Gear news of the week: Steam makes a home console and Apple launches a $230 sleeve for your iPhone

The valve made a big return to PC hardware this week. The company, famous for its PC gaming platform Steam, announced a new home console called Steam Machine, as well as a new version of the Steam Controller and a new virtual reality headset called Steam Frame.

The Steam Machine is a revival of Valve’s original Steam Machine, a failed attempt to bring PC gaming to the living room almost exactly 10 years ago. Now it’s back, building on the success of the Steam Deck handheld. Valve says the new Steam Machine is six times more powerful than the Steam Deck and feels a bit like a compact PC. We don’t have exact measurements yet, but some early hands-on impressions have pegged it as being similar in size to the Nintendo GameCube. The Steam Machine uses a custom Zen 4 processor from AMD and is said to be sold in multiple memory and storage configurations, which can be upgraded by the user. The new Steam controller is intended to be paired with the Steam Machine and features two haptic feedback trackpads and the typical assortment of thumbsticks, buttons, triggers, and bumpers.

Finally, there is the Steam Frame. This long-awaited VR headset follows the more than six-year-old Valve Index. Valve calls the Steam Frame a “streaming-first” VR headset, intended to be connected to a PC for wireless, lag-free gaming. To overcome the latency issue, the Steam Frame will come with a dedicated wireless module to connect to your PC to ensure that all visual data is transferred as smoothly as possible.

The Steam Frame can also be used as a standalone headset, running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, meaning you’ll be playing x86 games on ARM in SteamOS. It’s a tricky business, but based on the Steam Deck’s success in juggling the required emulation layers, I trust Valve to do it in a way that Microsoft has always struggled with. As for the headset itself, it weighs just 440 grams, which is significantly lighter than the Meta Quest 3S and the recently announced Samsung Galaxy XR. It has two pancake lenses with two 2160 x 2160 pixel LCDs per eye.

There’s a lot more to learn about these devices, and none of the new hardware has a firm release date or price yet, as is usual with Valve. All we know is that these devices will be released in early 2026. —Luc Larsen

A pouch for your iPhone

You’ve probably already seen or heard of the iPhone Pocket. Inspired by a “piece of fabric,” it’s a small shoulder bag designed to carry your iPhone, and it’s a collaboration between Apple and Japanese design brand Issey Miyake. The two companies have a long history: Steve Jobs wore Issey Miyake’s black turtlenecks on stage at every major launch event.

The fabric is a unique 3D knitted construction made in Japan and will fit any iPhone model. This is not the first time that Apple has offered to put one of its products in a piece of fabric. In 2004, Apple introduced iPod Socks, a fun and easy way to protect your iPod screen while traveling. They cost $29 at the time (about $50 today).

Unfortunately, you’ll pay a lot more for the iPhone Pocket. The pouch is available in a short strap version for $150 and a long strap version for $230. Both come in a range of colors, but because they’re a special edition, you can only buy them at select Apple Stores and Apple.com in France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and the US. (It’s already sold out online.)

Digital ID comes to Apple Wallet

You already have your boarding pass on your iPhone, why not your passport too? That’s the idea behind Apple’s new Digital ID, a new way to add information from your U.S. passport into Apple Wallet. Acceptance is rolling out in beta at TSA checkpoints at more than 250 airports in the United States for domestic travel, although Apple says this will expand in the future.

You will be able to present this form of identification even if you do not have a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID. (You can already add your driver’s license to Apple Wallet, but that’s only available in certain states.) It’s important to remember, though, that Apple’s digital ID doesn’t replace a passport, which is still required for international travel.

Samsung Movingstyle displays can go anywhere with you

Courtesy of Samsung

Samsung has announced a new range of “portable” monitors intended to accompany you in your home or office. The Movingstyle (LSM7F) and Movingstyle M7 Smart Monitor (M70F) are standard 27- or 32-inch displays, with one major twist: they come with a roll-up floor stand with hidden wheels. Rather than having large separate screens in each room, the idea behind these Movingstyle monitors is to have a screen on the move, similar to LG’s StanbyMe range. It’s not hard to imagine scenarios in which this might prove practical. Maybe you’re following a recipe in the kitchen or want to finish a show you’re watching on your TV in the bedroom. Samsung claims the wheels are quiet and stable on hardwood and carpet floors.