Valve allowed me to turn my Android handheld into an unofficial Steam deck

Android apps like Winlator, GameHub, and GameNative have emerged in recent years. All of these apps allow you to play PC games locally on your Android device, with GameHub and GameNative even supporting your Steam library.

However, Valve delivered a big surprise earlier this month when it released an official Steam client for Arm-based versions of Linux. This client connects to Windows x86, MacOS, and Linux x86 editions. This is great news because you can install Arm-based Linux distributions like Rocknix on some Android handhelds. So does this mean I can effectively turn my Android handheld into a Steam Deck? Here’s how I fared.

Why is Steam on Linux Arm a big deal?

This new version of Steam is more proof that Valve is slowly putting all the pieces together for PC games on mobile hardware. Valve is doing this because the company’s Steam Frame headset uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset derived from a smartphone. The company wants its Linux-based SteamOS platform to run directly on this device. So it’s clear that the newly released Steam client for Linux Arm is the latest piece of the puzzle.

Another recent puzzle piece is the release of the Proton 11 beta earlier this month. Proton is Valve’s open-source compatibility tool for running Windows games on Linux, and it is the backbone of Steam Deck and Steam OS at large. It is also an important tool in the GameHub and GameNative Android apps. Proton 11 now supports Arm devices by including the latest FAX release (2604). Fex, which is supported by Valve, translates x86 CPU instructions into Arm64 Linux instructions.

So we have a Linux Arm version of Steam as well as a Proton 11 release with Arm support. Now it’s time to install Linux on my AYN Odin 2 portal and see if Steam and Steam games run well here.

Some Android handhelds actually allow you to install Arm flavors of Linux. Rockniks Probably the most popular Linux distribution in this regard, and installing it is not a big challenge. The best part is that you can install it on your handheld’s microSD card, so you’re not putting your Android installation at risk.

The microSD card installation instructions below apply to users with Windows computers. These steps are not very advanced, but I would still caution you to turn back now if you do not feel comfortable tinkering with your device. It’s also worth noting that some steps may differ depending on your handheld. Once again, I am using the AYN Odin 2 portal.

1. Download and install the latest version of Rocknix Image Burner Tool From the project’s GitHub page.
2. Launch Rocknix Image Burner, then select your preferred Rocknix branch (stable or nightly) as well as your handheld manufacturer and device model. Some handhelds only have nightly branches, so switch to the nightly option if your device manufacturer and model aren’t listed.
3. Select your microSD card in Select target drive Field. This process will completely erase your memory card and install Rocknix on it.
4. Click write image to drive. The tool will then download the corresponding OS version and write it to your microSD card, turning it into a bootable memory card.

Now that you’ve got your bootable microSD card with Rocknix, it’s time to configure your Android handheld. This may be slightly different on your device.

1. Insert the microSD card into your handheld, open your pre-installed Files app, and find the named folder rocknix_abl.
2. From here, copy this folder to the root of your device storage (ie, don’t add it to a specific folder like Downloads or Movies).
3. visit Settings > Execute script as root (This path may vary in your hand) and run the script titled backup_abl.shthen run the script titled flash_abl.sh. Both scripts are located rocknix_abl The folder you just copied to your device storage.

Next, you need to change the boot order of your Android handheld. When your handheld turns on, it usually looks at the operating system’s internal storage. But we’re going to say to look at the microSD card instead. Here’s how we’ll do it.

1. Restart your handheld, and then immediately press and hold the Volume-Down button for several seconds to enter the Fastboot menu. Alternatively, you can turn off your handheld, then turn it on by pressing the Power and Volume-Down buttons to enter this menu.
2. Your touchscreen will not work in this menu, so you will have to use the Volume keys to navigate and the Power button to confirm.
3. From here, navigate switch boot mode And then switch the boot mode from Android to Linux.
4. choose launch, And that’s all. Your handheld will now always boot into Linux.
5. Do you want to switch back to Android? Enter the fastboot menu via the above methods, then switch the boot mode from Linux to Android.

Now that those long steps are out of the way, Rocknix will welcome you. The Linux distribution runs the EmulationStation front-end, giving you a simple and intuitive interface to your handheld. That being said, you may want to learn some shortcuts for navigating apps that don’t support a gamepad (for example, L1 + Start + Select to close apps).

