Microsoft and Asus announce two Xbox Ally handhelds with new Xbox full-screen experience
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They have given up on their own handheld. And why wouldn't you prefer the PC library when it's so much larger? The appeal to this device at this point is that the new UI is better for the handheld use case than desktop Windows.
Its not that i dont prefer the PC library, its that there are already dozens of other handhelds that play PC games already.
So then the UI is the sole reason people should want this device?
I see no reason why this UI shouldnt also work on the plethora of other windows handhelds in the market currently.
This leaves nothing new for this device to offer... Unless its really cheap. -
LTT describes that the XBOX team have also trimmed down 2GB of W11 desktop bloat with this and have attempted to make the W11 experience more similar to a console. I'm curious to follow this. I'd imagine Microsoft are a bit intimidated by the fact that SteamOS is a better handheld gaming OS than Windows. Obviously this must have been in the pipeline for a long time now.
I would be interested if it also supported quick resume from sleep like the Deck does. Imo that's the killer SteamOS feature that's keeping Windows alternatives from being even a consideration.
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Its not that i dont prefer the PC library, its that there are already dozens of other handhelds that play PC games already.
So then the UI is the sole reason people should want this device?
I see no reason why this UI shouldnt also work on the plethora of other windows handhelds in the market currently.
This leaves nothing new for this device to offer... Unless its really cheap.At least at first, it will be the only handheld running this version of Windows. So maybe after a year or two, it won't be all that unique, true, but a year or two is a long time at the rate these handhelds are advancing.
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At least at first, it will be the only handheld running this version of Windows. So maybe after a year or two, it won't be all that unique, true, but a year or two is a long time at the rate these handhelds are advancing.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]What a weak sell then, i understand your point, i just wish Xbox came out swinging with a compatibility layer for the Xbox game library.
A portable device with that capability would have the potential to put them back on top.Instead we get a less bad version of windows, that will likely be inferior to its direct competitor(steamOS) anyways, sans the ability to play a few multiplayer games.
I see no reason to believe it wont be.
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What a weak sell then, i understand your point, i just wish Xbox came out swinging with a compatibility layer for the Xbox game library.
A portable device with that capability would have the potential to put them back on top.Instead we get a less bad version of windows, that will likely be inferior to its direct competitor(steamOS) anyways, sans the ability to play a few multiplayer games.
I see no reason to believe it wont be.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]i just wish Xbox came out swinging with a compatibility layer for the Xbox game library
Though not officially announced, signs of that are appearing already, including a hint or two in the speech of the conference.
And for plenty of people, being able to play live service games that don't work on SteamOS, with a UI that's almost as good finally, will be enough.
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i just wish Xbox came out swinging with a compatibility layer for the Xbox game library
Though not officially announced, signs of that are appearing already, including a hint or two in the speech of the conference.
And for plenty of people, being able to play live service games that don't work on SteamOS, with a UI that's almost as good finally, will be enough.
Is it good enough for you? Is that why you will get it? Where are these people you speak of...?
I highly doubt there are enough people that want that super particular use case to make this particular handheld stand out at all, especially ones that didnt meet their needs with another handheld already.
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i just wish Xbox came out swinging with a compatibility layer for the Xbox game library
Though not officially announced, signs of that are appearing already, including a hint or two in the speech of the conference.
And for plenty of people, being able to play live service games that don't work on SteamOS, with a UI that's almost as good finally, will be enough.
Oh and about the potential for native Xbox games running on PC handhelds...
God i hope youre right. -
Is it good enough for you? Is that why you will get it? Where are these people you speak of...?
I highly doubt there are enough people that want that super particular use case to make this particular handheld stand out at all, especially ones that didnt meet their needs with another handheld already.
I hate live service games and Windows, so no, this device is not for me, but those are also the most popular games on the market by a wide margin. Despite how awful the Windows experience is today, there's still one Windows handheld sold for every two Steam Decks. That situation can only improve with a version of Windows designed for handhelds.
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I hate live service games and Windows, so no, this device is not for me, but those are also the most popular games on the market by a wide margin. Despite how awful the Windows experience is today, there's still one Windows handheld sold for every two Steam Decks. That situation can only improve with a version of Windows designed for handhelds.
