Following the launch of the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X and Xbox Ally handhelds, not to mention the rumor that Microsoft’s own handheld projects are dead in the water, Xbox president Sarah Bond told Variety that the company is absolutely still looking at making new hardware in the future:
We are 100% looking at making things in the future. We have our next-gen hardware in development. We’ve been looking at prototyping, designing. We have a partnership we’ve announced with AMD around it, so that is coming. What we saw here was an opportunity to innovate in a new way and to bring gamers another choice, in addition to our next-gen hardware. We are always listening to what players and creators want. When there is demand for innovation, we’re going to build it.
Specifically with regards to the Xbox/Windows handheld experience, Bond said Microsoft is already looking at many software improvements:
There’s a ton more innovation to come, including things like further optimizing the experience here, scaling out the handheld compatibility program, offering more benefits and improvements to the experience and other features and adds that we’re going to give to people and more choices and more games.
In Wccftech’s review, the ROG Xbox Ally X got a 7.5 out of 10 score. Reviewer David Carcasole pointed the high price and lack of support for actual Xbox games as negatives:
The ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X is a powerful, capable, and comfortable PC handheld device, with a smooth user experience thanks to the new Xbox UI. It’s really like taking your computer on the go, with all of your PC games in your hands. For its mix of improved hardware, user experience, and battery efficiency, it’s arguably the best PC handheld device to buy on the market. It’s not an entirely smooth experience though, with plenty of PC gaming hiccups interrupting the ‘console-like’ experience the device is supposed to provide, the fact that it actually doesn’t let you play all your Xbox games, and what I still believe to be an exorbitant price tag, when cheaper devices can provide comparable experiences.
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