The Greatest ‘Xbox’ Handheld Expertise Ignores Xbox Altogether

Xbox is in a foul place proper now. To repair its flagging {hardware} gross sales, Xbox intends to finally provide us a console that might probably marry the PC’s versatility with a console’s easy-breezy nature.

Our first glimpse of this was with the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X handheld. Compared to the opposite small-scale Windows PC gaming gadgets launched this yr, it gives a greater expertise general. But regardless of the “Xbox” branding, it’s nonetheless nowhere near what you really need from a console. Windows remains to be beat by the SteamOS expertise championed by Valve when you’re in search of comfort and—hell—even efficiency.

If you boil down the console gaming expertise, you’ll discover it’s centered on simplicity. The console gamer desires to have the ability to sit down, seize their controller or handheld, press the ability button, and have instant entry to all their video games. Before the ROG Xbox Ally, Windows 11 handhelds had been caught within the mire of the desktop, the place one would inevitably have to have interaction the touchscreen to entry installers, delete undesirable popups, or change essential settings. The Xbox Ally introduced us the “full screen experience” (FSE), a model of Windows that balloons each app to the total width of the show. It additionally centered the Xbox app as your important hub for hitting up any of your sport launchers or getting straight into your favourite titles.

For PC gamers, the FSE is an evolution of what they had been already used to with Windows. For console gamers who’ve by no means tried PC gaming, it looks as if a paper wrapper on a bloated pile of pointless apps. And nonetheless, Xbox is treating its new OS with the form of exclusivity you anticipate for any of its consoles. The FSE is presently tied to the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. Microsoft has beforehand been unwilling to verify when the expertise would formally come to handhelds just like the Lenovo Legion Go, MSI Claw, or the unique ROG Ally and Ally X. Lenovo beforehand confirmed the hand-held model of Windows can be formally accessible by spring on the Legion Go 2, and primarily based by myself sources, that also appears to be the case. What’s extra vital within the meantime is how Microsoft can enhance the expertise. Weeks after the Xbox Ally launched, there’s much more work that wants doing.

The Windows FSE wants extra TLC

You can get an unofficial model of the FSE on third-party handhelds. It requires upgrading to the most recent 25H2 replace, downloading apps like Vivetool and hooking up a mouse and keyboard whilst you observe certainly one of several online guides. I went by means of the method of putting in it on the Legion Go 2. There, you could have entry to the identical Game Bar choices with a press of the left-side Legion L button, whereas the Legion R key nonetheless triggers the Quick Settings menu for adjusting system settings. It works, although with much less finesse than the system with the additional Xbox button on the facet.

And nonetheless, even with the FSE, it’s not what you really need from any system that labels itself an “Xbox.” There are some menus within the Xbox app you’ll be able to’t navigate with the shoulder buttons like you’ll be able to on each Xbox Series S and Series X. You’ll nonetheless obtain annoying popups from some apps. However, the worst offense is the lingering points when placing the system to sleep or waking it up. While Microsoft has seemingly fastened preliminary points I had the place the Xbox Ally X would deplete battery when asleep, the hand-held nonetheless suffers from extreme insomnia. In some circumstances the hand-held will proceed to play music from a sport as soon as I hit the ability button, then reawaken the display screen prefer it retains waking from routine evening terrors.

All that compounds the problems when Valve’s SteamOS—formatted first for the Steam Deck—stays the simplest handheld working system you should use at present. It’s accessible to obtain on handhelds like the unique ROG Ally, the Legion Go and Legion Go S, although it doesn’t presently assist the chip shared by each Legion Go 2 and Xbox Ally X—particularly the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme. Which brings us to Bazzite. It’s a Linux-based OS modeled on SteamOS, but it surely’s open supply and is routinely up to date by a few passionate developers who’ve made positive it runs nicely on all the preferred handheld PCs. It’s additionally a better expertise than something you will get with the FSE.

