At Gamescom 2025, I had the chance to check out the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Asus ROG Xbox Ally X for roughly half an hour. And whereas that’s definitely not sufficient time to offer a proper assessment, I can’t confidently say that the PC gaming handheld set the perfect first impression.
Admittedly, I’m considerably of a beginner with regards to the PC gaming handheld house. I’ve by no means owned a Steam Deck, and the unique Asus ROG Ally handed me by. I’ve a decently succesful gaming PC and a Nintendo Switch 2 for once I need to interact in some portable-friendly gaming. I’ve personally by no means felt the need or must personal a tool just like the Xbox Ally, regardless of lots of them fairly rightfully being among the many best handheld gaming consoles cash should purchase.
So when I got the chance to try out the Xbox Ally ahead of its release next month, I was feeling optimistic and open to having my mind changed. I understand the appeal of PC gaming handhelds, and I’ve plenty of friends and colleagues who swear by the Steam Deck as their go-to gaming device of choice. Clearly, there are things to love in the space. But I’m sad to say that the Asus ROG Xbox Ally hasn’t won me over just yet.
Load-bearing
The appeal of the Xbox Ally is clear. Having access to your Xbox library on top of Steam and others is undoubtedly an excellent highlight for many. Particularly those invested in the Xbox ecosystem already. You’re getting the full Xbox Series X|S dashboard right here, together with entry to your Xbox video games, Sport Go, Cloud Gaming, and the Microsoft Retailer.
Frankly, I really like the concept, and it’s maybe the perfect demonstration of Microsoft’s ‘that is additionally an Xbox’ advertising and marketing spiel. It doesn’t really feel cynical right here; there is a very actual utility to taking your Xbox library out on the go together with you, simply as it’s for Steam Deck and your Steam library.
In follow, although, I really feel the execution is unwieldy at greatest. There’s no getting round that PC gaming handhelds of right this moment are cumbersome, comparatively heavy machines when in comparison with less-powerful transportable techniques. I get the necessity for the dimensions, in fact, nevertheless it additionally simply results in a somewhat uncomfortable gaming expertise.
The ergonomics of the Xbox Ally are literally nice. I grew to love the system’s controller-like grips, and I had no hassle discovering buy whereas holding the weighty gadget in my fingers. Buttons, sticks and triggers are additionally of an excellent high quality (even when the Xbox Dwelling button sits somewhat too carefully to the left stick for my liking), so there’s no skimping on the design issue right here.
The 7-inch FHD show is clear and matches the Nintendo Swap 2’s handheld capabilities of 1080p gaming at as much as 120Hz. The display output did look a contact darkish by default, and there’s no HDR help right here for both gadget. However fortunately, help for AMD’s FreeSync variable refresh fee tech ought to assist to clean out efficiency for extra demanding titles, to an extent.
Mixed performance
On the topic of performance, then, this is where I felt the most jaded about the Asus ROG Xbox Ally. I primarily used the more powerful Xbox Ally X, which boasts 24GB of RAM and a custom AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor. By comparison, the standard Xbox Ally scales back to 16GB of RAM and a less capable Ryzen Z2 A processor.
But even with the more potent hardware, performance was a mixed bag. In testing Lies of P, which was pre-installed on the gadget, the framerate was extraordinarily uneven with ‘Medium’ graphics settings. Additionally at roughly middle-of-the-road settings, Gears of Warfare: Reloaded was equally chuggy, too.
I feel I might advocate taking part in your extra demanding video games with decrease settings wherever attainable. Living proof: Forza Horizon 5 ran superbly on each the Ally and Ally X. Right here, decrease settings didn’t have a drastic impression on picture high quality, and it seemed nice on that 1080p show, whereas operating at a really clear 60 frames per second (fps).
Past that, I did have some points with the Xbox dashboard’s options. Mainly, Xbox’s fast resume function – which helps you to maintain a number of video games in a standby state with no need to shut them – made the Xbox Ally run uncomfortably heat, and the system even crashed as soon as once I tried to renew a suspended sport.
Load occasions had been additionally fairly painful, regardless of the storage answer of an M.2 SSD (1TB on the Ally X, 512GB on the usual Ally). In-game wasn’t too terrible, however booting video games up for the primary time was a glacial course of that ate into treasured minutes of my time with these handhelds.
The Ally in the room
Now, I’m by no means expecting top-line performance from PC gaming handhelds such as this. I get that compromises have to be made to ensure demanding games can run even decently on relatively small hardware. But that said, neither handheld felt like it could deliver a polished, clean experience on anything higher than low settings.
That’s obviously not unique to the Xbox Ally. Over on Nintendo Switch 2, you’re likely expecting worse performance and resolution during handheld play. Especially so for more demanding games like Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition. However right here, the expertise has been tailor-made for the Swap 2 particularly, so there’s often a level of labor that goes into making certain the video games can run amicably on Nintendo’s handheld.
In the end, although, for those who’re seeking to wade into the world of PC gaming handhelds for the primary time and like the concept of getting your Xbox library with you in transportable capability, then you definately would possibly discover loads to like concerning the Asus ROG Xbox Ally. As long as you may get to grips with rocky efficiency for some titles, I feel it can serve these already within the Xbox ecosystem decently effectively sufficient.
For everybody else, I nonetheless really feel the Steam Deck could be the higher choice. Nowadays, Valve’s handheld might be purchased for less expensive, and devoted ‘Deck verified’ patches usually go a protracted option to clean out efficiency right here.
For me, not less than for now, the Xbox Ally hasn’t gained me over. However it completely might at a extra reasonably priced value level, for one. That apart, with the ability to play the best Xbox Series X games on the go is a powerful prospect, and I might be moved if future Xbox Sport Studios titles like Fable, Gears of Warfare: E-Day, and no matter’s subsequent for Halo and Forza ship optimized efficiency on the hand-held.
The potential is definitely there, although at current, I feel the Xbox Ally will dwell or die by the power of future Xbox-made video games, and if the following era of Xbox actually comes out swinging, then the gadget might find yourself being a really compelling companion piece.
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