Microsoft is Working to Combine Xbox and Windows Experiences for Handhelds - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 07 January 2025 / 1,517 Views
Microsoft VP of Next Generation Jason Ronald speaking with The Verge stated Microsoft is looking to combine the Xbox and Windows experiences together and to expect changes to come this year.
"I would say it’s bringing the best of Xbox and Windows together, because we have spent the last 20 years building a world-class operating system, but it’s really locked to the console," said Ronald. "What we’re doing is we’re really focused on how do we bring those experiences for both players and developers to the broader Windows ecosystem."
Ronald is aware of the issues with Windows working on handhelds.
"We’re focused on really simplifying that and making it much more like a console experience," he said. "Our goal is to put the player and their library at the center of the experience and not all the [Windows] work that you have to do today."
Ronald added, "I think we’ll have a lot more to share later this year. I think it’s going to be a journey and I think you’ll see a lot of investments over time that you’re starting to see already, but we’ll have a lot more to share later this year."
Microsoft's goal is to make Windows a great place for gaming on any device.
"I think, at the end of the day, our goal is to make Windows great for gaming on any device," said Ronald. "The reality is the Xbox operating system is built on top of Windows. So there’s a lot of infrastructure that we built in the console space that we can bring to the PC space and really deliver that premium gaming experience on any device."
Ronald admits Windows was not designed to work with a controller and only really works well with a keyboard and mouse.
"There’s just certain things in Windows that were not designed for if you don’t have a keyboard and mouse, like thumbstick support or joypads and stuff like that," he said. "There’s fundamental interaction models that we’re working on to make sure that regardless of the operating system details it feels very natively like a gaming-centric device and a gaming-centric experience."
The goal according to Ronald is to have the Xbox experience at the center and "not the Windows desktop that you have today."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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SteamOS made Microsoft take notice.
Competition is great.
Yeah. And StreamOS seems like a much better solution for a gaming handheld than bloated windows. Speaking of which I was looking at the new Legion Go S handhelds (one supporting windows and the other supporting SteamOS). It looks like the the Windows version starts at $599 and the SteamOS starts at $499. One may be tempted to blame windows fees for the price but it turns out that the SteamOS actually can run on a 512 SSD where the Windows requires a 1TB SSD due simply to the bloaded OS. Thats crazy. This means that even if you spent the same $599 on each and got the same 1TB SSD, you would have much, much more space for games on the SteamOS version.
So again, I really wonder why they want to merge Windows with Xbox. Just release an XBoxOS for handhelds like SteamOS.
I would prefer a Windows based OS tho, I mean, I am with you; like SteamOS it should be a dedicated OS but an XboxOS would probably limit it to only run Xbox games and not Windows games. The dream machine would be one where you can run all PC games basically (as Microsoft Studios are now making all their games for PC on top of Windows) and then Steam and other launcher.
SteamOS would definitely still be better than an "XboxOS" as there are more game available for the platform; but if Microsoft can come up with a "SteamOS" like frontend (a real one to replace the desktop; get ride of all the unnecessary stuff loading with Windows) and make this thing able to run PC game natively; I think it would be a winner.
At the end; making Windows touch screen compatible like now on the AsusROG is definitely not a good solution and SteamOS is so much better for anyone who do not feel like going the extra steps of making everything works.
Microsoft ironically had a touch screen OS.
....Windows 8.
Microsoft will eventually hit the nail on the head again, this could be it
This could be huge
Making changes so Windows is better with a controller won't close the gap with SteamOS and it's the only thing this suit talked about. All the bloat will still be there, the licenses will make devices more expensive, the advertisement will still be there, battery life will still be garbage, sleep wonkyness will remain, the data collection will continue, etc.
And Microsoft's track record on the matter is still no joke. They will be a day late and a dollar short as always.
100% true... why would anyone pay to have windows in their handheld when SteamOS is great and free lol
Literally just copy SteamOS...
Have the regular Xbox dash as the "handheld"
And regular (slimmed down) Windows for the "PC side"
This really shouldn't be difficult but I'm sure the MS heads will ruin is somehow lol
SteamOS doing work. Seriously steam is probably what will finally make Linux a viable alternative. There are people saying Steam does so well, that you can actually play most things now on linux.
I can confirm that I was positively shocked just how good the Steam Deck is. I never wanted one but 2 years after release actually ended up buying it. Best gaming system I owned in a LONG time. Some games run obscenely good on it. Doom Eternal on high settings at 60fps pretty much locked? Sure thing!