You also need to manually enable Wi-Fi so you can download stuff. Just press the start button, tap network configuration Menu, and then Configure your Wi-Fi connection. Now we are in business.

Rocknix actually has a job Start Steam (arm64) button In the Tools menu. Tap it, and the Arm Linux version of Steam will be downloaded to your device. You can follow along with text strings.

Once Steam is downloaded and launched, you will be greeted with the optimized Big Picture mode that will look extremely familiar to Steam Deck owners. Honestly, this is the closest I’ve felt to SteamOS on an Android handheld. Even the home and power menus are basically the same as the Steam deck.

It doesn’t take long to see that Steam on an Android handheld, via Rocknix, isn’t as polished as the Steam Deck experience. For one thing, the client takes about two minutes to launch, while some games also take a long time to launch. I’m guessing this is due to the fact that we’re running the entire OS and apps from a microSD card. Another limitation of Rocknix is ​​that it does not have a proper sleep mode on some devices (for example, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2). There is a fake suspend feature with a configurable countdown until the device turns off. It’s a neat solution, but it runs out in 30 minutes. Also, pressing the power button while in Steam often causes the app to freeze.

Still, this is a basic version of Steam running on an Android handheld. how cool is that? Other than that, apart from the above issues the actual Steam app experience is great. Browsing through Steam is a fast experience, while the key menus and features are present and taken care of. This includes the download manager, the store itself, your wish list, the friends/chat menu, and the battery icon. It really feels like I’m using a small, lightweight Steam deck at the best of times.

I also can’t be angry at some of Rocknix’s limitations. This is a small, community-driven project after all. If anything, I’m impressed that this project exists in the first place and supports so many Android handhelds. My heartiest congratulations to the team behind this endeavour.

I tried out some light Steam games first, and here’s the exciting news. Titles like New Star GP, Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2, Geometry Wars 3, My Friend Pedro and UFO 50 ran very smoothly. You may need to change small settings like display resolution, but I was generally happy with most of these games. I was also happy to see that titles like Tetris Effect Connected and Prodicious were very playable, although I did notice some minor glitches here and there. Moving up a notch, Earth Defense Force 4.1 is generally slow, despite the abundance of on-screen enemies. It’s also worth noting that fans are starting to kick off with some of these more advanced games. It’s not something to shout about by any means, but it’s noticeable nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Portal, Saints Row 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Sleeping Dogs, and Just Cause 2 did not work at all. These titles usually display a blank screen or crash just seconds after launching. I also tried switching to the Proton 11 beta for these games, which includes Arm64 support. But it didn’t seem to make any difference. This is a shame if you’re expecting to play a more demanding action/adventure title.

I tested some of these games on GameNative. I should point out that Proton 11 is not available in the app at the time of writing, leaving us with an older version of the compatibility layer. Geometry Wars 3, Guns, Gore, and Cannoli 2, Produce, and Tetris Effect all ran smoothly. In fact, I was very pleased with the performance in these games. Meanwhile, Earth Defense Force 4.1 would have been very playable without the constant flickering and periods of slowdown.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t really get into games with Skyrim, Just Cause 2, Sleeping Dogs, or Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I didn’t do much tinkering with GameNative other than changing Proton versions, as the app provides known configurations for many games. So it’s entirely possible that these titles will work with some adjustments.

Is it worth installing Steam on an Android handheld?

There doesn’t seem to be any major difference between Steam on Linux and Android apps like GameNative in terms of compatibility. I also didn’t get the impression that there was any significant performance delta between the two platforms, but that’s only based on my limited experience. However, I appreciate that GameNative gives you easy access to various settings, allowing me to quickly swap drivers, switch between graphical wrappers, and tweak the translation tools. In contrast, the Steam client doesn’t put these options within easy reach, if they do at all.

It’s also worth reiterating that Android is a far more sophisticated platform than Rocknix right now. Again, the latter is a small community project not backed by dozens of corporations, and I find it a miracle that it exists. But Android niceties like sleep functionality and a variety of accessible performance/battery settings make for an all the more enjoyable experience.

That being said, running the official version of Steam on an Android handheld still feels like magic in some ways. The optimized UI and integrated store access are all great. Cloud saves also work here, which isn’t always the case for PC gaming apps on Android. But are these Steam-related features worth the effort compared to simply running Winlator, GameHub, or GameNative? Probably not for most gamers. But I think the experience will only be better for Steam on Linux.