ASUS “not willing to give up VRR” for OLED in the new ROG Xbox Ally X
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Just days ago, Xbox revealed its collaboration with ASUS to showcase the new Xbox Ally X. This handheld leverages ASUS’s existing products but incorporates some unique Xbox controller ergonomics and an upgrade to the Windows environment.
But one choice that might have left plenty of gamers disappointed is the screen. Since the handheld sticks to a basic LCD screen, it does not opt for an OLED panel that could bring that extra brightness, quality, and sheer improvement to enjoying content on the device, with all that extra fidelity.
In a clip of the post announcement livestream, Whitson Gordon, the Senior Manager of content marketing at ASUS, explains why it decided to stick with what the ROG Ally already used. It boils down to the fact that the OLED panel with VRR capabilities was too expensive and draws significantly more power for the small form factor device than the LCD panel.
We did look at OLED this year again, we did some R&D and prototyping with OLED, but it’s still not like where we want it to be when you factor in VRR into the mix. And we aren’t willing to give up VRR right now.
Whitson Gordon, on the OLED ROG Xbox Ally X
The balancing and market for handhelds
As Whitson also points out, ROG OLED monitors have been released frequently recently, and we’ve even been reviewing some of the latest models, such as the Strix OLED XG27AQDMG. However, for the form factor, it doesn’t make sense. According to ROG, considering the market and the price points these devices are targeting are significantly lower than what an OLED model would cost.
Since it is most people’s secondary device, it wouldn’t really make sense to pay more for it than, say, your gaming PC. Especially as the ROG Ally X is already one of the more expensive consoles out there, pushing it even further might have turned off even more customers from it.
Instead, it sticks to what it knows, and a panel that can manage a variable refresh rate without draining your battery instantly. Whitson clarifies that all the extra bells and whistles that would make it the ultimate machine would cost an arm and a leg, and it’s unlikely to have a target market for that. With a focus on a smooth gaming experience, the panel may not offer the best brightness or clarity, but it provides a top-notch handheld experience.
They also claim that looking at what people want from a handheld, there are just a couple of things they value above all else: “battery life, they want more performance, and they want a better software experience”. That’s the focus of the Xbox Ally X, improving its efficiency with AMD’s Z2 chips, and enhancing the overall experience that Xbox is bringing to the Windows OS.
That doesn’t mean one day they might not release it, but it’s unlikely to be soon. Even the Switch 2 hasn’t immediately come out with an OLED model. The main addition of the panel in a handheld is the Steam Deck OLED, and considering that costs $649 for an 1TB model, compared to an Ally X at $899, it will be tough to beat it and provide a good experience on it.
Why the ROG Xbox Ally X OLED didn’t happen video
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