Microsoft doesn't need the ROG Xbox Ally — it needs the Nintendo Switch 2

3 weeks ago 3

After months of rumors and speculation, Microsoft finally pulled back the curtain on its Xbox handheld: the ROG Xbox Ally X. Really rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? It's supposedly the culmination of years of work from Microsoft, between enabling handhelds like the ROG Ally X, updating the Xbox app within Windows, building the Game Pass ecosystem, and expanding its coverage for cloud gaming. And yet, it feels like one of the most misguided hardware launches I've seen in years.

Although it's great to get confirmation of an Xbox handheld, and even better that other devices will see the software benefits it comes with next year, I'm not sure a dedicated, Xbox-branded device is the right move. That's especially true in the face of the recently-launched Nintendo Switch 2, which seems like the ideal platform for Xbox's increasingly software-focused ambitions.

A hand holding the Steam Deck.

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Xbox is a software brand

The hardware matters less than ever before

Xbox is a software brand, and it's been turning into one for at least half a decade. This isn't some market shift that Microsoft didn't anticipate, nor a lofty designation I'm assigning to Xbox for a convenient argument. It's been a very intentional shift from Microsoft, which begs the question of why we even need an Xbox-branded handheld in the first place.

We just got some direct evidence of this shift with the Xbox Showcase where the ROG Xbox Ally was revealed. For the first time, Microsoft showed the PS5 logo at the end of every trailer for games launching on Sony's platform. It might seem small, but Sony wouldn't be caught dead flashing an Xbox logo during one of its presentations, and Nintendo would rather not even acknowledge that other gaming brands exist. That subtle shift is just the cherry on top of a cake that Microsoft has been baking for the past few years.

We've had more than six months of the "this is an Xbox" marketing campaign, originally used as a way to highlight the broad support of Game Pass, before turning into somewhat of a meme that Xbox's social channels perpetuate. Xbox has launched first-party games on PlayStation; it's undermined its own cloud gaming efforts by offering Game Pass support to GeForce Now. Every move Xbox, as a brand, has made since the launch of the Series X and S has been an effort to distance the Xbox brand from the hardware that defines it. It's not about the console. It's about Game Pass and Microsoft's roster of studios. I suspect Microsoft executives wouldn't disagree with that assessment.

I wasn't shocked to see Microsoft announce the ROG Xbox Ally — it's been rumored for months — but I was surprised that Microsoft actually took the plunge. It's little more than an ROG Ally with the next handheld APU from AMD, plus an Xbox logo and a redesigned shell. The thing that makes the ROG Xbox Ally tick is software, not hardware, and it's software that should be available broadly on handhelds rather than a single device.

A close-up view of the Nintendo Switch 2 displaying the Home menu

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The Switch 2's hardware makes more sense for a handheld

Insanely efficient and plenty powerful

Alright, let's get back to the Switch 2 and why it's the perfect platform for Xbox. It's hard to get a one-to-one performance comparison between the new Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme that's in the ROG Xbox Ally X and the custom Nvidia SoC in the Switch 2, but raw performance is less important than what each hardware platform represents for a handheld. The Switch 2's SoC is designed for gaming, while the chip inside the ROG Xbox Ally can't seem to choose a lane.

That comes down to the AI bit in the name. The chip inside the flagship ROG Xbox Ally is the Ryzen Z2 Extreme that AMD revealed earlier this year, but it comes with an NPU. And I just don't understand why. There's virtually no situation right now where you'll tap the power of an NPU in a gaming context. Maybe Microsoft wants to develop an AI-assisted upscaler akin to DLSS, or maybe it's just a cynical ploy to enable Copilot+ features on a handheld where they almost certainly won't be used. Regardless, it's extra silicon that, at the moment, doesn't have a clear purpose. And Microsoft isn't giving that silicon away for free.

ryzen-z2-announcement-5 Source: AMD

The NPU may sip power and handle AI tasks more efficiently, but it's still going to take some power without any clear purpose. Extra power draw is everything in the context of a handheld. Battery sizes are limited, OS overhead applies, and more demanding PC games require higher power limits from the hardware. Maybe Microsoft has a grand plan, but from what we know now, the ROG Xbox Ally X looks like a strictly worse version of other Ryzen Z2 Extreme handhelds like the MSI Claw A8, at least from a hardware perspective.

Meanwhile, the Switch 2 has an SoC that's specifically tailored for handheld gaming. It has less silicon and less theoretical peak performance, but it's also highly optimized for a handheld. Tom's Hardware revealed that the Switch 2 consumes just 12W of power in handheld mode, and that's for total system power. Even the most efficient handheld gaming PC, the Steam Deck, often needs more than that much solely for the SoC. Despite that, the Switch 2 can run Cyberpunk 2077 at 40 fps in Performance mode at 1080p — a bar that even modern handhelds struggle to achieve. It's heavily bolstered by DLSS, but so are the vast majority of games that Xbox publishes on PC.

xbox-fan-handheld-featured

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Better ergonomics, and better economics

The ROG Xbox Ally X will probably cost twice as much

I haven't put my hands on the ROG Xbox Ally yet, but I struggle to imagine it'll be more comfortable than the Switch 2. And it certainly won't be cheaper than the Switch 2. The design of the ROG Xbox Ally is interesting, and although it doesn't look as good as some of the other devices on the market, the extra handheld grips probably help the feel. Still, I've used just about everything handheld gaming PC on the market, and none of them come even close to how comfortable the Switch 2 is. And I don't imagine the ROG Xbox Ally X will change that.

A power-hungry SoC necessitates a larger battery and more elaborate cooling, adding weight and size to the ROG Xbox Ally. I don't need official specs to tell you that. The Switch 2 is heavier and larger than the original, but it's still a far cry from even the most portable PC gaming handheld.

On the economic front, the Switch 2 received pushback for its $450 price tag — despite that, it's become the fastest-selling game console ever. Microsoft hasn't said how much the ROG Xbox Ally X will cost, but it certainly won't be anywhere near $450. I could see it coming in at $600 at an absolute minimum, and at that price, Microsoft is probably taking a big loss. I suspect it'll arrive closer to $800, at least if it sticks with the current prices of handhelds. Regardless, it'll be significantly more expensive than the Switch 2.

A Nintendo Switch 2 in its dock with the Joy-con grip and controllers in front of it

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It's never going to happen

Nintendo holds the cards

A picture of Mario Kart World online being played on Nintendo Switch 2

The Switch 2 really is the perfect platform for Xbox. It's great that Microsoft is investing in a more usable handheld interface for Windows, and that's something the handheld market has been sorely missing for years. But the Switch 2 is the perfect platform for Xbox, not Mcirosoft more broadly. It's powerful enough to run a wide slate of Xbox titles natively while barely sipping power, and it's a platform that could benefit greatly from Game Pass support, either natively or through the cloud. I don't imagine that'll happen any time soon, though.

As much as the Switch 2 is a perfect destination for Xbox's software-focused ambitions, the gatekeeper is likely Nintendo. Microsoft could publish some of its titles on the Switch 2 — it's done so previously with titles like Minecraft — but Nintendo would almost certainly never allow Game Pass streaming on its platform. That cuts into Nintendo's bottom line, pure and simple, and based on the demand for the Switch 2, Nintendo isn't in a position to compromise on its profitability.

Still, I'll be holding out hope. Nintendo has finally produced a handheld that feels like a piece of technology, not a toy, and Xbox's software ambitions fit perfectly with what Nintendo has achieved.

A Nintendo Switch 2 with one of the Joy-Con 2 being removed over a colorful background

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