Gear News of the Week: Valve’s New Steam Console, Apple’s $230 iPhone Pouch, and More
This week’s tech headlines are packed with exciting new releases and innovations, from Valve’s return to the living room with a new Steam console to Apple’s surprisingly premium accessory for your iPhone. Plus, there’s a new monitor from Samsung that rolls, DJI’s latest drone with an integrated display, and an Insta360 action camera that doubles as an instant camera. Here’s your roundup of the gear news you need to know.
Valve’s Steam Machine: A Bold Return to the Living Room
Valve made a big return to the world of PC hardware this week, announcing its newest home console: the Steam Machine. This marks a revival of Valve’s original Steam Machine, which failed to gain traction nearly a decade ago. However, this new iteration comes with lessons learned from the success of the Steam Deck and promises a much more powerful experience. Valve claims the Steam Machine is six times more powerful than the Steam Deck, offering what is essentially a compact PC designed to sit in your living room.
While specific dimensions are still a mystery, early impressions describe it as being roughly the size of a Nintendo GameCube. Inside, the Steam Machine will feature a custom Zen 4 CPU from AMD, making it a powerhouse for gaming enthusiasts. Additionally, the console will come in various memory and storage configurations, all of which are user-upgradable, offering flexibility for long-term use.
Paired with the Steam Machine will be an updated version of the Steam Controller, designed to complement the console’s performance. This new controller features two haptic-feedback trackpads alongside traditional thumbsticks, buttons, triggers, and bumpers for an immersive gaming experience.
Steam Frame: Valve’s New VR Headset
Along with the Steam Machine, Valve also unveiled the Steam Frame, a highly anticipated VR headset that follows in the footsteps of the Valve Index—a VR system that has aged well but is now in need of a successor. Valve calls the Steam Frame a “streaming-first” VR headset, designed to connect wirelessly to your PC for lag-free gaming. The device includes a dedicated wireless module to minimize latency and ensure smooth visual data transfer from your gaming PC.
In addition to its streaming capabilities, the Steam Frame can be used as a standalone headset powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, running SteamOS. This ambitious approach allows users to play x86 games on ARM architecture, and while it’s a challenging task, Valve’s success with the Steam Deck’s emulation layers inspires confidence that they can pull it off.
The headset itself weighs just 440 grams, making it significantly lighter than competitors like the Meta Quest 3S and Samsung Galaxy XR. The 2160 x 2160 pixel per eye display, featuring pancake lenses, promises crisp visuals that should elevate the VR experience. Valve has not yet provided a firm release date or price, but expect these devices to start shipping in early 2026.
Apple’s $230 Pouch: A Premium Accessory for iPhone Users
In a move that raised more than a few eyebrows, Apple has introduced a $230 pouch designed specifically for your iPhone. The accessory, called the iPhone Pouch, is a sleek, premium leather case that doubles as a wallet. The high price point is due in part to the quality of the materials used, as Apple has always been known for offering luxury accessories that match the design ethos of its devices.
While the iPhone Pouch isn’t a game-changing product, it’s certainly an accessory for those looking for a sophisticated, all-in-one solution to carry their phone and cards. Whether it’s worth the hefty price tag depends largely on how much you value high-end materials and design in your smartphone accessories. For some, the pouch might be a luxury worth splurging on, while others may find it a bit excessive.
Samsung’s Rolling Monitor: A New Take on Mobility
Samsung has also made waves this week with a new monitor that comes with wheels—yes, wheels. The Samsung Rolling Monitor is designed to be a highly portable workstation, allowing users to easily move the display from room to room. It’s a versatile option for people who work in different spaces or need a flexible monitor that can be repositioned quickly.
The monitor features all the high-quality displays you’d expect from Samsung, but it’s the mobility that truly sets it apart. Whether for personal use or in professional environments where desks and spaces are shared, the Rolling Monitor adds a new layer of convenience to your tech setup.
DJI’s Latest Drone: A Display Built-In
Drone enthusiasts, take note: DJI has released a new drone equipped with its own integrated display. The DJI Drone Display allows users to view live footage from the drone directly on the controller, eliminating the need for a separate smartphone or tablet to view the video feed. This is a significant upgrade for those looking for a more streamlined and intuitive flying experience.
The display on the controller is designed to provide clear, high-quality video even in bright sunlight, a common challenge for drone operators. DJI has continued to refine its technology to make drone flying easier, and this new release adds another layer of convenience to the experience.
Insta360’s Action Camera Gets Instant Camera Add-On
Finally, Insta360 has unveiled an exciting new add-on for its action camera: an instant camera module. This new accessory turns your Insta360 action camera into a mini instant camera, allowing you to print physical photos on the spot. It’s a fun and creative way to merge the world of digital action cameras with the tactile enjoyment of instant photography.
Whether you’re out on an adventure or capturing memories with friends, this add-on offers a unique way to share physical prints in real-time. It’s another example of how brands are pushing the envelope to make camera gear more interactive and versatile.
Wrapping Up This Week’s Gear News
From Valve’s Steam Machine to Apple’s luxury iPhone pouch, and the intriguing new tech from Samsung, DJI, and Insta360, this week has been packed with exciting announcements. While some of these products are still a little way off from release, the Steam Machine and Steam Frame VR headset in particular stand out as game-changers in their respective categories. Apple’s high-end accessory may raise some eyebrows due to its price, but it fits neatly into the company’s trend of offering premium products for a select market.
As always, stay tuned for more updates on these products as we learn more about their features, pricing, and availability in the coming months.
