Remote downloads finally come to Steam with the latest mobile app update
Steam's often neglected mobile app has been entirely overhauled, bringing several needed quality of life improvements.
Valve rolled out a major update to the Steam mobile app, reworking it entirely for the better. The update is available on iOS and Android, and it follows Steam's modern design language.
As for features, this new version is packed with quality of life tweaks, as well as new security and convenience additions. Most existing features remain, with one exception.
The new Steam mobile app's most important addition is the ability to queue downloads and updates remotely to your PC, provided it's on and you're logged into Steam. The feature has been a staple on consoles for years, so it's about time it made its way to PC.
Steam Guard codes continue to be the biggest reason to get the app, but Valve is making it more interesting with the addition of QR code scanning. Simply point your phone's camera at the PC to sign into it, without having to enter your username and password.
You also have the option to simply approve or deny a sign in from your phone. If you tend to use Steam on multiple machines, there's now an easier way to authorise devices and log yourself out of any of them.
The Store, Community, News and all the existing tabs remain, and you can even customise them now. The Library screen has been updated to offer a similar experience to the one on desktop. Likewise, expect a more traditional Store experience on mobile thanks to the same update.
Trade and Steam Market confirmations remain, and you can now customise the notifications you get on the app from the various sources: sales, trades, friend requests etc. Finally, the Steam mobile app now supports multiple accounts for those who have several.
Chat is gone from the new app, but you can continue the conversation in the dedicated Steam chat app. That has always existed, but is now necessary if you want a comparable experience to what you can do on desktop. Valve also updated the chat app to bring its design closer to the rest of the stack.