ROG XBOX Handheld X Experience: Not a True "Native" XBOX Handheld, but It's Already Great

It's already great.

But it's still not good enough.

When the ROG XBOX handheld console X was just released, we joked:

The killer of Nintendo Switch 2 is here!

After experiencing the ROG XBOX handheld console X for some time, I think this statement is at least half - right—or rather, unfortunately, only half - right.

XBOX got all the hardware aspects right.

From the perspective of game console hardware, the ROG XBOX handheld console X is impeccable at this stage—

7 - inch IPS 120Hz high - refresh screen

AMD Ryzen™ AI Z2 Extreme processor

24GB LPDDR5X RAM

1TB SSD storage

80WHrs 4 - cell lithium battery

The body dimensions are 29.0 × 12.1 × 2.75 cm

The body weight is 715g

Supports Wi - Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.2

Equipped with a 3.5mm composite audio interface / UHS - II microSD card slot / dual USB - C high - speed interfaces (10Gbps / 40Gbps respectively, both supporting DP 2.1 and PD 3.0 100W)

The paper - spec configuration is already at the top of the game handheld console. But more importantly: The controller customized by XBOX for it is almost an exact copy of the full - fledged and highly responsive XBOX controller on the handheld console.

This coincides with Sony's PlayStation Portal streaming game console. Both are trying to restore the console - level controller experience on mobile devices—and they have indeed succeeded.

The screen of the ROG XBOX handheld console X is only 7 inches. With the extended controllers, it strikes a good balance between the overall gaming and audio - visual experience and the portability of the device. Although the controller grips are large, the actual total length of the device is almost the same as that of the Switch 2, just a little thicker.

In other words, if your carry - on bag can fit the Switch 2, it's highly likely that you can also squeeze in the ROG XBOX handheld console X with a little adjustment.

Thanks to the excellent weight distribution design, holding this handheld console doesn't feel heavy. Instead, with good palm support, even when playing high - intensity action games for a long time, your hands won't easily get sore. This is much better than the Switch 2. I believe this is also a design goal that all high - performance handheld consoles in the future, such as the rumored Sony PS6 handheld, need to consider.

In terms of performance, the SoC Z2 Extreme of the ROG XBOX handheld console X scored 3664 points in the 3D Mark Time Spy test, showing a performance improvement of about 10% - 15% compared to the Z1 Extreme, especially performing better at low power consumption.

When plugged in, you can turn on the Turbo mode with a TDP of 35W for more powerful performance. It can be said that both the upper and lower limits of this handheld console have been improved compared to the previous generation.

More importantly, it's the actual in - game performance—

With the support of high - performance hardware and frame generation technology, the ROG XBOX handheld console X can run almost all mainstream AAA games at low to medium graphics settings. Even games with high configuration requirements like "Black Myth: Wukong" and "Monster Hunter: Wilds" are no problem. When frame generation is enabled, it can stably reach 40 frames per second at medium graphics and 1080P.

For AAA blockbusters from previous years, such as "Cyberpunk 2077" and "Red Dead Redemption 2", which are benchmarks in graphics, it can even achieve a smooth frame rate of over 100 frames per second.

Battery life is the most pleasant surprise—The ROG XBOX handheld console X is equipped with an 80WH large - capacity battery, almost four times that of the Switch 2. Even when playing games at high power, it can still last for 2 - 3 hours.

As for independent games like "Hollow Knight: Silksong" and "Hades 2", they can run smoothly with a low power consumption of only 13W, allowing you to play for 5 - 6 hours, which is very comfortable and can cover high - speed train or flight trips without the need to plug in.

It's worth mentioning that the heat dissipation and noise control of the ROG XBOX handheld console X have also reached a high level among similar products. There is no noise under high load, and it doesn't get hot even after continuous operation. These basic experiences are quite a plus for a game console.

It can be said that at the hardware level, the ROG XBOX handheld console X has almost got everything right, and it also proves that the hardware ceiling of Windows handheld consoles is actually high enough.

