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Throughout the last couple of months, and the multiple events I have been to, I have desperately been trying to find an ROG Xbox Ally to try for myself. Ever since the announcement, I have been both intrigued and worried by the weird design and power. It’s going to sports. The design itself stands out to me the most, with handles that jut out, as if you cut off the handles of an Xbox controller and weld it onto an Ally. Even still, I heard reports that wit as comfortable to hold, despite the weird aesthetic. After the pre-orders and pricing were announced, I was even more curious as to what this handheld could do. Luckily, I had the chance to try it, thanks to the awesome team behind Starsand Island and publisher Game Source Entertainment.
If you haven’t seen Starsand Island yet, I highly recommend checking it out. It’s got a cool blend between Stardew Valley with Freeform building that reminds me of The Sims. The demo was essentially the same one I played at Gamescom, so I recommend checking out my article covering it for my full thoughts. Still, it’s got a lot of great ideas, and I look forward to seeing how it is expanded upon in the full game.
For this article, though, I’d like to focus on the ROG Xbox Ally X, which I had the pleasure of trying hands-on. The game was running decently on the device, though I could tell it’s an unfinished build that needs a little polish here and there. However, there were some interesting aspects of the device itself that I could feel.
It is a weird design, very weird. It looks just as off in person as it does in pictures, but it’s extremely comfortable to hold. It feels like they took a page right out of the Steam Deck’s book and made full handles that we can really wrap our hands around. For someone with fat fingers, this was a dream come true, and I was in heaven. Aesthetic aside, it was one of the most comfortable windows handhelds I have had the pleasure of holding.
But there was one other small issue I found. The handles are slightly lifted away from the screen, which is why it looks as odd as it does. I find this to be a weird design choice, since it actually makes the Ally feel heavier to hold. The Steam Deck’s handles are completely integrated into the base, and it doesn’t feel like I am holding any extra weight, but the Ally does. It’s like if there’s a metal plate in front of you that you have to hold. Gripping the plate directly on both sides is comfortable, but if you attach a string to both sides and hold it up by the string, it feels like the metal plate is heavier and pulls down more in the middle. That’s how it kind of feels with the ROG Xbox Ally X. I don’t think it would feel as weighty if the handles were completely attached, but they aren’t, and it suffers because of it.
On top of that, it’s just a beefy handheld. It feels much bigger than both the ROG Ally X and the Steam Deck’s handles, and while performance should be a sizable increase over the Deck, it’s not something I could see myself using for long play sessions unless it’s docked.
With Xbox announcing the pricing of both models of the device, I wanted to see if it felt worthwhile to use. I believe the ROG Xbox Ally is going to be a better deal for newcomers, getting power similar to a Steam Deck with the improvements of the new Windows “game mode” and the benefits of being able to play Windows-only games. It still may not compare to the Steam Deck OLED, which is $50 less and has a significantly better screen with more active support. Still, I could see it being worthwhile for those who prefer Windows.
As for the ROG Xbox Ally X, that $1000 price tag is a little hard to swallow. The Z2 Extreme chip has a good chunk of power, but I find it hard to justify why the increase over the Z1 Extreme chip is marginal. The new changes to Windows, along with possible improvements to performance utilizing the NPU and AI, could make the gap larger, but this should also benefit all Windows handhelds in the end. Still, for those who get it, I’m sure it will be very enjoyable and worthwhile to have. But for those who already have a handheld and want to upgrade, I would recommend waiting or checking out devices with the AI Max+ 395 APU for some real raw power increases.
I look forward to seeing the ROG Xbox Ally X launch and seeing some real-world tests, but I’m not completely sold just yet.
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