There’s a ton of Windows handhelds out there, but they lack one thing the Steam Deck has—an experience that naturally feels native to handhelds. Now, Microsoft wants to fix this with a few new changes.

Microsoft has unveiled a deep-level overhaul of Windows and the entire gaming stack on it to make it better cater to gaming handhelds. There is, for one, a new “full-screen Xbox experience”—this brand-new screen bypasses the standard Windows desktop and taskbar and brings you straight to the very thing you fired up your handheld for: to play some games. According to Jason Beaumont, vice president of experiences at Xbox, this isn’t just a simple launcher. “We were able to take people who have been working on the Xbox OS for 20 years or more and have them work directly on the Windows codebase and start reimagining what that operating system looks like for this form factor,” he explained.

Microsoft says that by not loading numerous desktop-related processes, the new full-screen mode frees up approximately 2GB of system memory for games. Early testing also shows a significant reduction in power consumption, with a device in sleep mode drawing only a third of the power compared to when booted into the traditional Windows desktop. You can still access the full Windows desktop if needed, and you might still need to do so sometimes, but the default experience is now centered entirely around gaming. This is good, considering that despite the fact that these systems run Windows, they’re seldom used as actual computers—and when you do, you’re typically just connecting a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to it rather than using the controller and touchscreen.

The updated Xbox app serves as a universal game library, aggregating games not only from Game Pass and the Microsoft Store but also from storefronts like Steam. A short press of the Xbox button on the device brings up the Game Bar for quick access to essential settings like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as ASUS’s device-specific Command Center. A long press of that Xbox button activates a new, controller-friendly task switcher, which lets you quickly switch between games and other apps. Microsoft is also developing its own version of Valve’s “Steam Deck Verified” program, which will let you identify which games are optimized for the handheld experience.

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Could the Steam Deck finally get a worthy opponent?

I haven’t seen Microsoft cater Windows to a specific category of devices like this since Windows 8 was released back in 2012, but this is way different. The handheld experience is not something that’s being forced on users, and it’s certainly not a replacement for the standard Windows experience, not even in handhelds. This will debut on two new devices from Asus, the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X.

Source: The Verge