But Windows is not the optimal solution for a game console.

If XBOX is the strength of this handheld console, then the Windows operating system is its unavoidable weakness.

The ROG XBOX handheld console X runs the full - version Windows 11 system but supports the XBOX full - screen mode, which is a new interface customized by Microsoft specifically for gaming scenarios.

After unlocking the login screen and entering the system, there is a full - screen XBOX interface that is specially adapted for the controller. It will automatically capture all the games installed on the console from all platforms and jump to the corresponding platform to run the game after opening it. As we mentioned in the video review, even if your main game library is on Steam, you can quickly start games on this handheld console.

Players can also quickly switch tasks through the XBOX button and call up the compact - interface GameBar with one click to open the Armoury Crate, make quick settings, or take screenshots and record videos.

Another piece of good news is that the ROG XBOX handheld console X finally has decent system power management (a super standby mode improved based on Modern Standby). Pressing the power button can put both the console and the controller into a stable sleep state, and pressing it again can quickly wake it up. You can immediately return to the game even after standby for a whole night, which is very convenient. The standby power consumption is also quite good, with less than 5% power loss overnight.

But apart from that, this system is not much different from Windows. This means that players can enjoy the excellent compatibility of the Windows system, but they also have to tolerate the performance / memory / storage consumption, as well as various redundancies and bugs brought by Windows.

In most cases, restarting can solve the bugs—but for a game console, frequent restarting is not a good thing.

Running the full - version Windows also has another big problem. In aspects such as game startup response, download speed, and operation efficiency... which are not directly related to the game itself but are crucial to the overall hardware experience, there is still a gap compared to dedicated game consoles.

Shortcut keys are a typical example.

Since this handheld console doesn't have a keyboard, many shortcut keys can't be mapped to the keyboard, and the newly added XBOX buttons don't have shortcut commands integrated at the system level. As a result, you'll encounter various button conflicts—

For example, in the Steam Big Picture mode, the XBOX button is both the menu button and can call up the GameBar button, resulting in a button conflict. You can only open the menu by touching the screen. Another example is that when running games on a PC, there are several sets of native shortcut keys for taking screenshots, but on the XBOX handheld console, you can't even set screenshot shortcut keys in the GameBar because there is no keyboard.

Of course, these problems can be solved by installing software, applying patches, and modifying the registry for the Windows system. This is already common for Windows handheld console players. But whenever I have to be patient and tinker with it, the ROG XBOX handheld console X is no longer a game console but an inconvenient computer.

In essence, the ROG XBOX handheld console X is a co - branded product of ROG and the Microsoft XBOX department, not the "native XBOX handheld console" that many players imagined. Both parties have tried their best to improve the hardware and optimize the interface to make up for the inherent deficiencies of Windows as a gaming platform. Unfortunately, although ROG and Microsoft have made a lot of efforts, Microsoft still hasn't done enough.

As a flagship game console in the 6000 - yuan price range, the ROG XBOX handheld console X has solved the problems of poor energy efficiency ratio and cumbersome operation of Windows handheld consoles, but it is still a game hardware with a relatively high entry threshold.

The XBOX handheld console, even with the official involvement, hasn't come up with a convincing solution to the problems that products in the same price range haven't solved. Compared with the Switch 2, Steam Deck, and even the ROG Ally, its not - cheap price will be a significant hurdle for users when choosing this handheld console.

Making a conclusion about Windows handheld consoles is always full of contradictions, and this contradiction reaches a peak with the ROG XBOX handheld console X—

As a reviewer, I really like the various solutions brought by the XBOX handheld console at both the software and hardware levels. It has indeed set an example for future high - performance handheld consoles. But as a player, the XBOX handheld console still falls short of my ideal of a mature game console.

This is a game hardware with excellent feel and performance and the most free and convenient gaming platform, but it is equipped with the most bloated and cumbersome operating system. This is the optimal solution for high - performance Windows handheld consoles at this stage, but