse is disproportionately made up of Linux users, but the reality right now is just that no operating system is fine-tuned for the hardware its running on besides SteamOS and the Deck itself. It’s not better yet, but it’s getting better at a massive clip - which is above and beyond whatever Microsoft is doing (looks like nothing) to improve their software for the form factor.

  • bitwolf@lemmy.one
    1·
    3 months ago

    The exciting thing I am taking from this, specifically because of the ROG Ally are two things:

    • Valve intends to support nvidia drivers in SteamOS (the ROG Dock)
    • Valve intends to ensure eGPUs are a good experience on SteamOS

    If these do make it to fruition that would be a huge benefit overall for Linux gaming.

  • cum@lemmy.cafeEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    Hell yeah. If Valve was smart, they’d have pushed for this a lot sooner. They should focus on making it more device-agnostic. If the consumer’s device revolves around their storefront, then it’s a massive win for them.

    • Womble@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      They tried that method with the steam machines, it didnt work. A bunch of companies put out half arsed cash in versions and it went nowhere. By putting Valve’s whole weight behind one platform that they tested extensively they got a great product that has made waves. Opening it up now that it has momentum makes sense, but they absolutely made the right call making the steam deck the focus rather than making it hardware agnostic.

      • Leaflet@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        3 months ago

        Even if Valve pushed their own Steam machine back then, it would have failed miserably. It simply had terrible game support because Proton didn’t exist (or integration with wine). Only the few native linux games out there would work.

        But now Valve has Proton. I doubt the Steam Deck would have taken off if it wasn’t for that.