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Another round of Steam Client Beta updates are here with Steam Deck and Desktop PC seeing lots of improvements and bug fixes, and it's especially nice for people using Bluetooth on Steam Deck.

These are just for the Steam Deck from the changelog:

  • Show battery information for connected Bluetooth devices under Settings->Bluetooth and in the Quick Access menu.
  • Added a per-device toggle to Settings->Bluetooth that controls whether a device is allowed to wake Steam Deck from sleep.
  • Fixed a bug that would cause the UI to show stale data for Bluetooth devices.

Nice to see on the Bluetooth changes, especially as you needed to use a plugin before to get better settings for Bluetooth devices. The Bluetooth device on wake though as far as I know, is still only on the OLED model.

And the rest of the Steam Client Beta for everyone on Steam Deck and Desktop PCs:

General

  • Fixed recent apps section of systray menu being offset when game icons are hidden
  • Fixed some issues with video playback not working in client browsers
  • Fixed support browser windows not closing when close button is clicked
  • Fixed Steam client taking window focus when windows are open after a crash recovery

Overlay

  • Significantly improved in-game overlay responsiveness and fixed cases where the UI could feel stuck or run at 1fps on Windows. This bug previously occurred mostly when running a fully GPU bound game (ie, newer game + older GPU hardware). This bug also mostly only occurred with the Windows Hardware Accelerated GPU scheduling setting enabled.

Library

  • Fixed beta selection dropdown for games with very long beta names
  • Fixed app activity feed to refresh more reliably
  • Fixed comments sometimes getting lost on achievement unlock events in the app activity feed

Steam Families

  • Made client settings visible but generally unchangeable when parental settings are applied. Child accounts can request parental access to settings to make changes.
  • Added a playtime countdown timer in the desktop overlay when parental playtime limits are being applied.
  • Fixed playtime limits sometimes being applied even if "set playtime limits" was not selected in the settings UI.
  • Fixed chat notification sounds sometimes playing even if friends & chat was disabled in parental controls.v
  • Display a copy count badge on game capsules for games that have more than one copy in a Steam Family.
  • Display game ownership info in game hovers in library
  • Fixed family member names sometimes not displaying while in offline mode or disconnected from Steam.
  • Add "date acquired" for games owned by other family members.

Friends / Chat

  • Reduced network traffic on connect and reconnect
  • Fixed friends list getting stuck on an empty invite list after acting on the last invite
  • Fixed "Join Chat" button not working on Steam Community Groups when viewed in the Steam Client

Steam Input

  • Update the Steam/Guide button configurations for non-Deck gamepads to match the behavior on Deck, ex: Steam+X button to open the on-screen keyboard instead of Steam + Select, etc.
  • Allow external gamepad controllers to load the same guide button configuration they would normally load on Desktop
  • Improved Gyro To Mouse behavior when connected over bluetooth.
  • Added the -nojoy command line option to prevent Steam from enumerating controllers

Remote Play

  • Added a one time pairing step when streaming from a remote computer
  • The Remote Play Together UI is always available in the Steam overlay for supported games
  • Use ScreenCaptureKit for desktop capture on macOS 14 (Sonoma)
  • Added support for hardware video encoding on macOS 14 (Sonoma)

Big Picture Mode

  • Improve readability of the Steam/Guide button chord summary over games
  • Fix an issue where non-Deck controllers could get the Steam/Guide button chord summary stuck showing until the next guide button press
  • Fixed web browsers showing blank page entries when navigating back
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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8 comments

nwildner May 29
A really nice to have.

I'm using bluetooth headphones a lot daily during lunch and commute times with Steam Deck to avoid the clutter of wired phones. This will allow me to check battery levels without having to use them on my smartphone.
voytrekk May 29
Does anyone have any Bluetooth earbud recommendations for the Steam Deck? I tried the ones I have and the latency is just too high to be enjoyable.
Mohandevir May 29
Bluetooth battery charge... I don't know if it was the intention, but nice addition for external controllers. For Steam Controllers 2, maybe?
hardpenguin May 29
QuoteShow battery information for connected Bluetooth devices
This helps with me using BT headphones with my Steam Deck lol
hardpenguin May 29
Also, as always, if Valve reads this:

I beg you, test beta on an NVIDIA device on Linux. Accelerating the interface, Big Picture and Remote Play are all full of bugs. I learned to live with them but truly things were much, much better with the legacy Big Picture.
Narcotix May 29
Quoting: voytrekkDoes anyone have any Bluetooth earbud recommendations for the Steam Deck? I tried the ones I have and the latency is just too high to be enjoyable.

This might not be the answer you were hoping for, but *taking cover*... my AirPods work pretty well with Steam Deck. In an earlier version of SteamOS I had some trouble connecting them (often took me 2-3 attempts), but this got solved by VALVe in a later update.


Last edited by Narcotix on 29 May 2024 at 2:17 pm UTC
rea987 May 29
Nice! Now, I can see the status of my Bluetooth mouse, gamepad and headphones. 😎
Very nice changes! I like that Valve are still improving SteamOS and making it more useful over time. All these little changes add up over time and make me love my Steam Deck more and more every month.
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