New Xbox dashboard leaked by Top Gear and it looks made for a portable

Rumours of an Xbox portable device, similar to the Steam Deck, have had another boost as a very hand-held friendly dashboard is leaked.

At this point it seems an understatement to describe Xbox’s heavily signposted plans, to release a next gen handheld console, as a mere ‘rumour’.

Most of the hints have come from Xbox boss Phil Spencer himself, who has long let it be known that he is a fan of the Steam Deck and other similar PC devices, and in June essentially confirmed that Xbox is making its own variation of the concept.

The only thing there hasn’t been is any kind of visual leak, but now that seems to have happened to, albeit via an unexpected source.

The latest episode of Top Gear isn’t anything to do with Xbox or consoles but in a segment about Robotaxi there’s a brief shot of a car by Croatian manufacturer Rimac, which shows what is clearly a completely different Xbox dashboard to normal.

It seems highly unlikely that Xbox created a bespoke version of their dashboard for a Croatian electric car maker, so the obvious assumption is that this is for the currently unannounced new portable.

ð£ð¼ððð¶ð¯ð¹ð² ðð²ð®ð¸: Rimac may have leaked a new mobile style ð«ð¯ð¼ð ðð®ððµð¯ð¼ð®ð¿ð± during the Robotaxi reveal on Topgear.

Would look good on an ð«ð¯ð¼ð ðð®ð»ð±ðµð²ð¹ð±, is all I’m saying! pic.twitter.com/JJN5UYzLPk

— XboxCore (@_XboxNews) June 27, 2024

The dashboard seems to feature a version of the blades design from the Xbox 360 era, which many fans would welcome anyway. It’s only on screen for a few seconds though, so the only other thing that can really be discerned is that the games Halo Infinite, Fortnite, and The Finals are featured.

Microsoft has previously implied that their next gen console(s) will be released in 2026 but it would not be surprising if they launched a new version of the dashboard, designed with a portable in mind, before it was out – in order to get people used to concept.

Technically, none of Spencer’s hints have mentioned the next gen and while that’s what everyone has assumed he’s getting at, it is possible Xbox could release a portable this generation and then another one in 2026.

That’s just speculation though and it’ll need an official announcement from Xbox before it’s clear what they’re planning.

However, if the new dashboard is meant as a prelude to a hardware announcement that could come quickly, if it’s something that’s going to be used on ordinary home consoles as well.

That’s exactly what the Top Gear clip above implies, but how far in advance it would come before the handheld is currently impossible to guess.