{"id":98778,"date":"2025-10-16T05:36:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T05:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=98778"},"modified":"2025-10-16T05:36:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T05:36:00","slug":"is-microsofts-first-ever-handheld-xbox-console-worth-the-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=98778","title":{"rendered":"Is Microsoft\u2019s first ever handheld Xbox console worth the wait?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>6 Minute, 46 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
\n

For almost two decades, rumours have swirled about a handheld Xbox console to rival Nintendo and PlayStation.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s finally here. The ROG Xbox Ally has been released worldwide, putting an end to the speculation.<\/p>\n

It works natively with Xbox\u2019s Game Pass subscription service out of the box, meaning members will start off with hundreds of games in their library.<\/p>\n

But its big trick is that it\u2019s really a portable computer running Windows, meaning most digital PC games people already own will work too \u2013 so long as they don\u2019t need a keyboard and mouse to play.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s capable of running most modern games at a decent resolution, although all that tech doesn\u2019t come cheap. The handheld costs \u00a3499, or \u00a3799 for the more powerful ROG Xbox Ally X.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had my hands on the console for the past week and my experience has been positive \u2013 though the hardware certainly has its hiccups.<\/p>\n

So, has it been worth the wait?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s it like?<\/h2>\n

You may not be surprised to hear it feels like a handheld Xbox.<\/p>\n

The controller that makes up each side of the screen is comfortable to hold. Both thumb sticks have a solid feel to them, and though the face buttons are a bit plastic-y for my taste, the triggers on top of the machine feel great.<\/p>\n

So far so good \u2013 but what about the games?<\/p>\n

The first thing I did with the device was boot up something known for its vibrant colours \u2013 2019\u2019s Persona 5 Royal \u2013 to see how good the screen looks.<\/p>\n

The opening cinematic of Persona 5 Royal showed just how vibrant the colours can be<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Personally, I thought it looked fantastic.<\/p>\n

Tech nerds like me may have had concerns that Microsoft went for an LCD display rather than the top-tier OLED displays.<\/p>\n

In English, that means this portable Xbox doesn\u2019t have the best screen available on the market, which may seem like a questionable decision considering the price.<\/p>\n

But LCD displays have gotten significantly better in recent years, and while it may not have the most vibrant colours possible, I was pretty blown away by how good Persona 5\u2019s deep reds looked on the handheld screen.<\/p>\n

The game played well too, with no visible stutters or freezes \u2013 though this is surely to be expected for something that doesn\u2019t have the same graphical demands as modern titles.<\/p>\n

Remember, this isn\u2019t like buying a game for the Nintendo Switch 2, where you can expect things will work out of the box.<\/p>\n

This is much more like buying a game for your home computer.<\/p>\n

In other words, you don\u2019t know for sure whether a game will work or not.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s definitely a mark against the handheld, though it\u2019s something PC gamers have been used to for years.<\/p>\n

As much as this is a handheld Xbox, it could also be described as a portable computer running Windows \u2013 all the downsides of PC gaming are present here, but so are the upsides.<\/p>\n

For example, Baldur\u2019s Gate 3, which is known for being particularly demanding at times, proved a challenge for the device on higher graphics settings, but because it\u2019s a PC game I could play around with the graphics settings to make it run smoothly.<\/p>\n

In the end, I had to turn many of Baldur\u2019s Gate 3\u2019s graphics settings down quite a bit before it felt smooth to play<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The handheld performed admirably with modern games that don\u2019t require the best graphics \u2013 as you would expect for the price.<\/p>\n

For example, I had no issues running some of this year\u2019s biggest games such as Hades II, Blue Prince and Hollow Knight: Silksong.<\/p>\n

The device also worked well when playing older games \u2013 a similar experience I had to the Steam Deck when that launched in 2022 \u2013 but funnily enough, my biggest problems came getting some of them to start.<\/p>\n

For example, I couldn\u2019t get 2001\u2019s Sonic Adventure 2 to work properly because of compatibility problems.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the handheld runs Windows 11 \u2013 so I knew how to fix the bug.<\/p>\n

What games are available?<\/h2>\n

The ROG Xbox Ally has got a massive library of potential games \u2013 many of which you may already own \u2013 thanks to being a portable PC.<\/p>\n

But this thing was really built for Game Pass, Xbox\u2019s subscription service for games.<\/p>\n

Press the Xbox button on the side of the device and it brings up a menu where you can quickly open the subscription service (or other PC gaming platforms) \u2013 keen gamers will instantly recognise the game I\u2019m playing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Game Pass gives access to a massive history of classic games such as Halo, Gears of War and Fable, as well as modern titles including Call of Duty.<\/p>\n

With many of these games, you don\u2019t need to download to the device \u2013 you can stream them over the cloud.<\/p>\n

Of course, if a game is being streamed from a Microsoft server somewhere, it isn\u2019t asking too much of the device to power it \u2013 meaning you can get some spectacular graphics from modern games like Modern Warfare 3 on the handheld.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there are subscription services from EA and Ubisoft also bundled into Game Pass Ultimate, giving you access to yet more games from the off.<\/p>\n

Still, despite Game Pass being front-and-centre on the device, it is not a requirement.<\/p>\n

Remember, this system is running Windows 11. That means any game made for PC is going to work here \u2013 even if it takes a bit of fiddling to make it run properly.<\/p>\n

A Game Pass subscription comes in at anywhere between \u00a36.99 and \u00a322.99 a month<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The harsh reality is that this is not 2001 anymore, when the rumours first started.<\/p>\n

Handheld PCs are no longer a rarity, and neither are handheld games machines.<\/p>\n

Nintendo has cornered the market with the Switch \u2013 one of the best-selling consoles in history \u2013 and its Switch 2 has only improved what made the original great.<\/p>\n

Sony has its own alternative product in the space, the PlayStation Portal, which can stream games from a connected PlayStation 5, and from the cloud too.<\/p>\n

And critically, Microsoft\u2019s new device comes three and a half years after Valve entered the PC gaming handheld market with the Steam Deck.<\/p>\n

Clockwise from the top: a ROG Xbox Ally X playing Dragon Quest XI, a Steam Deck playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon, a PlayStation Portal playing Sonic Frontiers, and a Nintendo Switch 2 playing Donkey Kong: Bananza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s no question the ROG Xbox Ally compares well to many of these rivals in the space \u2013 but at the price point, you\u2019d expect it to.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the very thing that makes the Xbox Ally X stand out compared to its rivals \u2013 the fact that it natively runs Windows \u2013 is at the same time its biggest tension point.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, it allows for some fun things. It was entertaining to bring up Copilot while playing a game and ask for advice on what to do next \u2013 and to be told in a conversational way to talk to a character on-screen in front of me.<\/p>\n

But you have to deal with Windows, which was hardly developed with a games console in mind. I had to sit and wait for several updates to install before I could even play the thing \u2013 hardly every child\u2019s dream on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n

Simply put, it\u2019s lacking that bit of extra polish you might expect at a premium price.<\/p>\n

But I do think the people Microsoft is targeting with this product are hardly going to be turned away by a lack of polish. Especially as it has no real impact on the games.<\/p>\n

The question is whether the allure of Game Pass on-the-go is going to be enough to justify the price of admission.<\/p>\n

If the goal was to make something that feels like a handheld Xbox, Microsoft has certainly delivered on its promise \u2013 but has it come to market too late?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\"IsFor almost two decades, rumours have swirled about a handheld Xbox console to rival Nintendo and PlayStation.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4241,10,9,2139,10582],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-microsoft","category-politics","category-popular","category-technology","category-xbox"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98778\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}