a robust handheld PC tied to a battered model : NPR

A promotional picture for the ROG Xbox Ally X, demonstrating the hand-held PC with a full gaming desktop close by.

Microsoft/ASUS

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Microsoft/ASUS

Tech producer ASUS is struggling to maintain up with demand for its new ROG Xbox Ally X, launched on Thursday. After testing a overview unit of the hand-held gaming PC, I can attest that it is a highly effective, if dear, various to the Steam Deck. But it is also compromised by an unpopular shift in Microsoft’s gaming technique, and it does not fairly match into the area of interest I hoped it might.

This is (not) an Xbox

The Xbox model is going through a disaster. Sales for its newest era lag far behind the PlayStation 5. Demand slid additional after tariffs prompted proprietor Microsoft to raise prices for the consoles. Meanwhile, the corporate’s additionally attempting to broaden the Xbox model past such flagship units.

The latest “This is an Xbox” ad marketing campaign presents something from telephones to laptops to sensible TVs as able to high-end gaming by means of Xbox Game Pass. But that subscription service, long touted because the “best deal in gaming,” enraged followers when Microsoft hiked the price of its fanciest tier to a staggering $30 a month. While Microsoft pitched the change as an improve, because it additionally added a whole lot of video games to the service, the transfer nonetheless drove customers to crash its membership web site in a rush to cancel their subscriptions.

The Xbox Ally X, and its much less potent sibling, the Ally (with out the “X”), couldn’t come out in a weirder second. Neither comes low cost; the Ally X retails for $999, and the Ally for $599. Ultimately, they really feel extra like intriguing half-measures than true breakthroughs.

Unboxing

I reviewed the unique ROG Ally in 2023 and its improved sequel, the Ally X, in 2024. Each was basically a tiny laptop computer with joysticks and buttons hooked up, and so they got here with all the pliability and annoyances of a Windows PC.

My fingers struggled to carry the perimeters of the Xbox Ally X comfortably, as they’d find yourself squished between the controller grips and blocky fringe of the system.

James Mastromarino

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James Mastromarino

ASUS markets the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X as extra easy choices. Turn on the machines and so they default to a “Full Screen Experience,” placing your most just lately performed video games at your fingertips. Push the massive Xbox button subsequent to the left thumbstick, and you will swap between apps, settings, or the traditional Windows desktop mode.

But the Xbox Ally X nonetheless is not the cellular console I wanted for. It took just a few updates and restarts earlier than I may go online to my Xbox account. When I did, I could not even play a lot of my Xbox library — as a substitute, I may solely stream these video games over WiFi from my Xbox Series S, making the Ally extra like a PlayStation Portal and fewer like a console in its personal proper.

Thankfully, I may obtain my “Xbox on PC” video games. When I lastly began one, it went fairly properly. No, I could not put the system to sleep whereas enjoying and reliably choose up a sport the place I left off, like I may with most consoles. But the Xbox Ally X runs video games that wrestle on the Steam Deck even higher than the 2024 Ally X mannequin, from the famously intensive Cyberpunk 2077 to the brand new Silent Hill f.

You’ll really feel the heft of all that energy — actually. The Xbox Ally X is far thicker than the Steam Deck or the svelte Switch 2. That buff dimension comes with an enormous battery and stubby controller grips, which I discovered extra awkward than ergonomic.

A comparability of the thickness of handheld gaming units, from the Xbox Ally X (backside), the OLED Steam Deck (center), and the Nintendo Switch 2 (prime).

James Mastromarino

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James Mastromarino

The backside line

I’m obsessive about novel gaming gizmos, however I ended up prioritizing the Xbox Ally X solely when my Steam Deck could not deal with a sport. Despite its fluid interface, it isn’t one thing you’ll be able to choose up and put down for a couple of minutes.

It’s additionally trying much less cost-effective now than it did even final month. Before the Game Pass value hikes, the Xbox Ally X made a case for itself as an on-the-go various to a full gaming PC, particularly with 3 months of Game Pass Premium bundled with each buy. Tech nerds with cash to burn will nonetheless discover lots to love, however they alone will not save the Xbox model, nor will they doubtless herald a brand new period of handheld gaming.