They test the new Xbox app on an Ally: goodbye to the most annoying bug in the portable interface

The application of Xbox for Windows continues to adapt to portable consoles. It is an important segment, where response speed and handling comfort make the difference. Jez Corden, executive editor of Windows Centralhas been able to install a leaked preliminary build of the app’s next big revamp. He has tested it on an Xbox Ally and, according to his first impressions, the jump in agility and control is more than evident compared to the version that PC users use today.

Until now, managing the application with integrated controls was a disaster. The most noticeable was an intermittent cursor crash that froze navigation for a couple of seconds. That is, if the user pressed buttons repeatedly to unlock it, the orders were held in queue and were triggered suddenly.

This caused the selection to jump around the screen uncontrollably. Furthermore, the directional pad tended to interpret diagonal movements, which made it clear that the original interface still carried a logic designed for the mouse.

Most of these problems disappear completely.

In the compilation analyzed by Corden, that annoying jamming of the selector disappears completely. Navigating through dense lists of games is fluid and loading speeds are increased in all sections, from the personal library to the Xbox Game Pass sections or individual store pages.

And the scrolling now responds directly to the directional buttons, which makes it easier to navigate the catalog without something so basic becoming a headache.

Of course, this version is limited for now to correcting the internal performance and agility of the menus, without adding new functions or modifying sections such as the Xbox Game Bar. Corden points out that there are still aspects to polish, such as being able to preview screenshots directly in the store or avoiding errors in titles with Xbox Play Anywhere, although Microsoft is already working on corrections for the next internal versions.

As for its availability, everything indicates that the company will put this new interface in the hands of users of the Xbox Insiders program for PC towards the end of the year, before its general deployment. As the same journalist correctly points out, Microsoft seeks to respond to competition from systems like SteamOS in the field of portable consoles.