As the years go by, more and more consumers are drawn towards the phenomenon that is gaming, and thus Microsoft is gaining plenty of consumers just through Xbox One sales. Microsoft is certainly well known for its computers, tablets, and phones, but these electronics simply aren’t bringing in the revenue that makes it worthwhile to innovate in these areas. In fact, over the past year, consumer revenue directly associated with Microsoft mobile phones has decreased by at least 13%.
The Xbox, however, has been attracting more consumers than ever before, especially with the recent major price drop. The Xbox One has gone down in price by $150 since launch (it is now $350 for the base model), and it often comes bundled with one free new $60 game. This has been a great business model. So what comes next for Xbox? Well, it is entirely possible that Microsoft could take advantage of the massive Xbox consumer base by releasing a new Nokia style phone, tailored exclusively towards gamers.
So what features would make an Xbox smartphone worthwhile? Well, there have been no official announcements, and any of our ideas are merely speculation, but I think that there are a few things which we can reasonably assume Microsoft might be willing to include, if it ever was to release an Xbox phone. For one, the idea of portability and streaming through electronics has been fairly successful recently. Microsoft recently released Windows 10, a free, massively improved operating system for all Windows computers that takes gaming into heavy consideration.
In fact, Windows 10 users can actually stream Xbox One games straight to their PC directly over WiFi. In fact, Nintendo, Sony, and Nvidia have also taken similar steps to make games available right in consumer’s pockets. The Wii U gamepad allows one to play a game on the gamepad while someone else uses the TV, the Playstation Vita allows one to play PS4 games remotely through WiFi, and the Nvidia Shield allows one to play PC games on a tablet/gamepad hybrid device over WiFi as well. While none of these products have been perfected, especially due to internet speeds and limited hardware, there is potential here.
With Microsoft’s resources, an Xbox smartphone could allow players to stream their games straight to their mobile phones from any location. Perhaps it would even be possible to put the same technology found in an Xbox One console into an Xbox smartphone so that you could wirelessly connect an Xbox One controller to an Xbox smartphone in order to play a game. Then all save files could be transmitted through the cloud and automatically uploaded onto your home Xbox for extra convenience. Imagine throwing an extra controller into your suitcase when travelling and thus being able to play any of your downloaded Xbox One games in a hotel room, thousands of miles away from your actual Xbox One!
Another feature that could be implemented into an Xbox smartphone could be something as simple as an Xbox inspired OS and UI. Some people communicate with their friends and family most often over Xbox Live, and an operating system that would allow someone to send messages, pictures, and videos through Xbox Live, or that would allow them to view all of the newest gaming news straight from their Xbox Smartphone, without being forced to open any apps or sign up for any new social media accounts, could be incredibly convenient.
So what are your thoughts on an Xbox Smartphone? Does the idea interest you? Are there features that you would like to see? Would you buy it? Let us know in the comments.
Tristan was a regular ICXM contributor between 2015–2017, publishing 51 articles across opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @tbogost.