Valve SteamOS 3.8 preview is here
Valve has released SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview, codenamed “ Second Clutch, ” for the Steam Deck Preview channel. The update adds initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware, updates the Arch Linux base, refreshes the graphics driver, and includes a long list of stability and compatibility fixes. Valve also notes a known issue where some users trying to switch into the Preview channel may be pushed back to Beta unless they enable Advanced Update Channels in developer settings.
Steam Deck updates
For Steam Deck users, the biggest firmware changes are tied to the LCD model. SteamOS 3.8 includes BIOS v133 with preliminary support for hibernation and a new “Memory Power Down” option, while Bluetooth Wake has been re-enabled again for Steam Deck LCD after earlier problems. Valve has also added Bluetooth headset microphone support in Game Mode, HDMI surround detection, mono audio output, and several audio fixes tied to suspend and input switching.
Desktop mode and KDE update
Desktop Mode also gets a larger update than usual. Valve has moved KDE Plasma from 6.2.5 to 6.4.3 and now uses Wayland by default, which should help address cases where Desktop Mode performed worse than Game Mode. The update also adds support for external HDR displays, VRR, per-display scaling, better TV scaling, and improved Proton window behavior. KDE separately confirmed that this preview ships with Plasma 6.4 and defaults to Wayland.
Updates for gaming handhelds as well
Legion Go 2 & MSI Claw A8
The non-Deck section is just as important. Valve says SteamOS 3.8 improves compatibility with recent Intel and AMD platforms, adds better video memory management on discrete GPU systems, and expands controller and firmware support for devices including Lenovo Legion Go, Legion Go S, Legion Go 2, OneXPlayer X1 and F1 models, GPD Win 5, GPD Win Mini, OrangePi NEO, Anbernic Win600, MSI Claw, and the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally series . Valve also claims it reduced handheld controller input latency from 5-8ms to 100-500us, while adding TDP control and speaker audio support for the Xbox Ally line.
Click on the spoiler for the full changelog.
SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview: Second Clutch
SteamOS 3.8.0 Preview: Second Clutch
Note: This update is for the Steam Deck Preview channel, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > System Update Channel.
Known Issue : Users not currently opted into Preview channel updates may be automatically returned to the Beta channel when attempting to opt-in. This can be worked around by enabling “Advanced Update Channels” in developer settings, and will be fixed in an upcoming Steam Client update.
General
- Initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware
- Updated Arch system base
- Updated graphics driver with performance and stability fixes
- Fix a case where per-app performance settings would intermittently fail to apply when launching a game
- Improved support for the screencasts in Game Mode (e.g. OBS/Discord)
- Fixed dropdown menus not appearing in some games
- Improved VRR frame pacing
- Fixed FSR badge remaining off in the performance overlay, even if it was actually active
- Improved support for games that attempt to open PDF files in external viewers
- Fixed an issue affecting certain titles (such as “SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide”) where the game window could have an incorrect position
- Fixed closing certain titles (such as “STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor™”) and Starfield resulting in a session crash
- Improved support for certain USB racing wheels and USB devices that boot in a non-standard mode
- Frequently these are devices that appear as USB storage devices with a driver installer, and must be switched to their normal mode by the OS
- Frequently these are devices that appear as USB storage devices with a driver installer, and must be switched to their normal mode by the OS
- Steam Deck controller firmware updates now display update progress on the splash screen
- Fixes issue on specific Steam Deck revisions where firmware updates could render the left controller inoperative for that session
- Numerous stability and security updates
Bluetooth
- Re-re-enable Bluetooth Wake for Steam Deck LCD
- Fix for more spurious wake issues that were present in earlier attempts
- Fix for more spurious wake issues that were present in earlier attempts
Audio
- Detect HDMI channel count and expose surround configuration if available
- Add a setting to allow using Bluetooth headset mics (Bluetooth playback quality will be worse while capture is active)
- Restore internal audio device on reboot if set to “Off” in desktop mode
- Increase suspend timeout for HDMI devices so initial audio isn’t cut off after a few seconds of inactivity
- Fixed a bug with switching input devices when a wired headset is plugged in
- Fixed an issue where audio underruns could be experienced after sleep/resume
Accessibility
- Added an option to force mono audio output
Desktop Mode
- KDE Plasma updated to version 6.4.3 from 6.2.5, and now uses wayland by default
- Fixes several cases of reduced performance in Desktop Mode compared to Game Mode
- Improved support for rotated displays
- Better scale factor out of the box on TVs
- Adds support for external HDR displays
- Adds support for VRR displays
- Adds support per-display scale factor
- For more information, see Plasma release announcements
- Fixes several cases of reduced performance in Desktop Mode compared to Game Mode
- Keyboard layout and language are now obeying Game Mode settings
- Improved windowing behavior for games running in Proton
System Firmware
- Includes Steam Deck LCD BIOS v133
- Security updates
- Added “Memory Power Down” setup option
- Preliminary support for hibernation
- Security updates
- Includes Steam Deck OLED BIOS v114
- Security updates
- Charging LED now changes color when charge limit is reached, rather than only at 100%
- Security updates
Non-Deck
- Improved compatibility with recent Intel and AMD platforms
- Greatly improved video memory management with discrete GPU platforms
- Fixed a compatibility issue with the SteamOS chainloader that could cause a boot failure on some desktop systems with recent UEFI firmware
- Power button short and long presses now supported across a wide variety of devices
- Improved controller support for OneXPlayer F1 series, GPD Win 5, GPD Win Mini, Anbernic Win600, OrangePi NEO, and Lenovo Legion Go
- Added controller support for OneXPlayer X1 series and Lenovo Legion Go 2
- Added system and controller firmware update support for the Lenovo Legion Go 2
- Added preliminary charge limiting support for Legion Go, Legion Go S, and Legion Go 2 – currently only accessible in Desktop Mode
- Added controller RGB LED color settings for the Lenovo Legion Go 2
- Added controller, TDP control, and speaker audio support for the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally series
- Reduced handheld controller input latency from 5-8ms to 100-500us
- Night mode, color vibrance, and color temperature sliders in Steam now work on Z2E and later AMD APUs
- Seamless boot fixes for Z2E and later AMD APUs
- Automatically handle internally rotated display for some third-party handhelds
- Improved motion control support for handhelds with BMI260 IMUs
- SD card reliability improvements for some third-party handhelds, including ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, Legion Go 1, Legion Go S, Legion Go 2, and MSI Claw
- Fixed washed out colors for Zotac and OneXPlayer handhelds with OLED
- Fixed some GPU hangs on Phoenix APU devices (Tales of Arise, Octopath Traveler II)
- Fixed ASUS ROG Ally power consumption from fingerprint reader while shut down
Developer
- Desktop Mode now uses Wayland by default
- X11 support may still be selected via Steam developer settings, or via `steamosctl`
- X11 support may still be selected via Steam developer settings, or via `steamosctl`
- Updated Linux kernel to 6.16
- Steam now uses steamos-manager to query available desktop sessions and trigger desktop session switching
- Added support for setting the desktop password in developer settings
- Initial support for running as a Virtual Machine guest (virtio guest drivers)
- Added support for third-party devices to trigger the SteamOS boot menu via EFI variable
- Added `custom-update` verb to `atomupd-manager` for easier testing of specific builds
- System reports now include more audio debug information
- Initial support for LAVD CPU scheduler via `steamosctl set-cpu-scheduler lavd`
Source: Steam
