At least the high end one is better priced than comparable handhelds but I can already see the confusion from people when their "Xbox" device is just a Windows handheld with a fullscreen app slapped on top.

Maybe they still have enough brand recognition to pull it off but this whole thing just feels so confusing.

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That's a really good deal but I want to mention that I couldn't get the DLC for Alan Wake II to work when I played it earlier this year. The game tries to check for the DLC ingame and fails with an Internet connection error.
That was with Heroic Launcher. I can't remember if I tried the Epic launcher with Proton. I had to use Windows to play the DLC.
Base game worked absolutely fine though and performed slightly better under Linux for me.

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So, surely this means AMD will help with the performance gap regarding raytracing, riiight?

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The native Linux version sadly does not support Ray Tracing, dlss, fsr or xess like the Windows version does.

From what I remember XESS never got a Linux release. Just a Windows DLL. The other things are baffling though. Trying to make a proper Linux version is appreciated. But it should at least be comparable to the Windows version.
Also, I wish Valve forced Proton on games with bad/unsupported Linux versions. It can give a bad impression when some games perform horribly just because it runs the worse version.

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My Index is still going strong, so I probably won't get one until mine breaks.
However, I would welcome VR improvements on Linux that will probably be made with the release.
I still have an external SSD with Windows 10 almost exclusively for VR. Though with ending support approaching, I should look into making it work with Linux soon. I had severe issues with audio.

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1080p/30FPS low to 1440p/60FPS medium is such a high jump.
Also leaves out stuff like 1080p at high settings.

I think spec sheets like that should focus on one resolution (either 1080p or 1440p) and mention a recommended GPU for other resolutions.

Also yikes at the 60FPS with frame generation mention.

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Just release it first. Making a big announcement two weeks before releasing it gives plenty time to get sued into the ground. Wouldn't be the first time either.

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It sounds like a fun project. And 32/64GB SD cards are pretty affordable nowadays.
But I doubt non-technical people will get much benefit out of it when you have to manually prepare your games in the first place. If you could buy prepared games that would be different. If GOG would be willing to sell cartridges with installed games that would be pretty cool.

Could be a fun gift idea if you're willing to set it up, though. I would've loved to have "my own console" as a child.

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I haven't looked too much into it but apparently people have already modded the demo.
Wouldn't be surprised if we get an offline patch within launch week.
Still absolutely ridiculous but at least SEGA incompetence might come to the rescue.

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I could see Valve making a few prototypes every couple of years to estimate how well a Steam console could perform within a certain price point. And it's probably easier to slap Windows on them for testing purposes.

Now, would they release a console with similar specs?
Honestly, maybe. The RX 7600 is capable enough to handle most games at 1080p/60FPS or 1440p/30FPS. That's very comparable to the current consoles except the PS5 Pro. Also, RDNA3 isn't that sought-after of an architecture with it's relatively high power consumption and only modest improvements over RDNA2. Especially in regards to raytracing and upscaling. Maybe they can get a good deal on those cards and thanks to Linux we can use FSR4 with solid performance which would be a decent advantage over the lackluster FSR2/3 implementations on console. 8GB VRAM is a bummer but just enough currently.

I could see it being released and doing okay for the right price. Though a cut down RDNA4 card could be significantly better for longevity. A 9050(XT) essentially. Better raytracing and FSR4 performance and 12/16GB VRAM would go a long way to make it last longer.

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