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One of the bigger announcements from the Xbox Games Showcase today was the reveal of an Xbox handheld device. It had been rumored for a while, though the final product might be a bit unexpected. Called the ROG Xbox Ally, the system is a variant of the already existing ROG Ally, with Xbox buttons and a more controller-type grip. It will run Windows 11, though it will have a more Xbox-themed UI for your games library. As it uses Windows, you'll be able to install Steam, Epic, and whichever launcher you prefer.

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There will be two variants of the handheld, in the form of the ROG Xbox Ally, and the ROG Xbox Ally X. The former will feature an AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor, with 16GB of DDR5X RAM, 512GB storage, and a 120Hz screen. The more powerful X will have impulse triggers, 24GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a USB4 Type C port. The full specs can be seen on the official Xbox website. They'll both be out later this holiday season. Pricing will also be announced later.

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[ZeroT21]

I'd like to add this was looking better than the Xbox rog ally X

View attachment 509990

All this hype just to make it look like another Apple branded trashcan pc

 

[orangy57]

All i've taken away from this video is that Windows 11 might get a slightly less dogshit UI for handhelds

 

[Xzi]

What? Part of those "10-20% percent improvements" come down to how much better Linux as a whole has been optimized to be more efficient at resource usage than Windows, even more so considering how low the requirements to install the absolute bare minimum and even are (you used to be able to run the latest version of the kernel on an original Pentium before it was taken out for optimization reasons). A large chunk of Linux's system requirements beyond the kernel and terminal comes down to what Window Manager (i3, IceWM, Sway, etc.) and/or Desktop Environment (Gnome, KDE Plasma, XFCE, etc.) plus whatever software you run on top of that. Wine's Performance also is influenced by the fact it's a translation layer (which even if it doesn't cover everything accurately, lets it handle things better due to having a lot less bloat to sift through), and only uses the library calls the software needs instead of all of them at once like you would need to on Windows since a lot of the same (or more) libraries is the ones the entire OS runs on, execpt things like Adobe and MS office still don't work under base Wine or Proton, which people tend to use a lot besides gaming.

SteamOS and Proton didn't do any of that, Linux and Wine plus the code they made for Proton, and other things they didn't make like DXVK did. What they did beyond the changes made for Proton was rebrand Big Picture Mode, made it the default with some changes to make it more usable as a standalone enviornment, and put in default settings made to work with the specifications of what it is running on (Mainly the Steam Deck and the Handheld PCs it was "Officially" released on.) with an option to switch to KDE Plasma, which is going to be apartent when An offical standalone version of SteamOS does get released and the horde of people who've been hyped up as the thing that will replace Windows with no idea what Linux even is, the unwillingness to learn even the basics of it, and the Mt.Everest amounts of things different between Windows and Linux that will make you absolutely hate Linux if you don't know what they are and the sacrifices needed to make the switch is.

And if you consiter what it takes to run games through steam on Windows compared to Linux (Even on handheld PCs), how is running a web browser to install Steam and going through the motions of installing games and putting your prefered settings that much more complicated than pickng your linux distro, getting acclimated to how it functions if you never used Linux before or switched to a different distro (like going from Debian to Void Linux), and then installing steam the same way through a Web Browser or the terminal and all that more fiddling? It's even less of a non comparison if you consitered a Laptop or prebuilt PC with Windows preloaded vs a handheld PC like the Steam Deck where the process of getting Steam installed doesn't even take that much time if you actually know what you're doing because oh wow, you have to take a little bit to install something and configure things on the general purpose opperating system over one tailored closer to a specific niche. It's like saying the turtle is slower than the one that's been taught how to ride a wheelchair.

That's a lot of text just to end up concurring. Your average user isn't gonna care about the inner workings of what's running beneath a simplified portable-focused UX. Price, performance, and battery life comprise the golden triangle of portable gaming, and Valve's focus was on balancing all three when designing the Steam Deck. This Xbox handheld seems to focus on only one of those aspects, and even if it perfects that aspect, it's not going to gain any traction outside of a very niche audience. That same audience would be the type to install SteamOS on it once it supports the device, too.

