Xbox Ally X vs. Xbox Series X: Which Xbox Is the Future?

Are handhelds the aboriginal of Xbox? It’s a question that’s been bouncing astir my caput since the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X launched. Of course, I don’t deliberation Xbox is ditching its console enactment entirely, but it begs different question – is Xbox amended successful the handheld marketplace oregon is the Xbox Series X superior?

The Xbox Ally X is present our favourite handheld gaming PC, and that’s acknowledgment to Asus’ dilatory perfection of its handheld series. On the different broadside of that, the Xbox Series X isn’t precisely the astir fashionable current-generation console.

While the Xbox Series X whitethorn not beryllium the champion console, tin it bushed the champion gaming handheld? Let’s spot however it stacks up against the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X.

Xbox Ally X vs. Xbox Series X: Specs

The Xbox Series X is 5 years old, but tin a handheld similar the Xbox Ally X truly outpace it?

Both Xbox devices are rocking AMD hardware, with the Xbox Ally X debuting the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chipset, and the Xbox Series X featuring customized AMD Zen 2 and RDNA 2 chips.

Both the Xbox Ally X and Xbox Series X diagnostic 8 CPU cores, but the erstwhile is clocked astatine 2 GHz portion the second hits 3.8 GHz. The Xbox Ally X does enactment much RAM, astatine 24GB compared with the Xbox Series X’s 16GB. However, that doesn’t alteration the spread successful GPU performance. While the Xbox Ally X is built connected the caller RDNA 3.5 architecture, its 16 Compute Units inactive won’t clasp up compared to the 52 RDNA 2 Compute Units successful the Xbox Series X.

In real-world practice, the biggest selling constituent of the Xbox Series X is 4K gaming astatine 60 fps. Of course, modern games person a shoddy way grounds achieving that connected console, but that’s neither present nor there. The constituent is that the Xbox Ally X sports a 7-inch, 1920 x 1080, 120Hz display, truthful you won’t beryllium getting 4K oregon adjacent 1440p gaming, if that’s thing you attraction about.

Winner: Xbox Series X

Xbox Ally X vs. Xbox Series X: Utility

The Xbox Ally X and the Xbox Series X cater to 2 wholly antithetic kinds of experience. Sure, you could play some connected your couch, but 1 of them you tin instrumentality wherever you want, portion the different provides a much stationary experience.

With the Xbox Series X, you’re stuck playing successful 1 place, you can’t play immoderate PC games, and you don’t get to prioritize the graphics settings that substance to you. Modern AAA games are getting amended astir adding graphics settings connected consoles, but it's obscurity adjacent arsenic thorough arsenic PC.

With the Xbox Ally X, you request to interest astir artillery life, being trapped connected a 1080p screen, and getting stuck with an inferior controller experience. Don’t get maine wrong, the Xbox Ally X’s controller is the champion successful a handheld truthful far, but it inactive won’t beryllium arsenic comfy arsenic a accepted controller. Yet, contempt immoderate of those shortfalls, the Xbox Ally X offers truthful much. I tin play it connected the bid connected my mode to work, which is simply a lot, but thing beats snuggling up successful furniture and dying to Simon for the umpteenth clip successful Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Another cardinal origin is the display. The Xbox Ally X whitethorn lone diagnostic a 1080p screen, but it is much vibrant and vivid than astir 1080p monitors oregon TVs. That means you'd person to walk hundreds of dollars for a 1440p oregon 4K surface that would look conscionable arsenic good. Sure, you get the bump successful resolution, but that conscionable reinforces that the Xbox Series X isn’t technically acceptable to spell retired of the container (you request a display).

Then there's the PC crippled stores. I'll get deeper into it successful the adjacent section, but it is incredibly convenient to swap implicit from the Xbox Store to Steam with the Xbox Ally X. With my Xbox Series X, I’d request to get up disconnected my sofa and spell to my office, wherever I support my PC. Of course, not everyone has the aforesaid set-up, but there’s inactive a monolithic separation betwixt Xbox and PC with an Xbox Series X. The Xbox Ally X closes that gap, albeit astatine the outgo of a fewer games.

Winner: Xbox Ally X

Xbox Ally X vs. Xbox Series X: Game Compatibility

If you aren’t heavy into the PC gaming scene, you mightiness beryllium shocked that the Xbox Ally X can’t play each Xbox game. It seems similar mendacious advertising, but the information of it is that the Xbox Ally X is simply a PC, not an Xbox. Although, that does travel with its advantages.

With the Xbox Series X, you tin play astir AAA games, arsenic good arsenic older Xbox 360 and archetypal Xbox games. That includes games not disposable connected PC, similar Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, and Halo 5: Guardians.

Those games whitethorn travel to PC 1 day, but close present the Xbox Ally X inactive has entree to a importantly larger room than the Xbox Series X. You not lone get each the games connected the Microsoft Store, but besides games from Steam, Epic Games, Battle.net, and GOG. One of the large things astir that is immoderate stores periodically springiness retired escaped games, particularly the Epic Games Store.

So yes, you’re losing retired connected a fewer console-exclusive games with the Xbox Ally X, but you’re gaining a landfill’s worthy compared to the Xbox Series X.

Winner: Xbox Ally X

Xbox Ally X vs. Xbox Series X: Price