Windows 11’s latest Insider flight borrows a small but decisive interaction from the emerging generation of Windows-powered handhelds: a long press of the Xbox/Guide button on a controller now opens Task View, while a short tap still summons the Game Bar and a sustained hold continues to power...
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Microsoft has quietly begun remapping the Xbox controller’s central Guide button in recent Windows 11 Insider builds so that a short tap still opens the Game Bar, a long press now opens Task View, and a sustained hold continues to power the controller off — a small input-change that signals a...
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xbox button
Microsoft is quietly experimenting with a small but consequential change to how the Xbox button behaves on Windows 11: a long press of the Xbox button now opens Task View, while a short press still summons the Game Bar and a sustained hold continues to power the controller off.
Background /...
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controller input
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gamebar
handheld windows
input mapping
insider preview
long press
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short press
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windows 11
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xbox button
Microsoft is quietly turning the Xbox button on controllers into a native Windows multitasking tool: in the latest Windows 11 Insider builds Microsoft maps a short press of the Xbox button to open the Game Bar, a long press to open Task View (the system-level app switcher and virtual desktop...
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insider preview
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task view
windows 11
windows gaming
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Microsoft is quietly remapping the Xbox controller’s central Guide/Xbox button on Windows 11 so a short press still opens the Game Bar, a long press opens Task View, and a sustained press continues to power the controller off—an apparently small change that has outsized implications for...
Microsoft has begun testing a change that remaps the Xbox button on controllers in Windows 11 so a long press opens Task View, while a short press still opens the Game Bar and a sustained hold still powers the controller off.
Background
Microsoft has steadily worked to make Windows 11 friendlier...
Microsoft has quietly repurposed the Xbox button on gamepads when used with Windows 11 Insiders: a long press now opens Task View while a short press still launches the Game Bar, and a press-and-hold continues to power down the controller — a small but practical tweak rolling out to Dev and Beta...
Lenovo’s newly announced Legion Go 2 will ship this October as a bigger, more expensive flagship handheld and — crucially for Windows handheld gamers — Lenovo says it will be able to run Microsoft’s new Xbox full‑screen experience starting in spring 2026, making the Legion Go 2 the first...
Microsoft’s Copilot Labs is Microsoft’s public sandbox for trying experimental Copilot features — a place where the company surfaces early, sometimes rough, generative-AI tools so real users can test them, file bugs, and shape how those features evolve before they land in the mainstream Copilot...
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Asus and Microsoft have taken the wraps off the ROG Xbox Ally family — two Windows 11 handhelds that marry ASUS’ ROG hardware design with an Xbox‑layered, controller‑first Windows experience — and they arrive on store shelves on October 16, 2025, positioning themselves as direct rivals to...
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Title: Microsoft’s new “My Apps” tab in the Xbox app for Windows: what it changes for handheld PCs and every PC gamer
TL;DR
What it is: “My Apps” is a new tab inside the Xbox app for Windows that aggregates third‑party gaming apps and utilities in one controller‑friendly place. Think...
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Microsoft and ASUS have set a firm retail date for their jointly developed handhelds — the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X — and they arrive not as simple third‑party devices but as the first mainstream proof that Microsoft intends to use Windows 11 as the foundation for a console‑like...
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Microsoft’s Xbox handheld arriving as a Windows-powered device is less an endgame than the first real, public proof that Microsoft intends to use Windows itself as the foundation of a next-generation, cross-device Xbox experience.
Background / Overview
Microsoft and ASUS announced the ROG Xbox...
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The ROG Xbox Ally X I tried shows genuine promise as a portable Windows gaming platform — but its success depends almost entirely on how far Microsoft and OEMs can push Windows 11 out of its desktop mindset and into a controller‑first, battery‑smart handheld experience.
Background
Handheld PCs...
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Microsoft’s move to carve a dedicated, controller-first path through Windows 11 has finally surfaced in a hands-on preview: a new Handheld Gaming Mode (sometimes referred to as a gamepad‑optimized UI) is being shown in early footage running on the ASUS‑branded Xbox Ally family, and the changes...
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background service reduction
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console style launcher
controller detection
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Microsoft and ASUS’ ROG Xbox Ally gives the clearest look yet at what a purpose‑built, console‑inspired Windows gaming UI feels like on a handheld — a full‑screen Xbox experience that boots into a game‑first shell, ties deeply into Game Pass and Xbox services, and pairs with ASUS’ Armoury Crate...
Microsoft’s Gaming Copilot has arrived in the Windows 11 Game Bar preview — an AI-powered, in-game assistant that promises real-time, context-aware help to players — and the reaction has been immediate and polarized, with excitement from accessibility advocates and convenience-seekers clashing...
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windows 11
xbox insider
Microsoft’s Windows ecosystem kept up a steady drumbeat of wins and weirdness this week: a puzzling Game Bar regression that appears to blunt performance on some AMD Ryzen X3D rigs, fresh Windows 11 preview builds pushing more Control Panel settings into Settings, a major Copilot/AI push that...
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insider builds
security updates
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webui 2.0
windows 10 end of life
windows 11
The AI-powered revolution in PC gaming now has a new flagship: Microsoft’s Gaming Copilot. Quietly unveiled to Windows 11 beta testers, this innovative feature promises to become the ultimate digital sidekick for gamers, offering context-aware assistance inside any supported title. By seamlessly...
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ai
beta
context aware
copilot
developer tools
future of gaming
gamebar
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insider
microsoft
optimization
performance
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windows11
xbox
Microsoft’s official guidance on the “Print Screen” key has been quietly refreshed, and it confirms a simple truth Windows fans have felt for years: there’s more than one “right” way to capture your screen—and the defaults continue to evolve across Windows 10 and Windows 11. From Win+PrtScn...