The Xbox handhelds ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X are now available in 45 countries worldwide – and some are already sold out. Developed jointly by ASUS and Xbox, these devices are designed to combine the freedom of Windows with the familiar Xbox experience. Comparisons with the long-established Steam Deck are particularly interesting, as it's the gold standard, not necessarily in terms of performance, but in terms of usability.
The new Xbox Ally handhelds provide ample performance for mobile gaming. This is primarily due to the AMD Ryzen Z2A processors. Compared to the older Steam Deck, the ROG Xbox Ally X, in particular, impresses with stable frame rates at significantly higher resolutions than on Valve's handheld. Comparison video with the open-world game Spider-Man 2 has already made this clear. But that's not all.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
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ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X RC73XA Console | 7" FHD 120Hz IPS Touch...* | |||
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ASUS ROG Xbox Ally RC73YA Console | 7" FHD 120Hz IPS Touch...* | 634,90 EUR |
The Windows 11-based Xbox handheld's wide range of graphics settings ensures that even modern titles can be played on the go – smoothly and with good visual quality. The ROG Xbox Ally X is a high-end handheld – not least in terms of price – but one that outperformed many competitors in terms of performance.
With Xbox Cloud Gaming and Xbox Play Anywhere, fans can enjoy the Xbox ecosystem on the go and access games anywhere – via stream or direct installation. The highlight: You can stream directly from Xbox consoles, the ROG Xbox Ally or ROG Xbox Ally X, compatible TVs, Windows PCs, and VR headsets via the Xbox app. Xbox demonstrated this in a recent video.
Much more exciting, however, is what the ROG Xbox Ally X can achieve on its own – and here, too, the handheld presents itself quite impressively. A real highlight, for example, is that shooter fans can play the new CoD game Call of Duty 7 on the Xbox handheld, smoothly and with decent graphics on the small screen. The settings allow you to choose from balanced graphics settings, so you don't have to go all the way to the lower end of the options. Textures, shadows, and reflections can be adjusted to a medium level – in this respect, the ROG Xbox Ally X presents itself as a genuine alternative, especially to the Xbox Series S, but also to the PlayStation 5. By the way, if you want to enable frame generation, you should let the game render natively at at least 40 frames per second – this is something to keep in mind.
ROG Xbox Ally X: Does Call of Duty 7 run?
The situation is no different with other graphics-hungry video games – here, too, the ROG Xbox Ally X demonstrates its performance capabilities. The difference between the Xbox handheld and the Steam Deck is clearly evident in Stellar Blade. While the ROG Xbox Ally X runs well and respectably at medium settings, you have to turn down the graphics considerably more on the Steam Deck. Stellar Blade does run, but it's best at a low quality setting.
ROG Xbox Ally X as a Playstation alternative
Another smart move by Xbox is the Windows 11 base, especially with regard to the available PC titles. This means that "console games" that are not normally available for PlayStation but are available for Xbox consoles can still be played on Xbox. The ROG Xbox Ally X thus opens doors for fans to potentially previously unknown gaming worlds. The handheld shows off its impressive performance here with God of War: Ragnarök. The AAA game also runs in good quality on the Steam Deck, but with the ROG Xbox Ally X, you get a lot more out of the visuals.
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