HTC VIVE vs Valve Steam Frame

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VIVE compared with Steam Frame

	HTCVIVE	ValveSteam Frame
Overview
Released
Released	April 2016	September 2026
Display
Resolution per eye
Resolution per eye	1080 × 1200	2160 × 2160 (better)
Panel
Panel	OLED	LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	90 Hz	144 Hz (better)
Field of view
Field of view	–	110° horizontal
Display details
Display details	Dual 3.6-inch AMOLED displays; 1080 × 1200 per eye at 90 Hz. HTC's stated 110° field of view has no specified axis.	Two 2160 × 2160 LCD panels, one per eye; 72, 80, 90, 120 and 144 Hz (144 Hz experimental)
Lenses
Lenses	Fresnel lenses (PC Gamer); separate eye-relief adjustment	Custom pancake lenses with glass and non-glass elements; field of view up to 110° (Valve gives 110° horizontal and vertical to UploadVR); eyeglasses up to 140 mm wide
Lens spacing (IPD)
Lens spacing (IPD)	Physical lens-spacing knob; 60.2–74.5 mm range reported by Ars Technica	60–70 mm target range, adjusted with a wheel on top of the headset
Tracking and input
Eye tracking
Eye tracking	No	Yes
Hand tracking
Hand tracking	Yes	No
Controllers in the box
Controllers in the box	Yes	Yes
Colour passthrough
Colour passthrough	Yes	No
Sensors
Sensors	SteamVR Lighthouse tracking with two external base stations; seated, standing and room-scale use. Later VIVE Hand Tracking SDK supports controller-free skeleton tracking in compatible apps; its 3D print mode is not supported on original VIVE. No built-in eye tracking.	Inside-out; 4 outward-facing monochrome cameras for headset and controller tracking with IR illuminators for low light; 2 interior cameras for eye tracking and foveated streaming; no controller-free hand tracking (UploadVR)
Controllers
Controllers	Two wireless tracked wands with trackpads, grip buttons, dual-stage triggers and haptic feedback; Micro-USB charging. Controller battery life is separate from the PC-powered headset.	Steam Frame Controllers with 6-DoF tracking, ABXY buttons (right), D-pad (left), full-size magnetic TMR thumbsticks with capacitive touch, analogue triggers, bumpers, dual-stage grip buttons, capacitive finger tracking and a haptic motor; one AA battery each, about 40 hours; 130 g each with battery
Passthrough
Passthrough	Single front camera; SteamVR offers boundary outlines or a small full-colour live view (Ars Technica)	Monochrome passthrough from the outward-facing cameras; front expansion port (dual MIPI camera interface or PCIe Gen 4 x1) takes accessories such as the Arcturus Vision colour camera
Performance
Works
Works	Needs a PC or console	Standalone or with a PC
Chip
Chip	–	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Storage
Storage	–	256 GB, 1 TB
Chip details
Chip details	–	4 nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, ARM64; runs SteamOS 3 (Arch-based) with KDE Plasma desktop
Memory
Memory	–	16 GB unified LPDDR5X; 256 GB or 1 TB UFS storage; microSD card slot
Connections
Connections	PC connection through powered link box; HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 and USB 2.0 or newer. Original tether combines HDMI, USB and power (Ars Technica).	Streams from a PC, Steam Deck or Steam Machine over Wi-Fi; headset has Wi-Fi 7 2 × 2 with dual radios (5 GHz Wi-Fi and 6 GHz VR streaming at once); Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz) USB wireless adapter included; Bluetooth 5.4; no DisplayPort cable connection
Design
Battery
Battery	None (powered by a PC or console)	Built in
Weight (headset)
Weight (headset)	555 g	440 g (better)
Battery details
Battery details	–	21.6 Wh Li-ion battery at the back of the headstrap; charges over USB-C 2.0 at up to 45 W (15 V, 3 A); Valve doesn't give a battery life
Audio
Audio	Integrated microphone, 3.5 mm headphone connection and separate earbuds; original headset has no integrated headphones. Deluxe Audio Strap is a separate later accessory.	Dual speaker drivers per ear built into the headstrap; dual microphone array
Strap
Strap	Adjustable fabric straps; original launch headset is 555 g without cables according to Ars Technica. Later hardware revisions may differ.	Modular headstrap (245 g) holding the speakers and battery; the 185 g core module detaches for other straps; core module and facial interface 175 × 95 × 110 mm
In the box
In the box	Headset, two controllers, two base stations, link box, tether, earbuds, cables, chargers and mounting accessories; gaming PC separate	Headset, two Steam Frame Controllers, Wi-Fi 6E wireless adapter, standard light blocker, face gasket and head cushion; Half-Life: Alyx licence. No power supply; Valve sells a 45 W one separately