Microsoft Turns The Surface Duo Into A Handheld Xbox Console

It might seem a bit strange that out of all the console manufacturers, at least the modern ones, Microsoft is the only one to not have released a portable console. Sony had its PS Vita and PSP, and Nintendo has its DS series and now the Switch series, but Microsoft was always missing from the picture, at least until now, sort of.

In a recent update to the Xbox Cloud Gaming app for Android, Microsoft has added full support to its dual screen Surface Duo Android handset where it can now double as a handheld Xbox console. For those unfamiliar, the Xbox Cloud Gaming app basically allows gamers to stream Xbox games onto their mobile devices.

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Microsoft is turning its Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox today. The latest app update for Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) let’s you use one screen for touch controls and the other for the game. It’s like a Nintendo 3DS with Xbox games. Details here: https://t.co/ubbsEAW3r8 pic.twitter.com/aP94t9xgzC

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) May 24, 2021

By leveraging the dual display design of the Surface Duo, one screen can be used to show the game while the other can act as a virtual game controller as you can see in the video above demonstrated by The Verge’s Tom Warren. It’s actually pretty cool and if you ever needed a reason to buy the Surface Duo, this could be it.

The hardware of the Surface Duo isn’t particularly exciting, save for the dual screens, but that’s the beauty of cloud gaming, the bulk of the work is done remotely so all you really need is just a good internet connection.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, Gaming
Tags: Microsoft, surface duo, Xbox