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The new SteamOS plays nice with competing handhelds
Valve’s operating system for the Steam Deck now a better gaming option than Windows for even more devices
After what felt like an especially prolonged beta period — probably because of the unusually high anticipation for this particular update — Valve just released SteamOS 3.7.8 to the general public. Don’t let those decimals fool you, though: this is as important a milestone as one can ask for when it comes to Linux taking over Windows as a gaming operating system. The reason? This is the first SteamOS version officially, properly supporting handheld PCs other than the Steam Deck itself, which makes this the first step towards bringing Valve’s excellent gaming operating system to all personal computers. At some point.
In practice, this means that 3.7.8 is the first SteamOS version offered in a form that can be fully, safely installed on a Lenovo Legion Go S, an Asus ROG Ally or an original Lenovo Legion Go (recovery image) in the same way it can on a Steam Deck. Valve has published a full set of instructions on to do just that right here.
The reason why this is important is two-fold: first, it allows for an arguably better user experience than the one currently offered by Windows 11, which is the OS all three of the non-Valve…