Microsoft is bringing some of the features that make Xbox Series X so popular to its PC operating system in its new Windows 11 update. Whether that’s Auto HDR functionality for gaming on compatible monitors or DirectStorage for users with NVMe SSD drives, these improvements will help you play faster and more seamlessly on your PC.
However, one of the coolest features of the Xbox Series X (and the similar Xbox Lite console) isn’t currently available on PC: Quick Resume. This feature allows gamers to instantly resume a game where they left off, even if the console is turned off. It’s a great feature that makes Sony’s Game Switcher look downright primitive by comparison.
While this is currently a console-only feature, it could come to PC in the future, if comments from a Microsoft exec are anything to go by. During the launch stream for the Xbox Ally and Asus ROG Ally, the company’s director of the Xbox division mentioned that the software giant is exploring ways to bring this functionality to desktop computers.
This could be a huge boon for portable gaming consoles like the Ally, which are designed to be used with a controller while you’re on the go. With Windows 11 already focusing on making its operating system more accessible to casual players and mobile devices, this feature would make it much easier for you to enjoy your favorite games wherever you are.
The Ally is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and comes with a 6-inch HD display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, an integrated headset jack, a USB Type-C port for charging and playing audio/video content, and Bluetooth connectivity for pairing with external speakers. It’s also got a dedicated handheld mode that lets you use the Ally as a gaming device with a touchscreen-optimized version of the Xbox Game Bar and support for the full suite of Xbox apps.
While Microsoft didn’t officially confirm the existence of this rumor, it did send out invites for a What’s Next for Windows digital event on 24 June that included a reflection of the Windows logo – which obviously looks like two vertical bars, or 11.
It’s hard to say if this will be the same thing as the Surface Studio 2 that was recently revealed, but we’d be surprised if the company doesn’t include some form of this feature in its next big update for Windows. The updated version will also include a redesigned Microsoft Store, which looks a lot like the Amazon app store and is set to add more options for TikTok and other popular mobile games that can be snapped into a corner of your screen while you pretend to be productive elsewhere. More importantly, the new version of Windows will introduce a more efficient updating process that reduces download and install times by 40%, while improving performance with various applications including web browsers. And, of course, it will continue to improve gaming performance with updates that will take advantage of Intel’s new Thread Director technology for better CPU efficiency and faster read/write speeds.