XDMicrosoft's gaming handheld really does sound like the Xbox Deck that solves all our problemsIf Microsoft actually pulls this one off, the world of handheld gaming consoles could be forever changed, and its goals are certainly ambitious.Image credit: Microsoft/ Xbox News by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor Published on Jan. 8, 2025 The state of handheld gaming PCs is a lot different today than back when the Steam Deck was initially introduced. Aside from all the hardware and specs drama, your choices essentially come down to one of two segments.Your device is either power-efficient and performant enough to actually let you get a few hours of gameplay on the go, but it runs SteamOS or some Linux variant, making it only usable with a subset of games, and locking you out of some of the biggest titles. Or, you get whats essentially a mini Windows laptop that pretends to be made for gaming, but you miss out on the transformative features of SteamOS and Linux, and the battery life they enable.At CES 2025, we're starting to see the two realms merge, but Microsoft has its eye on what could be the next evolution of that marriage.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Microsoft has made several comments in the past about its intent to build a handheld console. But is that going to be a pocket-size Xbox, a handheld Windows device or something altogether different? Well, it sounds like the answer isnt clearcut.Microsofts VP of next generation, Jason Ronald, spoke to The Verge following an AMD and Lenovo event at this weeks CES 2025. Ronald revealed what many of the people who follow the handheld space have suspected for a while; that Microsoft wants to bring the seamless, console experience of Xbox to Windows, not bloat the former with programmes designed for desktop and office use.Weve been really innovating for a long time in the console space, and as we partner across the industry its really about how do we bring those innovations that weve incubated and developed in the console space and bring them to PC and bring them to the handheld gaming space, said Ronald.How that is going to manifest remains the real question, however, and Ronald certainly wasnt eager to share specifics, which is quite understandable considering the development timeline of the mysterious Xbox handheld.I would say its bringing the best of Xbox and Windows together, because we have spent the last 20 years building a world-class operating system, but its really locked to the console, he added. The Xbox dashboard beats the Windows dekstop anytime.Theres great significance to this particular event, too, thats worth keeping in mind. This is where the Lenovo Legion Go S was announced, which is the companys second-generation handheld that runs SteamOS, positioning it as a direct competitor to the Steam Deck, and the first third-party one of those to use Valves modified Linux operating system.Its not likely that the Xbox handheld will run SteamOS, or dualboot between Windows and Linux. Whats more likely to happen is that Microsoft will have, hopefully, fine-tuned the Windows experience enough for it to make sense on a handheld. Thats certainly what Ronald suggested.Were focused on really simplifying that and making it much more like a console experience, Ronald said of the Windows experience on handhelds. Our goal is to put the player and their library at the center of the experience and not all the [Windows] work that you have to do today.Ronald rightly pointed out that the Xbox OS is, at the end of the day, a variant of Windows, so the idea of making that console experience work on a different device isnt outlandish or even impractical. The good news is that were going to start seeing some of those efforts later this year, likely well before we get a look at Xboxs mysterious handheld.