Microsoft Takes Another Swing at Handhelds with New Fullscreen Xbox Experience, Takes on Steam Deck and Switch 2

Microsoft takes another swing at handhelds with new fullscreen Xbox experience, takes on Steam Deck and Switch 2

After years of experiments and half-baked ideas, the company is now working closely with Asus to deliver a handheld experience that feels a lot more like a console than a PC. The result? Two new devices — the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X.

Microsoft brings Xbox experience to handheld PCs with ROG Ally launch

Microsoft has revealed its new strategy to combine Xbox and Windows for handheld gaming PCs, starting with two new ROG Xbox Ally devices developed in partnership with Asus. The devices feature a full-screen Xbox experience tailored for portable gaming, in a move designed to better compete with Valve’s SteamOS on the Steam Deck.A new Xbox experience for handheldsThe ROG Xbox Ally devices will boot directly into a customised Xbox full-screen inter…

The main issue with Windows handhelds is Windows, but the Xbox ROG Ally tries to fix that

Credit: Xbox Wire Microsoft has announced the Xbox ROG Ally and Xbox ROG Ally X handhelds, coming this holiday season. These Windows handhelds boot directly into a controller-friendly UI and feature an Xbox button to summon the Game Bar overlay. Microsoft has also turned off various Windows elements in the name of gaming performance. We’ve heard for a while now that Microsoft and ASUS were working together on an Xbox-branded ROG Ally handheld. …

Microsoft showcases a Windows-based fullscreen Xbox experience optimized for handheld gaming with the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, coming to other handhelds in 2026

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