When Microsoft launched its foray into the handheld market scene, it had a bit of a problem. The company really wanted to use Windows 11 as the base operating system for the hardware, but people quickly learned that deleting Microsoft's OS and installing SteamOS made the handheld feel instantly snappier and with better in-game performance. Given that Microsoft was cooking up its own official handheld entry at the time, it was bad news.

Microsoft's answer to SteamOS's improved performance was a new "full screen" mode, which is sort of like Steam's Big Picture mode. It gives you an easy way to browse your library using console controls, while also redirecting more hardware power to rendering games over keeping Windows 11's processes ticking over. And while it worked well on the ROG Xbox Ally, there wasn't a great deal of reason why Microsoft couldn't flip the switch and enable the feature on PCs, too.

Well, the Redmond giant has done just that. The latest Windows 11 Beta and Dev Insider update has turned on the full screen mode on gaming PCs, and while it's not available for everyone just yet, it shouldn't be long until everyone has access to it.

Windows 11 PCs get the full screen experience mode from Microsoft's handhelds

Over on the Windows 11 Dev and Beta patch notes, Microsoft breaks down what intrepid Insiders can expect from this new test build. My personal highlight is the inclusion of the handheld's full screen mode (which Microsoft calls the 'full screen experience,' or 'FSE') on all Windows 11 devices:

Following the initial launch of the full screen experience (FSE) on the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, today’s preview to Windows Insiders expands availability to additional Windows 11 handheld devices currently in market.

Designed with console-style navigation in mind, the Xbox PC app paired with the full screen experience delivers a clean, distraction-free interface for handheld gaming. You’ll get smooth task switching and optimized performance, with background processes minimized and non-essential tasks deferred—so gameplay stays responsive and uninterrupted.

The update also adds an "Ask Copilot" button to the taskbar where you can ask Microsoft's digital assistant stuff about your PC. The company says it's meant to live alongside Windows Search for locating the files you want to search for, and bundles together Copilot Vision and Voice into a one-click solution. You can also share audio between Bluetooth headphones, a feature we saw cooking away a while ago, and is now apparently ready for people to try properly.