Valve’s subsequent thriller gadget could also be imminent

Now, Valve could also be truly on the point of ship a minimum of one in all its {hardware} concepts. South Korea’s Nationwide Radio Analysis Company has licensed a “low energy wi-fi machine” from Valve with the designation “RC-V1V-1030,” as noticed by @dxpl at Arca.stay (through Brad Lynch).

The South Korean certification tells us mainly nothing concerning the machine, save that it makes use of 5GHz Wi-Fi, which most computer systems have already got at this level. It might be just about something.

However telecommunications regulatory businesses sometimes don’t require certification for inside prototypes — provided that you’re going to import a minimum of a small amount of gadgets in a rustic, and possibly put them on sale. (For what it’s value, it seems to be just like the Valve Index was licensed by South Korea days after it was first introduced.)

The Valve machine has not but appeared at america’ FCC database, nor the Bluetooth SIG — and it might by no means seem at both one. Valve managed to get the Steam Deck previous the FCC with out being noticed early, by having its Wi-Fi / Bluetooth vendor Realtek re-certify the wi-fi module slightly than certifying the Steam Deck itself.

There are different hints in Valve’s personal code, nonetheless — Phoronix’s Michael Larabel noticed that Valve has added new modifications across the Steam Deck’s Van Gogh APU, together with the mysterious product identify “Galileo” and product household “Sephiroth.” (Aerith, carefully linked to Sephiroth in Last Fantasy VII, is one other identify for the Deck’s APU.)

Whereas Larabel initially suggests it would simply be a Steam Deck refresh reference board, Valve’s Greg Coomer advised me in 2021 that the Steam Deck’s current APU may make sense in a standalone VR headset. A brand new Steam Controller gamepad wouldn’t have a whole Steam Deck chip inside, although, in order that appears much less doubtless.

“We’re not able to say something about it, however it could run nicely in that atmosphere, with the TDP mandatory… it’s very related to us and our future plans,” he advised me.