I see your point with the millions that play those specific games, maybe i am just disappointed by microsoft only doing the bare minimum when they are forced to.
This is at least progress
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I would be interested if it also supported quick resume from sleep like the Deck does. Imo that's the killer SteamOS feature that's keeping Windows alternatives from being even a consideration.
If they can't do that then this thing is kind of DOA. I've just assumed for some reason that this is what they're doing.
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::: spoiler spoiler
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:::Well, at least the base model Xbox Ally has essentially the same SoC as the Steam Deck. The Z2 A has 4 Zen 2 cores and 8 RDNA 2 CUs. It will be configurable up to 20 watts TDP instead of 15 on the Deck, but that's it. So much for "long in the tooth technology wise".
Sure, the Z2 Extreme variant will be more powerful, but it'll also be in a different price category (800-900,-€).
And in terms of user-friendliness: the Xbox Ally will run Windows. It won't launch into the regular desktop shell (by default), and it won't have as many services running in the background which might help with performance and battery life, and you'll probably be able to update drivers and Windows through it. Maybe it will have some preconfigured scripts/shortcuts to install Steam, Battle.net etc. But that's it. Expect to fall back to the desktop mode (or open a browser, terminal and Explorer window in the new gaming mode) for anything more advanced like installing emulators.
In terms of pick up and play this won't be much different to the Steam Deck, with the one exception being Game Pass - but even then don't expect any of the more demanding titles to run well.
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I believe I read somewhere else that idea/project was taken back to the workshop and this is something else but close to that.
Yeah, I also read that they stopped the project of building an official Xbox handheld to focus on 3rd party hardware. Because otherwise the delay would make them not launch at the same time than the home console.
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Is this the rumoured Xbox handheld that everyone has been going on about for months?
Only it doesn't run Xbox games.
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And the crowd went ...ok?
At least the internet crowd went :
Silksooooooooooong ! New images and half revealed date of "you will be able to play it on day one". So either same launch day or a bit before. 2nd time (after the switch 2 trailer) that they mention silksong for this year. So maaaaybe ?
Oh by the way, why are the image shown at an angle? Is it really only to showcase the console? Whatever.
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I believe I read somewhere else that idea/project was taken back to the workshop and this is something else but close to that.
I read that somewhere as well, it coincided with reports of SteamOS being more performant that Windows 11 for gaming. How related they both were I have no idea but it sounds like MS were already aware and are trying to resolve that here as it prevents resource intensive processes from launching (desktop, etc).
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I still think the real XBox handheld is another 2-5 years out. This is Microsoft dipping their toes in the water and the ROC is a great system to start that partnership
Steam Deck appreciator myself and this does seem like a good starting point for Xbox. I’m interested to see how it progresses over the years.
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Well, at least the base model Xbox Ally has essentially the same SoC as the Steam Deck. The Z2 A has 4 Zen 2 cores and 8 RDNA 2 CUs. It will be configurable up to 20 watts TDP instead of 15 on the Deck, but that's it. So much for "long in the tooth technology wise".
Sure, the Z2 Extreme variant will be more powerful, but it'll also be in a different price category (800-900,-€).
And in terms of user-friendliness: the Xbox Ally will run Windows. It won't launch into the regular desktop shell (by default), and it won't have as many services running in the background which might help with performance and battery life, and you'll probably be able to update drivers and Windows through it. Maybe it will have some preconfigured scripts/shortcuts to install Steam, Battle.net etc. But that's it. Expect to fall back to the desktop mode (or open a browser, terminal and Explorer window in the new gaming mode) for anything more advanced like installing emulators.
In terms of pick up and play this won't be much different to the Steam Deck, with the one exception being Game Pass - but even then don't expect any of the more demanding titles to run well.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]::: spoiler spoiler
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It probably should have released a could months ago, pre switch2 hype.
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This machine will be the same desktop-mode-not-required-but-allows-for-more-functionality thing that the Steam Deck is, but it will chew through battery faster in exchange for more compatibility.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]::: spoiler spoiler
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::: spoiler spoiler
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:::wrote on last edited by [email protected]the steam deck is getting long in the tooth technology wise
lolwut? The Deck was released only three years ago.
