Home windows ‘Xbox UI’ leaked for all handhelds forward of ROG Ally launch
Home windows-based handhelds have an issue, and it’s Home windows 11. The working system made for laptops and desktops simply doesn’t work effectively for Steam Deck-style handhelds with screens as small as seven inches. The Asus ROG Xbox Ally was speculated to be the primary system to get a brand new, gaming-focused interface that addressed these points. However now the UI is leaked, and you may attempt it.
Microsoft had at all times supposed to broaden the brand new Xbox-style person interface, together with the brand new, united Xbox app with video games mechanically pulled from rival storefronts and launchers like Steam and Epic, to different gadgets. However the tentative timeline for that was someday in early 2026, giving the ROG Xbox Ally (and its souped-up X variant) at the very least a few months to shine as the primary moveable system with official Xbox branding. Earlier this week a poster on Reddit found that you may flip the compact, controller-friendly interface on by tweaking some registry values within the newest Home windows 11 construct, 25H2.
Reddit person “Gogsi123” posted the information and an indication video of the method operating on the unique ROG Ally handheld (noticed by The Verge). It’s up and operating, and in principle, it ought to work on any Home windows 11-powered handheld after you get the Home windows Insider construct put in and apply the patches to your system…which I personally wouldn’t suggest in the mean time. This requires a number of administrator-level tweaks to your system, and I believe at the very least some bugs are doubtless.
That mentioned, when you use a handheld as a secondary gaming-only system and also you’re keen to take a look at these modifications, hey, the one factor you would possibly lose is loads of time. I’ve finished dumber issues to my PCs.
The gaming-focused interface for handhelds is an thrilling growth for Microsoft. The corporate has spent the final couple of years making an attempt to leverage the booming PC gaming market to spice up its Xbox Recreation Move as a platform whereas the Xbox console itself stagnates. Early hands-on stories of the ROG Xbox Ally point out that the system is, certainly, a substantial enchancment over numerous producer skins which have tried to masks Home windows 11’s clunky efficiency on these small gadgets.
The brand new interface was one of many largest promoting factors of the ROG Xbox Ally, which nonetheless doesn’t have an official value a month earlier than its launch. However the modifications have a chance to boost all Home windows-based gaming handhelds, from the equally highly effective Lenovo Legion Go 2 releasing across the similar time, all the way in which again to the unique ROG Ally. They’re greater than skin-deep, with the optimized tuning of Home windows mentioned (by Microsoft and Asus, anyway) to supply efficiency advantages for video games operating on these low-power programs with tuned built-in graphics.
The Reddit publish signifies small however measurable good points on this unofficial software, a 5 p.c enhance in Pink Useless Redemption 2 body charges and over a gigabyte of RAM saved in Celeste. These bumps are on the very small facet, however once more, we’re speaking about an unofficial software on a years-old, not-officially-supported system. Enhancements are potential, if not inevitable, as Microsoft and its {hardware} companions make remaining tweaks.
