OK.
I had been on the fence about getting one of those ROG Xbox Ally thingos (not the X version, just the regular Steam Deck comparable one)...
I didnt need any hardware beef, I never play any "demanding" or visually intensive games on my Steam Deck OLED anyway. I just wanted a portable that could play all my VNs and various games with Linux issues without any fucking around with dual boot... I want to install mods using the familiar Windows interface Im used to, etc etc.
So I finally caved and bought one yesterday. And well, I have some thoughts I need to get off my chest, and the PC wonderland that is Metacouncil is as good a place as any.
Quite a few of them.
1. The onboarding experience is horrible. From moment one you really get the impression that youre using a glorified W11 box, shrunken down into portable form.
Same loading spiral, same font, same windows clunkiness. No optimization whatsoever for the smaller device, just a lappy squished down into the size of a book.
2. After the ROG Xbox Ally updated and restarted itself, it then proceeded to say "Checking for Windows Updates". After which it proceeded to putter around for 30+ minutes installing that shit. Yes, thats Windows alright
3. The interface is generally horrible across the board on everything Microsoft related. The desktop W11 is bad, and the "New Xbox Interface" might be the worst "console" interface Ive ever used in my entire life.
The latter is incredibly hard to navigate without a mouse. Its basically the Xbox PC interface 1:1, but you have no trackpad, and unlike the Steam Deck the font size and scaling is extremely small. Its like looking at a laptop screen, shrunken down. I have no idea how this shit ever passed QA
4. The ASUS Armoury Crate app is actually significantly better than the NXE. Its a stripped down version of Playnite, and everything is much more usable
However, it still is extremely janky, and makes you appreciate just how "consolized" Valve was able to make SteamOS. Its just night and day.
Ex. You open Steam to install some shit using the shortcut... sometimes it opens in BPM, sometimes it doesnt... and you need to click the BPM mode button from the desktop UI with your finger... except the screen is really small, so its a crapshoot whether you succeed or not
I will give the Xbox Ally some points for the hardware itself. The volume buttons are nice and big. The power button is large and has a biometric reader for security. The triggers and sticks are more comfortable than the Steam Deck's, and the dpad is outright "fighting game grade" - I could go out and win an online match or two of SF6 using this dpad, which I'm probably not pulling off on a Deck.
EDIT: The side grips are also great. Theyre extremely similar to an Xbox Series X pad, so they fill your palms, giving you great grip. This means that despite the Ally being slightly heavier than the Deck OLED, its easier to play in bed for long periods of time, even without a support pillow.
Everything else? Well... uh.... It plays my Windows games... yeah.
I had been on the fence about getting one of those ROG Xbox Ally thingos (not the X version, just the regular Steam Deck comparable one)...
I didnt need any hardware beef, I never play any "demanding" or visually intensive games on my Steam Deck OLED anyway. I just wanted a portable that could play all my VNs and various games with Linux issues without any fucking around with dual boot... I want to install mods using the familiar Windows interface Im used to, etc etc.
So I finally caved and bought one yesterday. And well, I have some thoughts I need to get off my chest, and the PC wonderland that is Metacouncil is as good a place as any.
And well... I have some thoughts.
Quite a few of them.
1. The onboarding experience is horrible. From moment one you really get the impression that youre using a glorified W11 box, shrunken down into portable form.
Same loading spiral, same font, same windows clunkiness. No optimization whatsoever for the smaller device, just a lappy squished down into the size of a book.
2. After the ROG Xbox Ally updated and restarted itself, it then proceeded to say "Checking for Windows Updates". After which it proceeded to putter around for 30+ minutes installing that shit. Yes, thats Windows alright
Relax? RELAX????
3. The interface is generally horrible across the board on everything Microsoft related. The desktop W11 is bad, and the "New Xbox Interface" might be the worst "console" interface Ive ever used in my entire life.
The latter is incredibly hard to navigate without a mouse. Its basically the Xbox PC interface 1:1, but you have no trackpad, and unlike the Steam Deck the font size and scaling is extremely small. Its like looking at a laptop screen, shrunken down. I have no idea how this shit ever passed QA
4. The ASUS Armoury Crate app is actually significantly better than the NXE. Its a stripped down version of Playnite, and everything is much more usable
However, it still is extremely janky, and makes you appreciate just how "consolized" Valve was able to make SteamOS. Its just night and day.
Ex. You open Steam to install some shit using the shortcut... sometimes it opens in BPM, sometimes it doesnt... and you need to click the BPM mode button from the desktop UI with your finger... except the screen is really small, so its a crapshoot whether you succeed or not
I will give the Xbox Ally some points for the hardware itself. The volume buttons are nice and big. The power button is large and has a biometric reader for security. The triggers and sticks are more comfortable than the Steam Deck's, and the dpad is outright "fighting game grade" - I could go out and win an online match or two of SF6 using this dpad, which I'm probably not pulling off on a Deck.
EDIT: The side grips are also great. Theyre extremely similar to an Xbox Series X pad, so they fill your palms, giving you great grip. This means that despite the Ally being slightly heavier than the Deck OLED, its easier to play in bed for long periods of time, even without a support pillow.
Everything else? Well... uh.... It plays my Windows games... yeah.
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