Samsung and Valve have built a Steam Link for Galaxy app to let users play any of their favourite Steam games directly on their Galaxy device. The new app is touted to be specially designed and optimised for the Samsung Galaxy family and is initially available for download in the US and Korea, with more countries to follow. Last month, Valve announced a standard Steam Link app for Android and iOS devices and released the first Android beta version a few weeks back. On iOS however, the company is having some trouble getting the app to comply with Apple's revised App Store Review Guidelines - however, work is progressing on this front.
Being a Samsung Galaxy family-specific offering, the Steam Link for Galaxy app supports a handful of high-end Galaxy models, including the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and the Galaxy Note 8. The also requires a supported Bluetooth controller, which could be the Steam Controller running the latest Bluetooth firmware or a Microsoft Xbox One S Controller connected via Bluetooth.
Similar to the original Steam Link app, you need to connect your Samsung Galaxy handset to a PC running Steam on the same local network to kick start the action. The PC should be running Windows 7 or newer, macOS X 10.10 Yosemite or newer, SteamOS, or Ubuntu 12.04 or newer, as specified in an official post on the Steam Community forum. Also, both devices, your Galaxy device and computer, need to be connected to the same 5GHz Wi-Fi network.
Compared to the original Steam Link app, the Steam Link for Galaxy has a more convenient user interface, SamMobile notes. It starts the gaming process only after establishing connectivity with a supported controller. This means that you won't be able to use the app on your Galaxy handset, no matter how advanced it is in terms of hardware (or price), if you don't own a required controller.
The Steam Link for Galaxy app is initially available in the US and South Korea, and if you're in any of the two regions, you can download the app directly through Galaxy Apps store. An APK file of the app is also available from APK Mirror. However, the app won't work if you're not in the US or South Korea at the initial stage.
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