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Since the introduction of the Steam Deck, the PC gaming handheld market has been set ablaze with new devices powered by Windows. Starting with the Asus ROG Ally (in terms of major companies, that is), we’ve seen a huge wave of Windows-powered handhelds, including the Lenovo Legion Go, MSI Claw, and a never-ending list of devices from companies like Ayaneo and One Xplayer.

But one common point that’s often pointed out in reviews is how Windows, or the software experience in general, makes it hard to recommend these handhelds compared to the Steam Deck or something like the Nintendo Switch. A few things need to change with Windows if we want these gaming handhelds to be truly great — let’s break them down.

Streamlined drivers and software

Performance needs to be more consistent

When you buy a console like a Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, or even the Steam Deck, it’s fair to say you know what level of performance you’re going to get. These are consistent, thoroughly tested platforms that deliver exactly what they promise. However, Windows PCs really aren’t like that. Of course, differences in hardware can cause problems, but a major problem with Windows is how the software can also have a negative impact on performance.

When we reviewed the Lenovo Legion Go, we noted that performance in some games was absolutely abysmal, and somegames even refused to run saying that drivers were outdated. More recently, a Windows 11 update caused some big issues for the Asus ROG Ally, too. This is the kind of thing you’d never see on a console, and it’s a big hurdle for PC gaming in general. Most people don’t want to deal with things like this, which is why console gaming is so popular.

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If Windows wants to be at the heart of gaming handhelds and be successful at it, Microsoft needs to tailor Windows 11 to work optimally on these kinds of devices. Streamline and lock down the driver and software experience so updates are less frequent and more stable, and make it so compatibility doesn’t have to be a concern most of the time. I’m actually surprised AMD making the Ryzen Z1 series didn’t turn into a partnership where Windows was especially optimized to run on this dedicated hardware, and I hope something like that happens at some point.

The openness of Windows is what makes it great, but to achieve mass market success as a console, the experience has to be good out of the box. If a user wants to tinker and open things up, they can still have that option, but the default experience should be more reliable.

It needs to be lighter

Windows does a lot in the background

In addition to ensuring stability and consistent performance in terms of software, Windows should also be designed to use less power in the background overall. Windows 11 does already have a game mode to help you get the most performance out of your games, but this should be the standard behavior on these devices, even if games aren’t running.

Things like stopping updates from installing, disabling certain security features, or just removing things like the Widgets panel and Copilot could help games run that much more smoothly on Windows, as well as extend the battery life of these devices, which is pretty important for a handheld.

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I could envision this as a specific mode for Windows where certain things are a bit more locked down, but it helps ensure you have a smoother experience. For example, certain security features could be disabled for enahnced performance, but in exchange, you can’t download files from certain websites. You can always turn this off if you want to get more freedom at the expense of some performance.

Optimize the UI for controllers

Make it like an Xbox

Most gaming handhelds come with a touchscreen, but while on platforms like the Switch or Steam Deck, this is just a nice bonus, Windows-based handhelds pretty much require it. Navigating Windows with just controller buttons is borderline impossible, and Microsoft’s dedicated Game Bar interface does very little to alleviate this.

In fairness to Microsoft, things have improved a bit with some updates making the Xbox app more suitable for this kind of device, but the whole experience needs to be better. Changing settings, opening games, browsing files, it all needs to work better with just the controller buttons, and right now, the experience is horrendous if you try to do this. Windows on gaming handhelds should feature a custom UI akin to Steam’s Big Picture mode, tailor-made to make navigation easier. Actions need to be easy to spot at a glance and easy to reach by just using the analog sticks of D-pad on a console. Menus should be less dense, too.

A while back, there was some discussion that Microsoft was working on a modular version of Windows, so different components could be tailored for different devices. Microsoft could just turn the shell into an Xbox-like UI so it can be fully navigated with controllers and easy to understand.

An actual game launcher

Don’t leave it up to third-parties

This point ties back very closely to the previous one, but it deserves its own spotlight. Every Windows handheld right now has come with a custom UI for launching games and accessing specific settings, but lanching games should also be a consistent experience across Windows devices. The way I see it, Windows gaming handhelds should include an Xbox button that either takes you to the launcher right away or opens a menu that gives you the option to go back to your launcher.

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That launcher should be a unified UI that includes all your games in one place, or it could be split into categories based on the platform where you bought them. Having this unified interface would make it easier to move from one handheld to another and take your games with you. Sure, Windows is an open platform, but as a PC, the experience using an HP laptop or a Lenovo laptop is basically the same overall. With gaming handhelds, having these separate game launchers, which are intrinsic to the experience, means that experience is now significantly different across devices, despite them running the same operating system. That’s something Microsoft should address for future handhelds.

If Microsoft wants its own handheld, it needs to do better with software

Expectations have started ramping up around the possibility of an Xbox-branded gaming handheld, with Microosft’s own Phil Spencer fanning the flames by asking the community whether they’re planning to buy such a device. But if Microsoft wants to find success with its own gaming handheld, the software experience needs to be better. And at that point, that software experience should be available to all Windows PCs. Microsoft always stands to benefit from selling more devices, even if they’re not made by Microsoft. So hopefully these improvements do come, and they come soon. With a Nintendo Switch 2 seemingly on the horizon, Microsoft needs to capitalize on the popularity of handhelds before it misses the boat.