 

[64bitmodels]

Yeah battery life is literally the thing holding back handhelds at this point. The Ally can go as quick as 90 minutes on intensive games.

efficiency. not battery. The batteries in these systems are far bigger than most portable batteries.

AMD needs to really level up their efficiency for these smaller chips. They're still quite good compared to desktop, but they need to find a way to get that same insane wow performance per watt the Deck had.

 

[NinStar]

That's a lot of text just to end up concurring. Your average user isn't gonna care about the inner workings of what's running beneath a simplified portable-focused UX. Price, performance, and battery life comprise the golden triangle of portable gaming, and Valve's focus was on balancing all three when designing the Steam Deck. This Xbox handheld seems to focus on only one of those aspects, and even if it perfects that aspect, it's not going to gain any traction outside of a very niche audience. That same audience would be the type to install SteamOS on it once it supports the device, too.

While I agree about this product probably being niche to begin with, what makes you think they are only focusing on one of the three aspects you mentioned?

They're clearly making it even more streamlined than the Steam Deck and SteamOS when it comes to UX, and I'm not even talking about the fact that by default they have the advantage of being Windows. As for performance, from what I've gathered from the people who have previewed it, it seems like the custom Windows build this thing is running won't even need to load the Windows desktop and other background services when booting into "Xbox mode", that alone would be a modest free performance boost (+battery life), and we don't even know what other optimizations they've made yet. As I said before, there's no reason to think it won't perform better than SteamOS or other Linux distributions when it comes to native Windows gaming, unless they somehow manage to fuck it up before release.

Personally, I see this as a first step towards them establishing a Windows "distro" for the Xbox brand in the long term and licensing it to other manufacturers like they do with regular Windows, which as much as I don't like it (since I'm not a Windows user myself), would probably be more commercially viable than the SteamOS.

 

[Xzi]

While I agree about this product probably being niche to begin with, what makes you think they are only focusing on one of the three aspects you mentioned?

The other ROG Ally products are priced higher than even the OLED Steam Deck, and have worse average battery life than the Switch 2.

They're clearly making it even more streamlined than the Steam Deck and SteamOS when it comes to UX, and I'm not even talking about the fact that by default they have the advantage of being Windows. As for performance, from what I've gathered from the people who have previewed it, it seems like the custom Windows build this thing is running won't even need to load the Windows desktop and other background services when booting into "Xbox mode", that alone would be a modest free performance boost (+battery life), and we don't even know what other optimizations they've made yet. As I said before, there's no reason to think it won't perform better than SteamOS or other Linux distributions when it comes to native Windows gaming, unless they somehow manage to fuck it up before release.

Thus the reason I'm assuming performance won't be an issue, but SteamOS on this device might still provide an additional performance bump, and better battery life optimization as a bonus. Only time will tell, but Windows was never previously designed for this use case.

 

[Kioku]

I just don't get all the damn Windows gaming hate all of a sudden. Sure Win 11 sucks for a multitude of reasons. I refuse to upgrade my Steam Deck from Win 10 because of Copilot security concerns. That aside, muthafuckas were gaming on Windows for years with minimal complaints and now people act like its the cool thing to shit all over it.

You’re missing the plot here. We were cool with it because it was the only option. Now? We have Linux, and even Mac has more gaming potential. Also, Microsoft was far more focused on providing a proper user experience that wasn’t filled with pointless garbage the end user never asked for (copilot, “simplifying” the context menu, etc.)

They’re now far more focused on your data than your experience.

My personal feelings aside, what’s wrong with vying for more appropriate options? Even if Microsoft opted to give us a more “gaming focused” operating system, it’s still Windows.

