Steam Link app on a tablet with a Steam Controller.

Steam Link unleashes your game library if you have the right home network

Valve is launching a beta version of its Steam Link app on Android today. A version of the in-home PC game-streaming app will roll out on the App Store for iOS soon as well. I’ve spent the last week with Steam Link on my Android smartphone and a variety of other devices, and it works well, even if it has made me curse my Comcast-provided 5 GHz Wi-Fi router quite a lot.

Steam Link is a brand that Valve launched in 2015. The company introduces a number of hardware and other products to expand how people can interact with their Steam library. The Steam Link was just a $50 HDMI box at that time, and it could stream games from your computer to a television in another room. I’ve used one ever since because it’s simple and the picture quality is high. Now, Steam Link also refers to the app on iOS and Android, and it brings with it an improved image that supports 4K and 60 frames per second. But it also introduces some new headaches that come with trying to use a video game controller with a smartphone and trying to get a consistent Wi-Fi signal as you move around your home.

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