ROG Ally X review: The ultimate Xbox handheld?
▼ Summary
– Microsoft has released the ROG Xbox Ally, its first official handheld Xbox hardware, ending decades of rumors.
– Microsoft aims to simplify the Windows gaming experience with FSE to make it more console-like, but the execution is currently flawed.
– Testing showed minimal performance gains, with framerate increases of less than 1-2 FPS, making the difference practically unnoticeable.
For years, tech enthusiasts have speculated about a portable Xbox device, and now the ROG Ally X has arrived to answer that call. This new handheld, developed in partnership with Asus, brings the Xbox brand into the mobile gaming arena in a surprising way. Rather than creating a closed ecosystem like its home consoles, Microsoft has opted to layer its software over a Windows-based portable, offering a fresh take on handheld gaming.
The device comes in two models: a standard $600 version and a premium $1,000 ROG Ally X, which was the unit we evaluated. Both are fundamentally Asus ROG Ally hardware with a distinct Xbox-inspired design and interface. Microsoft refers to this interface as the Xbox Full-screen Experience (FSE), intended to simplify Windows for a more console-like feel. Unfortunately, this ambitious software layer is still rough around the edges, making it difficult to endorse over competing systems like SteamOS.
At its summer unveiling, Microsoft promoted the Xbox Experience for Handheld as a way to reduce background processes and prioritize gaming performance. The company claimed this would result in smoother frame rates and a more responsive system. Our testing did confirm a minor performance uplift when using FSE compared to standard Windows 11 Desktop Mode, which remains accessible on the device. However, the actual gains were minimal, often amounting to less than one additional frame per second, with the best cases showing only a slight two-frame improvement. On a percentage basis, these differences are so small that most players would struggle to perceive any real benefit during gameplay.
(Source: Ars Technica)