 

[LightyKD]

We already have head-to-head comparisons on a number of devices which show Windows 11 is 10-20% worse in gaming performance versus SteamOS. Not to mention that there's a lot less fiddling you have to do in SteamOS's gaming mode as opposed to the setup of a full fat Windows installation, which is a PITA to do on smaller screens. I think what Microsoft is doing with Game Pass is pretty neat, but beyond that they've fallen so far behind the competition that it may not even be worth trying any more. Especially if this thing debuts with like an $800 price tag.


Purchases made on Steam give you the game for both Windows AND SteamOS though, it's not an either/or proposition. Microsoft is definitely NOT more trustworthy than Valve on that front after what happened with Games for Windows Live.

My statement was more about the operating systems not the game stores.

 

[Kioku]

I just did some more reading. It seems the most exciting announcement here is the gaming version of windows 11. If they follow through on what they're claiming, it could be seriously game changing

I’m curious how this will play out. If I can nuke my Windows 11 install and replace it with a slimmer, gaming-focused OS for games like Destiny or utilizing Game Pass, I’d be alright with that.

 

[Taleweaver]

Microsoft could've been first. Gpd win's first release was in 2016. Sent perfect in any way, but it had potential. If ms focused on making their os actually usable, steam deck wouldn't have filled the gap.
Now, they'll have a hard time tweaking so it can catch up with steamos, and even if they do, everyone already has a stream deck and/or a switch or 2.

So+1 to the already wide consensus: why bother?

Steam OS isn't perfect. In the grand scheme of things, I trust Windows a LOT more for games preservation than I do Steam OS. Before someone comes at me with the whole "its digital games" BS. Fact remains that I CAN and DO make physical copies of my Steam games and if one day licenses get wonky, there are a plethora of crack files to fix that issue. Can't say the same about Steam OS.

You can just import a non steam game, point to the cracked.exe file and choose a Proton version to boot it. This has worked for me in about 80-90 percent of the time. Not sure what you mean with'physical copies'. I've not tried burning dvd's, but ripping them through eg handbrake (and an external usb dvd burner) works like a charm

 

[whitesword7]

shouldn’t have called it “xbox” if it can’t play xbox game in the first place

 

[LightyKD]

Microsoft could've been first. Gpd win's first release was in 2016. Sent perfect in any way, but it had potential. If ms focused on making their os actually usable, steam deck wouldn't have filled the gap.
Now, they'll have a hard time tweaking so it can catch up with steamos, and even if they do, everyone already has a stream deck and/or a switch or 2.

So+1 to the already wide consensus: why bother?


You can just import a non steam game, point to the cracked.exe file and choose a Proton version to boot it. This has worked for me in about 80-90 percent of the time. Not sure what you mean with'physical copies'. I've not tried burning dvd's, but ripping them through eg handbrake (and an external usb dvd burner) works like a charm

Using full sized SD cards, I make "game cards" for all of my Steam games. They function exactly like Switch game cards.

 

[BlusterBong]

That's a lot of text just to end up concurring. Your average user isn't gonna care about the inner workings of what's running beneath a simplified portable-focused UX. Price, performance, and battery life comprise the golden triangle of portable gaming, and Valve's focus was on balancing all three when designing the Steam Deck. This Xbox handheld seems to focus on only one of those aspects, and even if it perfects that aspect, it's not going to gain any traction outside of a very niche audience. That same audience would be the type to install SteamOS on it once it supports the device, too.

My point is focused more on the why it's the case, and the PC side of these handheld PCs, the side where you use it like a normal PC to browse the web and stuff like that. For Gaming side, it'll be fine with most people, but for a lot of normies, the moment they try the "alternate mode" that functions not too different from a typical Linux distro that uses KDE Plasma by default, which largely operates with different rules compared the Operating System that at least 70% of desktop computers are currently using and are more familiar with, things are going to go quite wrong if they try and run something like MS Office and have issues trying to run it (if it even functions) and need to be carefully walked through the process of having to something like installing software through the terminal, something that would be a no brainer to a seasoned Linux user.

