Microsoft is preparing to launch the Xbox Series X this holiday season, and along with its upcoming digital console - codenamed Lockhart - the console manufacturer is putting its efforts into streamlining its ecosystem by discontinuing production of the current-gen Xbox One X and the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition.
Instead of a sprawling range of hardware, it's doubling down on digital content, with its Project xCloud game streaming service, which will be available on mobile devices, allowing gamers to play their Xbox games on a variety of smartphones - and a new Galaxy Note 20 Ultra leak, just weeks before the Unpacked event indicates that the handset is going to be optimised for streaming Xbox games via Microsoft's xCloud.
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This isn't the first time the two companies have paired up, with last year's Galaxy Note 10 coming with a number of Microsoft apps pre-installed, including Your Phone, OneDrive,Outlook, and a range of Office apps.
According to WinFuture, the 5G phablet will be optimised for Project xCloud, with more than 90 Xbox games available to play. Microsoft has yet to announce the list of compatible devices, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer has promised more details on that next month, which aligns with Unpacked set for August 5. Talking about the streaming service, Spencer has previously said that Microsoft wants to "bring xCloud, eventually, to every screen that someone can stream games to."
At last year's Unpacked (via The Verge), Shilpa Ranganathan - Microsoft's head of mobile and cross-device experiences - appeared onstage to talk about "the start of an amazing collaboration" between the two companies, which has clearly flourished since then.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra leak came with a few more titbits too; the curved screen we got a look at this week will be a 6.9-inch OLED display with 3200 x 1440 resolution, and a 120Hz refresh rate. The Note 20 Ultra is also expected to be the first smartphone to sport Corning's Gorilla Glass 7.
On the camera front, the Note 20 Ultra's sizeable rear camera array will house a 108MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide lens, and 12MP periscope lens capable of 50x zoom. The holepunch camera on the front will be 10MP.
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The S Pen stylus is also getting revamped; in addition to the rumoured improvements that will reportedly see it adding cursor or laser pointer functionality, latency has been shaved down to just nine milliseconds, which is in line with rumours we heard last month.
The 4,500mAh battery can be juiced up to 50% in half an hour using fast charging, and as you'd expect, it supports wireless charging. The handset will come with 12GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB storage options at minimum, that can be expanded with a microSD.
While there are a few discrepancies with previous reports, the big reveal is just two weeks away, so it won't be long before the speculation is over and we get a rundown of the specs proper.
Source: WinFuture
