Valve keeps showing that SteamOS was built for more than just the Steam Deck. The company continues to widen support for handhelds from other brands, and its latest beta update proves the point. MSI, Ayaneo, and Konkr devices are now part of the mix.
Notebookcheck picked up on the change first. SteamOS 3.8.25 beta adds compatibility for a batch of third-party handhelds. That doesn’t mean these devices get full SteamOS certification from Valve. It means they’re a step closer to running the operating system the way it’s meant to work.
SteamOS: More Handhelds Getting Valve’s Attention
The update mostly focuses on controller compatibility. SteamOS 3.8.25 brings first-time gamepad support to the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, Konkr FIT, and Ayaneo Pocket S2. The OneXPlayer Apex also gets improved gamepad support, but only if it’s running the newer firmware.
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Beyond controllers, Valve tightened up support for different MSI Claw and OneXPlayer models. Handhelds that rely on external Wi-Fi adapters, or have none at all, should also see better results now. On top of that, Valve fixed a bug that occasionally caused certain third-party handhelds to ignore inputs while holding a button.
Right now, SteamOS 3.8.25 only lives in the Beta and Preview channels, so these changes are still being tested before a wider release.
Valve flagged one known issue too: a performance drop can show up when composition kicks in, which includes moments when FSR is turned on. According to Valve, that problem is already fixed in the stable SteamOS 3.8.16 release.
SteamOS and Valve’s Hardware
People have been waiting on this one for a while. Lenovo’s Legion Go S was the first handheld from another company to ship with official SteamOS support built in, which opened the door for Valve’s software to move beyond the Steam Deck itself. That shift could put real pressure on Windows in the handheld gaming space.
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The beta also includes Steam Machine Firmware 108. This fixes several sleep-related bugs, including a rare one that left CPU performance lower than it should be after waking the device back up. SteamOS itself now runs on Linux kernel 6.18.42.
The Steam Deck already brought SteamOS to millions of players. Now, with the Steam Machine joining in, that audience is set to grow even more. This rollout might end up mattering just as much for the platform’s future.