 

[SecureBoot]

I’m curious how this will play out. If I can nuke my Windows 11 install and replace it with a slimmer, gaming-focused OS for games like Destiny or utilizing Game Pass, I’d be alright with that.

I agree. I finally bit the bullet and installed Bazzite on my Ally about a week ago. The benefits are definitely tangible, but the (admittedly impressive) compatibility is always gonna keep me crawling back to windows. Not to mention, I have a special way of syncing saves for emulators and cracked games that isn't compatible with Bazzite or SteamOS.

I did end up breaking my Windows install because I misjudged how big I needed the partitions to be and trying to resize caused a ton of issues, but that's why I have the game backups in the first place. Not to mention, I got to refine my chocolatey install so it's a net positive.

 

[Xzi]

My point is focused more on the why it's the case, and the PC side of these handheld PCs, the side where you use it like a normal PC to browse the web and stuff like that. For Gaming side, it'll be fine with most people, but for a lot of normies, the moment they try the "alternate mode" that functions not too different from a typical Linux distro that uses KDE Plasma by default, which largely operates with different rules compared the Operating System that at least 70% of desktop computers are currently using and are more familiar with, things are going to go quite wrong if they try and run something like MS Office and have issues trying to run it (if it even functions) and need to be carefully walked through the process of having to something like installing software through the terminal, something that would be a no brainer to a seasoned Linux user.

I mean that's fair, but people buying a Steam Deck to use it primarily for productivity have to be like the 1% of the 1%. For basic web browsing, Firefox is already pre-installed, so it's a matter of simply clicking an icon. Even if you are gonna get deep into the weeds with desktop mode, the trackpads make that a lot easier than it is for devices without them, at least. Valve covered their bases as much as possible, and it doesn't seem like the other portable PC offerings had as much thought put into them. The Xbox Ally reportedly weighs almost 100g more than Steam Deck OLED, for example, and some people already felt the Deck was uncomfortably heavy.

 

[Deleted member 671446]

Honestly, these pc-handled-consoles are as well nice on the one hand, but on the other
I noticed that often the real flaws are never shown, in my opinion: first of all they are really heavy, this one of Xbox weighs well over half a kg, legion go even over the 700g, after a while it becomes tiring to play with it; secondly, miserable battery, I with my old SteamDeck if I made 1h full from 100% with Fallout 4 at medium settings I was lucky (yes, I had also lowered the power consumption). Lastly, these consoles are huge, “portable” is really a figure of speech, not to mention the “time/price” ratio, not even time to buy one that after two years the updated version comes out, ayaneo style.

I bought the SteamDeck 2 years ago, I was glad I sold it after not even a year of use. But I am happy if those who buy it can appreciate its value

 

[tpax]

I think one major thing that Microsoft needs to address in their stripped down handheld Windows version, is the ability to quick suspend and quick resume while in-game. That's the SteamOS' killer feature that would make me choose it over Windows anytime.
Using regular Windows on a portable gaming handheld kills the whole idea of portability. SteamOS' UX/UI is what turned it from just a portable PC with a screen and a controller attached, to a proper gaming handheld.

 

[linuxares]

Alright now how much does it cost? Like if they want to compete they would need to sell his thing at a huge loss.

Something just tell me it will be like 999 usd. We will see.

 

[Maximumbeans]

I'll be honest, I am kind of tired of seeing handheld computers all over the damn place. Another Windows or Linux device, good for you if that's your thing, but some of us want a console, not another handheld computer. Other than the Nintendo Switch 2, can we just have proper handheld consoles anymore? Something like the (3)DS(i) (Lite) family of systems, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, etc..

I'm with you, and while we're at it, a return of proper handheld games—not just titles made for home consoles that they also put on handheld consoles. Dedicated handheld games had totally different philosophies behind them, before smartphone wait-game bullshit corrupted everything.

 

[Taleweaver]

I mean that's fair, but people buying a Steam Deck to use it primarily for productivity have to be like the 1% of the 1%.

Meaning: Ukrainian soldiers using the steam deck in the field to guide drones.