It’s part of the latest Insider Preview build, but soon to roll out fully.
In September last year I reported that Microsoft had started testing a virtual keyboard layout for controllers. This controller-oriented keyboard layout is now out of beta and launching in the latest Insider Release Preview build on Windows 11 24H2 Build 26100.3613.
Microsoft says: “We have enabled the Gamepad keyboard layout for the touch keyboard in Windows 11. This change introduces the ability to use your Xbox controller to navigate and type. This includes button accelerators (example: X button for backspace, Y button for spacebar) additionally the keyboard keys have been vertically aligned for better controller navigation patterns.”
In other words, this should let you more easily use a controller to navigate the Windows virtual keyboard. While this is useful for standalone controllers (perhaps for couch gaming with a PC hooked up to a TV), it should be especially useful for handhelds—and this is specifically for the taskbar-residing ‘touch keyboard’, not the standard ‘on-screen keyboard’, which are two distinct things.
