ROG Xbox Ally X: the console that whispers to the PC gamer

It seems that Microsoft has decided to definitively cancel the Xbox portable console project due to the hardware costs being too high compared to the actual market demand for portable consoles. If we exclude Nintendo Switch 2, which has always played a separate market, the sales of Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go and the like do not exceed ten million units. Hence perhaps the decision to focus on a partnership with Asus rather than on proprietary hardware. A choice that could prove to be a winner because we are talking about a market that is certainly growing rapidly, but still far from the size of the traditional console market or smartphone gaming.

The ROG Xbox Ally X is for all intents and purposes more of a PC than a handheld console. The user experience of this ultra-powerful gaming machine revolves around an optimised version of Windows 11 and the suggestion that the PC gamer is interested in experiences without a mouse and keyboard, away from their desk and their computer. The success of the ROG Xbox Ally X will depend on overcoming a cultural barrier. Technically, in fact, the machine we tested for a few weeks is extremely powerful: Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and 24 GB of RAM offer smooth gaming experiences like never before.

I played Doom: The Dark Ages: it ran at a smooth average of 60-70 FPS at 1080p on medium-high graphics settings. Same goes for Forza Motorsport and Civ 7. Heat dissipation remains an issue, but the fan noise was never annoying. The look and feel is also convincing. It's not as sleek as a Switch 2, but it's for all intents and purposes a console that is finally comfortable, easy to grip, with well-positioned buttons and levers. It's not a featherweight (678 g), but it should be remembered that it's a portable mini-PC. For better or worse.

Let's try to be more precise. Compared to the past, the differences are there. At start-up you enter the Xbox Full Screen Experience, a console-like interface optimised for gaming (it reduces background processes, manages energy and performance automatically). ROG Xbox Ally X, again, has a physical Xbox button and an evolved Game Bar that allows you to switch between games, chat, change settings or open the Armoury Crate app without leaving the game.

Above all, it is finally agnostic, i.e. it offers a single aggregated library with titles from Xbox, Game Pass, Steam, Battle.net and other PC stores. And then it is compatible with Xbox Play Anywhere, Remote Play and Cloud Gaming, so you can switch between console, PC or cloud with synchronised saves. Technically, too, the larger battery is there and it makes itself felt. As does the display, which, although not an OLED, is bright and expresses the console's graphic power.