Why Windows Handhelds Could Age Like Fine Wine

I have loved my time with handheld Windows gaming computers a lot, but there’s no doubt that the whole experience feels a little slapped together. The main problem is, of course, Windows itself, but assuming that Bill and his crew can get it together, your current handheld might get a lot better overnight.

Windows Handhelds Waste Much of Their Potential

Let’s face it: Windows is a big old bloaty boy, and a lot of what your handheld PC is doing while running WIndows isn’t in the service of playing video games. At best, Windows thinks it’s running on a laptop with a touch screen, which is better than nothing, but things could be much improved.

Handheld PCs aren’t flush with battery capacity or spare processing power, so there’s definitely a lot that could be trimmed from the operating system or changes made to its behavior that could tap more frame or battery life from your system.

SteamOS Has Shown the Way

While the level of game compatibility is much lower compared to Windows, SteamOS on the Steam Deck has demonstrated how an OS can be modified to offer the best bang for your buck. Despite lower specifications than current Windows handhelds, the Steam Deck boasts much longer battery life and pitch-perfect power management.

Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme (left) versus Steam Deck 512GB LCD (right)

In fact, it’s the tight power management that ensures you aren’t wasting watts on pointless stuff that makes the Steam Deck so potent in my opinion. Windows desperately needs similar automatic and dynamic power management set around a target level of performance.

Microsoft Needs to Be Aggressive Under the Hood

What we need is a special handheld edition or mode for Windows 11. Something catered to the controls and displays of these devices, of course, but also tailored to their purpose. I.e. playing video games. Handheld makers like Lenovo and ASUS have to make their own custom control software and power profiles, but without the low-level OS access that Microsoft enjoys, they can never reach the heights of SteamOS. We can see some of that potential if you install something like Bazzite on a Windows handheld, and I think there are massive gains to be made if Microsoft

Microsoft’s Xbox Experience Is Priceless

Microsoft has literal decades of experience building PCs with specialized versions of Windows meant to offer as little overhead as possible and the best performance you can get. At least from something running the Windows kernel. Of course, one of the best things about a Windows handheld or even a Steam Deck is that you can use them as a regular computer as well. I’m not suggesting that should go away at all, but when gaming or doing gaming things, there’s a lot Microsoft could bring over from its Xbox systems that would make Windows handhelds better in every way at what they were designed to to.

I’m Hoping for That Update Soon

Every now and then, we’re reminded that Microsoft is working on making Windows handhelds better, but I do wish we knew more about what might be coming. Microsoft knows that Windows is the weak link with handhelds and that this is a new market with heaps of potential. We’re going to see a new generation of handheld hardware with better performance too, sooner rather than later, but with the right software support at the OS level, I’m confident that even existing owners of handheld systems like me can enjoy many more years of good performance and battery life if only one of the biggest software companies in the world would take this exciting new market seriously. Honestly, I’ve never been more excited for a Windows update in my life.