I hope they finally launch it officially, it's been such a long time. I'm mostly hopeful that if they do launch the Steam Deck then they might also launch future hardware as well without such a big delay.
As someone who already has a Deck, I'm more keen on this. The Index was very expensive and only had a limited run. Mind you, the Index is expensive in general and I hope they aim for Quest level prices this time around.
I don't remember where I read it, but it was rumored to be a wireless standalone headset, with codename Deckard.
I'm not sure if that means they'll make it more affordable or make it more advanced so it were to be an upgrade from the Index and charge that quality pricing.
Please no, there is the already the quest 3 if you want a quest 3. There is still a need to push the hardware and software in XR. Especially screens.
Even if they make a quest 3 competitor it will not take VR into the mainstream yet. The technology and form factor is just not there to keep regular people using XR devices.
IMO it's better they keep pushing the hardware to advance the tech more quickly, for now. Instead of giving cheap first impressions of VR to people.