With the amount of work they are putting in compatibility layers technology, I wouldn't be surprised if you could run The Witcher 3 on it out of the box.

Steam Deck: Already runs Linux.

GabeCube: Confirmed it will run Linux.

Steam Frame: Confirmed it will run Linux.

Obviously Valve has made no overtures whatsoever towards making a phone. But if they did, what on Earth would lead you to believe that it wouldn't run Linux?

You know what, value releasing a Linux phone is actually plausible. Like, they could totally do it. Lots of people would like it, they could enter a new market with an idea they would be willing to play to that the establishment absolutely refuses to…

Dude, you joke but this is a plausible path the Linux phones going mainstream.

Openness. So far, Valve hardware offering is not trying to coerce you into a closed ecosystem, is not trying to forbid you from doing whatever the fuck you want with your device, and is not trying to force you to do things their way. They come with Steam, but you can basically do anything with them. Including removing Steam if you desire. And you can peek under the hood all you want.

The current mobile phone market is either walled garden jail from Apple, where you have to follow their value to the T, broken iphone where you have to jump through hoops to get something that may or may not survive the next update at the whim of our corporate overlords, or Android, which I like the most, where Google can pull a fast one on you installing an app by hand if they so desire (yes, I know they sort of walked back… for now).

Today, I see the phone I own as a necessary liability because of banking apps and such. I'd like a phone that would feel more like a device I own and can somewhat trust.

Is Valve the best player for that? No idea. But no current player is. At best we got some software offering built to support a very limited subset of hardware, and that software offering is still tied to the upstream (usually AOSP) playing nice.

I think linux is the point. Because Valve has put SteamOS on their VR headset (which uses the same processor I have in my phone) it would be expected for them to do the same to a phone. Having a phone with an optimized emulator, a normal linux for arm desktop mode, and Steam built in would be very nice IMO, there are a lot of PC games that play fairly well with on-screen controls or even one of those controller phone cases that you can buy, and it's very hard to find good mobile games in comparison. I have the app Winulator on my phone, which sort of does that same thing, except not insanely reliably, and with meh UX, and it can't really run Steam (last I checked, I couldn't get it to work, it might be easier now idk), and you can't run linux x86 or ARM apps or windows ARM apps through it like I think people will be able to on the Steam frame.

Steam Xperia Linux phone would be a dream. I think if a Steam phone did well then other companies like Asus would jump into Linux phone.

Then suddenly we get mainstream alternatives to Android.

Fuck it, just make them work like Flatpaks or snaps and run a minimal android session on top of virtual hardware and install like normal.

Yes, but we despise the companies behind them. Valve is still in good graces after all this time.

I have a dumb flip phone. I would love to have a smart phone that wants to sell me games rather than spy on me.

Edit: I could play the hell out of Dispatch on this bitch.

G*mers will buy anything if it has their favourite monopoly logo on it.

Valve: “there are things phones are good at. There are things phones are bad at. And there theres the failed attempts to blur the lines. We here at valve have watched others spin their wheels stuck in the mud with their brilliant efforts to make terrible ideas work. We have a different idea….

What about a phone that just does phone things and when it needs heavier lifting, it doesn’t rape your battery or wallet to get it done? Instead, it seamlessly reaches out to your already powerful gaming rig at home? You install an app on our phone, and that tells your pc at home to install the same app automatically. Now when you tap that icon on the Home Screen, your phone taps into the massive power and connivence of an already working rig at home and streams it to your device!

We are compatible with backbone, Xbox and PlayStation, and of course steam machine controllers.

We here at valve don’t see the merit of spending tons of money marketing a compromise. Sell it once. Do it right. If we do the damn job right, you’ll come back for more. No abusive lock ins.

We call it the steam whistle. Small, portable, cheap, but everyone will notice it.”

Tell me Valve can’t market that.

if steam made a phone it wouldn't be

Goddamn I wish I could build a custom phone OS like Arch. I would actually take the time and do that.

You totally can. Android phones are basically a Linux kernel with a nice GUI. Just find the appropriate modules for your specific hardware, then assemble a suitable set of software to provide an user interface, and voila. We even already have good support for touch screen, phone calls, and a lot of other things available as separate pieces. I'm sure people will be happy to have this, myself included. Oh, and once you get all the pieces, remember to fix all the weird quirks, who would want a phone where the gyroscope stop working when you enable the camera, right?

What? That's too much work? Yeah. That's exactly why people are seeking for a large, resourceful entity to do that. Because it requires a truckload of time, effort, and knowledge. Today, "building" a linux distro is possible because of the vast amount of effort invested in it for decades.

I'll take Valve's bloatware compared to anyone else's

Damn right!

Until they get in bed with Facebook.

Absolute worst possible move!

And push some new AI girlfriend on me.

Woah woah woah, let's not be hasty now, let em cook, that could be good.

You people need to learn the differences between public and private companies

Not sure I follow... A steam frame isn't a phone. It can't make or receive phone calls

No, but since the frame is arm based, a phone with clip on controller bits like the switch that could also play my steam games is absolutely something I would throw money at.