We may earn a commission when you buy through links in our articles. Learn more.
A recent update to a crucial SteamOS component brings it much closer to fully supporting the Asus ROG Ally and Asus ROG Ally X. This update to Gamescope, a tool that manages game display settings, brings support for variable refresh rate (VRR) could be a sign that official support for these third-party gaming handhelds is coming to SteamOS very soon.
Right now, SteamOS is only supported on devices such as the Steam Deck, but Valve has publicly committed to bringing its handheld OS to some of the best handheld gaming PCs made by Asus and other manufacturers. This new update unlocks the full potential of the ROG Ally and ROG Ally X’s IPS displays before official SteamOS support has been announced.
This new update adds variable refresh rate (VRR) support to SteamOS for the Asus ROG Ally and Asus ROG Ally X. VRR technology helps to sync your display’s refresh rate with the frame rate of the game you’re playing in real-time. This update will allow games to take advantage of the full 48-120Hz refresh rate range supported by these devices, making them much smoother as a result, especially in the lower 50-60fps range.
If you’re already thinking about Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync right now, then you’re thinking along the right lines. Both these systems are variable refresh rate technologies designed to help reduce stuttering and screen tearing when you’re in-game.
This feature was already supported in SteamOS, but only for external monitors. By adding VRR support for the internal displays used on competitor handhelds, SteamOS is now one step closer to fully supporting both the Asus ROG Ally and ROG Ally X, even if SteamOS doesn’t yet officially support these devices.
While Asus’ handhelds have VRR support, it’s interesting to note that current Steam Deck models (including the Steam Deck OLED) don’t. There’s no suggestion right now that Valve is going to add VRR to the Steam Deck 2, but if it chose to use a VRR-capable display for a future Steam Deck, then the work to get the feature up and running in SteamOS should (hopefully) be easier after this update.
Adding VRR support proves that Valve is serious about supporting features for handhelds made by its competitors, and with all the signs pointing to an official release soon, it might be time to pick one up for yourself. You can check out our Asus ROG Ally review for our thoughts on the original Steam Deck competitor, or look through our Asus ROG Ally X review to see how the updated model fares against its older sibling.