IMHO, It will be a PC handheld with "Xbox..." In the name.
Best case, It will have a Xbox "emulator" to play past Xbox games. Future games are just the PC version.
So Windows 11 keeps getting worse (24h2 update anyone?), and the Xbox platform has been driven into the dirt.
Yeah, I can't see this being anything but fantastic!
With the ARM chips, the ones used in the Surface Pro Co-Pilot+, finally starting to catch up and get close to the Apple M series this could be the start of a big development. If emulation on ARM can be as good as something like Proton then this could open up a huge new window of opportunity. A small ARM based handheld that runs all windows games at almost native quality. Windows needs a lot of work to be ready for this though.
They are nowhere near Apple. Qualcomm shit is a big ass flop.
Are you kidding me lol? The Surface Pro 11 wit the SnapDragon X Elite is a beast and I own 2 MacBook Pro and 2 Surface (11 Pro and a new Laptop).
Apple sillicon are good too; don't get me wrong; but the Snapdragon is definitely not "nowhere" (actually better for most than the M3); and not a big ass flop. Windows on ARM is actually a thing with the Snapdragon X Elite compared to that crap Microsoft came up with the Surface 8 I think? or whatever that thing was.
I am playing games on this thing and while it is not as good my PC (I mean; I have an I9/4090 combo); it is more than amazin for this APU to be able to do that and oh... It runs Windows natively too... Out of my softwares there is ONLY one that is not working (and there is a work-around, SQL Server 2022). And I have 2 MacBook Pros (one M1 Pro and one M3 Pro); and other than not running the same OS; I do not see any difference and other than performance being the same; the Surface also runs Windows... I mean...
FYI regarding the performance: https://nanoreview.net/en/cpu-compare/qualcomm-snapdragon-x-elite-vs-apple-m3 (this is the version of the M3 that is equivalent in price; so a very fair comparison; so definitely coming out of your behind with that statement about the Snap Dragon X Elite)
x86 reigns supreme as Snapdragon X Elite chips captured just 0.8% of the market with 720,000 units sold in Q3 2024 — Qualcomm misses out on rising AI PC sales with Intel and AMD taking charge
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/x86-reigns-supreme-as-snapdragon-x-elite-chips-captured-just-0-8-percent-of-the-market-with-720-000-units-sold-in-q3-2024-qualcomm-misses-out-on-rising-ai-pc-sales-with-intel-and-amd-taking-charge
I am surprised this website is not sick of your lies.
So first of all because you are mixing up everything: We are talking about chip performance and you are, for some weird reason, talking about CPU marketshare...
But even then, there is a difference between calling something a "flop" and understanding how much it is successful in the right context... The lie is trying to transform everything coming from the platform/brand you don't like to a "flop" if for some reason it does not reach the imaginary numbers you expect from it. ; Windows on ARM just came out few month ago, what did you expect? To get 50% of the marketshare with ONE device using it over thousands using the X86/AMD64 architecture?
Now, you are responding to apples with oranges and moving the goal post from "chip performance" to "market share" for some reason. We are talking about chip performance here... Not market share. And this is what DekutheEvilClown is also talking about (and to what you responded to). the whole point of this is about how the using ARM tech with Windows could make it viable, not how much the Snapdragon X Elite captured of the CPU market. And in term of performance the chip is definitely delivering (again, that's what the original comment is about); sorry for trying to stay on topic I guess...
Yah; I got a Surface Pro 11 (the snapdragon X elite); and seriously; while they failed big time with their first ARM version years ago; this thing is quite amazing. Not only it is hard to actually notice any difference between Windows running on ARM and X86/AMD64 but this thing is as powerfull as the M chips and runs Windows natively... I can definitely see this as an option for the future of handled Windows.
I'm running few games without any problems on it (of course with lower settings like when playing on my Mac Book) but it works. And some games can hold the 30/40FPS and even 60 for some. All of this emulated... With native support; the snapdragon X elite would already be enough for that kind of device so I cannot wait to see what's coming up next
Just a windows handheld, xbox is name only.
It's interesting to watch Xbox go full circle. First, it was a dedicated machine meant to take down Sony and Nintendo. Then it was a machine that lived along side them. Then it was a streaming service that you could take anywhere. Now, they're like... we're going back to PC.
Essay Pro