Bazzite is a greater ‘console’ than Windows FSE

I dual-booted Windows 11 and Bazzite on the Legion Go 2. Installing each generally is a ache within the ass, even when following a guide. But it’s so, so price it ultimately. With just a few tweaks, the hand-held now has entry to the whole lot you need. The FSE is there for Xbox video games and people few lingering titles with anti-cheat techniques incompatible with Linux. Bazzite is there for… nicely the whole lot else, particularly because it emblemizes what’s finest about consoles.

Consoles are purported to reward gamers who keep loyal to the model. The transition from a SteamOS system to Bazzite is seamless. I rammed my Steam Deck’s microSD card into the Legion Go 2, and Bazzite acknowledged all my video games in addition to the Proton already accessible. Of course, none of my numerous plugins like Decky Loader had been accessible at my fingertips, however with a little bit extra effort that may be remedied. Hell, I may even add Steam’s customized startup motion pictures on Bazzite. The Xbox Ally lacks any customized themes that assist make the system really feel extra private.

Consoles promise you’ll get a straightforward expertise that doesn’t require you to micromanage your in-game graphics settings for the most effective end result. Players merely need the most effective visuals doable with out sacrificing efficiency an excessive amount of. To that time, Microsoft promised the FSE would allow higher efficiency in video games than base Windows. Judging from my expertise with the Legion Go 2, meaning a distinction of between three or as a lot as seven higher fps, relying on the title. However, video games operating on Bazzite carry out higher than they do on Windows. In Cyberpunk 2077 operating on Steam Deck settings and 30W TDP, I may get 53 fps in benchmarks in comparison with 51 fps on Windows operating at 35W (Bazzite limits me to 30W in settings, so if it will definitely unlocks the total wattage the enhance may very well be much more).

Microsoft must format video games for its handheld

Bazzite beats Windows FSE in all these classes. The solely factor lacking is the power to play your Xbox video games (there are a number of methods to sideload titles from Epic Games Store). And that’s the place you’ll think about Xbox and Asus would have finished extra. This month, Xbox printed The Outer Worlds 2 and Ninja Gaiden 4. Outer Worlds 2 can run comparatively nicely on medium settings, netting simply above 40 fps for many environments on the highest doable TDP (you’ll naturally get much less when you’re attempting to preserve energy). At the identical time, the sport wasn’t scaled nicely for this 7-inch display screen. Even while you manually scale textual content dimension and on-screen UI increased, textual content on all these information pads and pc terminals remains to be exhausting to make out.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is a type of video games you hope to play at 60 fps, simply to ensure your timing is as correct as doable when encounters make you white-knuckle the Xbox Ally’s controller-like grips. Again, you’ll be able to push the sport as much as round 40 fps on medium settings in a number of the extra slim environments. It will look nice at these settings, and for the informal gamer it might be operating quick sufficient. But it’s lacking a devoted setting constructed for the Xbox Ally X that may provide a secure body charge with none potential dips. If this was really an “Xbox,” prefer it claims to be, then it will provide one thing just like the Nintendo Switch 2 did with Cyberpunk 2077 and Star Wars Outlaws, which each run extraordinarily easily in both handheld or docked modes.

Xbox did add one factor Bazzite doesn’t have. Both these video games, in addition to a number of video games on Xbox Game Pass, now assist superior shader supply. This preloads sport shaders while you obtain every title, which means it’s sooner to get into them when you hit the play button. Outer Worlds 2 certainly hundreds a lot, a lot sooner than it did the primary time I put in it on the Xbox Ally X.

We can reduce Microsoft a little bit little bit of slack. It’s straightforward to neglect how buggy and glitchy SteamOS was at launch. The FSE wants extra time within the oven. If the corporate retains at it, the FSE could finally have the ability to rival SteamOS or Bazzite for the sake of simplicity. The one factor these handhelds can’t presumably match to present consoles is value. This Legion Go 2 with the highest-end specs prices $1,350, by some means extra ludicrous than the ROG Xbox Ally X at $1,000. At that value, these handhelds needs to be excessively handy. You ought to really feel such as you’re using within the console lap of luxurious, reasonably than cursing out your handheld each time you attempt to put it to mattress.