Winhanced supports many hardware vendors, streaming platforms, emulators and even lets you choose frame gen technology
PlayStation library support and emulator detection make it a wider front-end for handheld PCs.
Winhanced is becoming a more complete replacement for the Xbox app on Windows handhelds. The launcher can register as the home app for Microsoft’s Full Screen Experience, now also known as Xbox mode, allowing handhelds to boot into Winhanced instead of the Xbox application.
Microsoft’s Xbox mode was designed as a controller-first shell for Windows handhelds. It skips the normal desktop shell and reduces background overhead. It is much better than no launcher at all, however it leaves a lot to be desired, which is why 3rd party tools are winning gamers who are looking for alternatives. And what better alternatives there are if not open-source projects?
ETA Prime has now shown Winhanced running as the main interface on devices such as the Lenovo Legion Go 2 and ROG Ally X. The app scans installed libraries, detects Steam and Xbox games, and can be used with a controller or mouse and keyboard. It also integrates with Game Bar for handheld controls such as TDP, power profiles, resolution, refresh rate, frame limiter and performance overlays.
Source: ETA PRIME
Strong cross-vendor support
Winhanced already supports Steam, Xbox, Epic Games, GOG, PlayStation, Game Pass, xCloud and GeForce Now libraries. In terms of hardware, it supports ASUS, Lenovo, Steam, GPD, Onexfly (Onexplayer) and all Windows PC with controller. Of course these are just tested platform, it should also work with others.
According to the official patch notes for the last version, gamers can now add PlayStation library . After signing in with PSN credentials, Winhanced can import a PlayStation library into its own section. Obviously, ii cannot install PlayStation games locally, but it can wake a PS5, launch an installed game and start a Remote Play session through Chiaki (open source streaming software).
The system also has support for AMD Fluid Motion Frames 2 (driver-level frame generation) and for 3rd party tool Lossless Scaling (which should give you even more options).
Source: ETA Prime
Upcoming changes: Emulator library
For early access users, Winhanced now adds an Apps Library and Emulator Library. The app can detect and import from a list of 108 emulators. Worth adding that it does not import ROMs like a dedicated emulator front-end, but it can launch emulator apps or existing front-ends such as Emulation Station directly from the Winhanced interface.
The developer also promotes sleep and resume changes, per-game profiles, TDP control and Quick Resume-style game suspension as part of the same controller-first Windows layer.
Source: ETA Prime
Winhanced features
- Unified library for Steam, Xbox, Epic Games, GOG, PlayStation, Game Pass, xCloud and GeForce Now
- Support for installed emulators, including RetroArch, Dolphin and PCSX2
- App Library for manually adding games, launchers, apps, shortcuts or standalone executables
- Xbox Full Screen Experience support as a third-party home app
- Native Xbox Game Bar widget with handheld controls
- TDP control from the Winhanced HUD
- Power profiles, including silent, balanced, performance, custom and Autopilot modes
- Frame limiter and refresh rate controls
- Resolution scaling options
- Performance overlay with battery, FPS, frame time and GPU power data
- Lossless Scaling integration when the Steam app is installed
- AMD Radeon options, including AFMF 2, Anti-Lag, Boost and Image Sharpening
- Enhanced sleep and resume with up to 80% lower battery drain
- Per-game profiles for saved device and game settings
- Smart Profiles with community-tuned settings packages
- Quick Resume-style suspension for multiple games
- PS5 Remote Play support through Chiaki
- xCloud and GeForce Now cloud gaming inside the Winhanced interface
- Controller-first navigation, including mouse mode through the right stick
If you have tried Winhanced, leave a comment below about how it works for you. The video below has a full guide now to install and set it up.
Source: ETA Prime, Windows Central
