Valve Deckard Proof Of Concept Model Had 2K LCD Panels & Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Chip

A Valve Deckard proof of concept model had 2K LCD panels and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, though this doesn't mean the shipping Deckard will.

Over the past four years Valve has repeatedly confirmed that it's working on a new headset, strongly hinting that it will have a focus on wireless streaming from your PC, and a job listing mentioned it having inside-out tracking, camera passthrough, environment understanding, eye tracking, and hand tracking. In this time, many references to a Valve headset called "Deckard" have been found in the code of SteamVR by VR enthusiast Brad Lynch's Discord datamining group.

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Now, Lynch's datamining group has discovered a reference to seven pre-production models of Deckard in SteamVR code: POC-A, POC-C, Mini-D, POC-E, POC-F, EV1, and EV2. POC stands for proof of concept, EV stands for engineering validation, and it's unclear what Mini-D means.

Deckard POC-A and POC-C were first discovered in the SteamVR code almost four years ago, Mini-D three years ago, and EV2 a few weeks ago, charting Valve's progression from early prototypes to near-final hardware. But what's more notable is that Lynch's team has also discovered code revealing the specific display panels, tracking cameras, and Qualcomm chipset that were used in Deckard POC-F.

Deckard POC-F used two 2160×2160 LCD panels with 120Hz refresh rate, had four world-facing tracking cameras, two internal eye tracking cameras, and was powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the findings reveal.

That resolution is roughly equivalent to Meta Quest 3's 2064×2208, and significantly lower than Apple Vision Pro's 3660×3200, while also lacking the contrast and richness of Vision Pro's micro-OLED.

As for the tracking cameras, this would be a similar setup to PlayStation VR2 or Quest Pro. The findings come four months after 3D models of Deckard's "Roy" controllers were discovered in SteamVR files, with a design that strongly suggests they are tracked by the headset's cameras in the same way as Quest 3's Touch Plus controllers.

Arguably more interestingly, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset has a newer GPU than the XR2 Gen 2 used in Quest 3, Quest 3S, and Pico 4 Ultra, with 25% faster performance and 25% improved efficiency. While Deckard will likely focus on leveraging your gaming PC for the highest fidelity VR experience, the use of this more advanced GPU could also let it render slightly improved graphics completely standalone.

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However, we must once again stress that a proof of concept model having these specifications does not in any way mean that the shipping Deckard will too. Deckard POC-F could be years old by now, and Deckard EV2 could be a fundamentally different device.

Speaking of the shipping Deckard, a recent rumor from a Valve leaker with a solid track record suggests it could arrive later this year for $1200, and include first-party "games or demos".

We'll keep a close eye on the Valve datamining and leaking community, and the company itself, in the coming weeks and months for any further hints of the features and specifications of what may be the most highly anticipated headset in the industry.

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