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SteamOS 3.8.1 Preview: Second Clutch

[p]Note: This update is for the Steam Deck Preview channel, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > System Update Channel.[/p][p][/p][p]These notes contain all changes since the current stable SteamOS 3.7 release, with the changes added since the previous preview noted in bold[/p][p][/p][p]General[/p]
  • [p]\[New in 3.8.1] Fixed a case where WiFi performance could become degraded until the device was put to sleep or manually reconnected[/p]
  • [p]\[New in 3.8.1] Fixed excessive trackpad sensitivity on certain early Steam Deck LCD models[/p]
  • [p]Initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware[/p]
  • [p]Updated Arch system base[/p]
  • [p]Updated graphics driver with performance and stability fixes[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a case where per-app performance settings would intermittently fail to apply when launching a game[/p]
  • [p]Improved support for the screencasts in Game Mode (e.g. OBS/Discord)[/p]
  • [p]Fixed dropdown menus not appearing in some games[/p]
  • [p]Improved VRR frame pacing[/p]
  • [p]Fixed FSR badge remaining off in the performance overlay, even if it was actually active[/p]
  • [p]Improved support for games that attempt to open PDF files in external viewers[/p]
  • [p]Fixed an issue affecting certain titles (such as "SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide") where the game window could have an incorrect position[/p]
  • [p]Fixed closing certain titles (such as "STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor™") and Starfield resulting in a session crash[/p]
  • [p]Improved support for certain USB racing wheels and USB devices that boot in a non-standard mode[/p]
    • [p]Frequently these are devices that appear as USB storage devices with a driver installer, and must be switched to their normal mode by the OS[/p]
  • [p]Steam Deck controller firmware updates now display update progress on the splash screen[/p]
  • [p]Fixes issue on specific Steam Deck revisions where firmware updates could render the left controller inoperative for that session[/p]
  • [p]Numerous stability and security updates[/p]
[p]Bluetooth[/p]
  • [p]Re-re-enable Bluetooth Wake for Steam Deck LCD[/p]
    • [p]Fix for more spurious wake issues that were present in earlier attempts[/p]
[p]Audio[/p]
  • [p]Detect HDMI channel count and expose surround configuration if available[/p]
  • [p]Add a setting to allow using Bluetooth headset mics (Bluetooth playback quality will be worse while capture is active)[/p]
  • [p]Restore internal audio device on reboot if set to "Off" in desktop mode[/p]
  • [p]Increase suspend timeout for HDMI devices so initial audio isn't cut off after a few seconds of inactivity[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a bug with switching input devices when a wired headset is plugged in[/p]
  • [p]Fixed an issue where audio underruns could be experienced after sleep/resume[/p]
[p]Accessibility[/p]
  • [p]Added an option to force mono audio output[/p]
[p]Desktop Mode[/p]
  • [p]KDE Plasma updated to version 6.4.3 from 6.2.5, and now uses wayland by default[/p]
    • [p]Fixes several cases of reduced performance in Desktop Mode compared to Game Mode[/p]
    • [p]Improved support for rotated displays[/p]
    • [p]Better scale factor out of the box on TVs[/p]
    • [p]Adds support for external HDR displays[/p]
    • [p]Adds support for VRR displays[/p]
    • [p]Adds support per-display scale factor[/p]
    • [p]For more information, see Plasma release announcements[/p]
  • [p]Keyboard layout and language are now obeying Game Mode settings[/p]
  • [p]Improved windowing behavior for games running in Proton[/p]
[p]System Firmware[/p]
  • [p]Includes Steam Deck LCD BIOS v133[/p]
    • [p]Security updates[/p]
    • [p]Added "Memory Power Down" setup option[/p]
    • [p]Preliminary support for hibernation[/p]
  • [p]Includes Steam Deck OLED BIOS v114[/p]
    • [p]Security updates[/p]
    • [p]Charging LED now changes color when charge limit is reached, rather than only at 100%[/p]
[p]Non-Deck[/p]
  • [p]Improved compatibility with recent Intel and AMD platforms[/p]
  • [p]Greatly improved video memory management with discrete GPU platforms[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a compatibility issue with the SteamOS chainloader that could cause a boot failure on some desktop systems with recent UEFI firmware[/p]
  • [p]Power button short and long presses now supported across a wide variety of devices[/p]
  • [p]Improved controller support for OneXPlayer F1 series, GPD Win 5, GPD Win Mini, Anbernic Win600, OrangePi NEO, and Lenovo Legion Go[/p]
  • [p]Added controller support for OneXPlayer X1 series and Lenovo Legion Go 2[/p]
  • [p]Added system and controller firmware update support for the Lenovo Legion Go 2[/p]
  • [p]Added preliminary charge limiting support for Legion Go, Legion Go S, and Legion Go 2 - currently only accessible in Desktop Mode[/p]
  • [p]Added controller RGB LED color settings for the Lenovo Legion Go 2[/p]
  • [p]Added controller, TDP control, and speaker audio support for the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally series[/p]
  • [p]Reduced handheld controller input latency from 5-8ms to 100-500us[/p]
  • [p]Night mode, color vibrance, and color temperature sliders in Steam now work on Z2E and later AMD APUs[/p]
  • [p]Seamless boot fixes for Z2E and later AMD APUs[/p]
  • [p]Automatically handle internally rotated display for some third-party handhelds[/p]
  • [p]Improved motion control support for handhelds with BMI260 IMUs[/p]
  • [p]SD card reliability improvements for some third-party handhelds, including ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, Legion Go 1, Legion Go S, Legion Go 2, and MSI Claw[/p]
  • [p]Fixed washed out colors for Zotac and OneXPlayer handhelds with OLED[/p]
  • [p]Fixed some GPU hangs on Phoenix APU devices (Tales of Arise, Octopath Traveler II)[/p]
  • [p]Fixed ASUS ROG Ally power consumption from fingerprint reader while shut down[/p]
[p]Developer[/p]
  • [p]Desktop Mode now uses Wayland by default[/p]
    • [p]X11 support may still be selected via Steam developer settings, or via `steamosctl`[/p]
  • [p]Updated Linux kernel to 6.16[/p]
  • [p]Steam now uses steamos-manager to query available desktop sessions and trigger desktop session switching[/p]
  • [p]Added support for setting the desktop password in developer settings[/p]
  • [p]Initial support for running as a Virtual Machine guest (virtio guest drivers)[/p]
  • [p]Added support for third-party devices to trigger the SteamOS boot menu via EFI variable[/p]
  • [p]Added `custom-update` verb to `atomupd-manager` for easier testing of specific builds[/p]
  • [p]System reports now include more audio debug information[/p]
  • [p]Initial support for LAVD CPU scheduler via `steamosctl set-cpu-scheduler lavd`[/p]