Microsoft announces new features for Xbox consoles and handhelds

Microsoft has shown off new features for its tabletop and handheld consoles. For starters, Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One X, and Xbox One S can now stream games via Xbox Cloud Gaming at 1440p. However, the feature will only be available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, as is the case with other platforms. While the use case of streaming games on a console—a device explicitly designed to play games locally—is niche, it might come in handy when storage is short in supply or to play current-gen titles on old consoles.

Next, Microsoft has made it easier for ROG Xbox Ally owners to format compatible SD cards for use as a game library. It can now be done directly via the Xbox app while installing a game. Additionally, ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds can now pre-compile shaders for games, greatly reducing stutters induced by shader compilation. The blog post also links to a page that claims to list other improvements for first-party Xbox handhelds, but none seem to be listed, with the last entry dated November 2025.

Because they use AMD’s Ryzen Z2 series chips, the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally will get CPU/GPU driver upgrades, at least for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for handhelds using the Ryzen Z1 family, which have seemingly lost all support out of the blue.