Gamepad keyboard input comes to Windows 11 Release Preview, aimed at handheld users and sofa surfers

At long last, Windows 11 is finally receiving up-to-date support for gamepad users, particularly handheld PC users, as of Windows 11 Preview Build 22631, which is adding a new Gamepad keyboard functionality to Windows 11. This Gamepad keyboard provides a new layout for Windows 11's on-screen keyboard, making it easier to type with sticks and buttons, alongside supplemental touch controls and a vertically-aligned design that takes up about a fifth of the screen real estate. This feature is in "Gradual rollout", which means it won't be available to all users. Hopefully, it will be exposed for any gamepad and especially any handheld PC users, since it's most clearly targeted them.

Other major features being added or tweaked with this Windows 11 Preview Build include an overhaul to Notification Suggestions allowing them to be disabled, more advanced Phone Link access straight from the Start Menu, and most interestingly the ability to fully rebind the Copilot key to other functionalities on your system. This could mean opening other apps as long as they are in signed MSIX packages, or just repurposing the Copilot key as a Search key instead.

All the other changes in this update are fairly small, usually minor bug fixes or UI adjustments to polish up the Windows 11 usage experience. The Gamepad keyboard functionality is definitely the most interesting addition to this update, though, and follows the early September beta updates which initially added the feature to Windows 11.

The addition of the gamepad keyboard feature will, of course, most heavily impact users who are buying Windows-based PC gaming handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally, or Ally X. Steam Deck users who for some reason feel like using Windows instead of the better-performing (for that hardware) SteamOS should also benefit from these updates, particularly when the Gamepad keyboard is rolled into a mainline Windows 11 release and not relegated to Preview and Beta builds.

Fortunately, most users of PC gaming handhelds are savvy enough to make do without this feature while it's still being rolled out, particularly thanks to Windows already being so friendly to touch functionality. But hopefully, Microsoft will finish polishing the Gamepad keyboard up into a mainline release-ready state fairly soon, minimizing the amount that handheld PC gamers need to interface with touchscreens instead of a more tactile input method.