The steam hardware feed just published news about the reservation queue:
We launched Steam Frame last month, and with the reservation queues and waitlist in place we wanted to give folks a better idea of when they can expect to see an email with the option to purchase.
…
If you have a reservation You can now check on your expected order window by going directly to the Steam Frame product page while logged in to your Steam account. Once there, you’ll see confirmation that you’ll receive your order email either by December, or in 2027. Those in the 2027 camp will receive further (more detailed) information on their expected order timing by January.
I don’t know if they’re rolling it out differently in different regions, but I cannot see it right now and I am in the reservation queue for Europe/Germany.
😐
Edit: Now it’s telling me that I’m in the 2027 group. Oh well.
I get it but with your analogy, if you had all the ingredients and told me you’d get back to me at the start of next year with further information about when I might be able to expect my reserved cake, I’d be pretty unhappy.
Yeah, Valve should really have more information to give. Still, to keep the analogy consistent, any baked-in (hah) time expectations are going to scale with actual production times and hard deadlines. Cakes can be produced in the range of hours or days and are typically ordered ahead of dated events. A device like the Frame is 3 months minimum from part procurement to delivery and is a luxury good no one should expect to need.