The ROG Xbox Ally X is set to receive a new AI-powered feature next month. During the Game Developers Conference 2026, Microsoft confirmed that Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR) will begin rolling out in April 2026 for the handheld. The feature is currently expected to arrive as a preview, allowing users to test it before a wider release.

Automatic Super Resolution is Microsoft’s own AI upscaling technology. Its goal is simple: improve performance while keeping games looking sharp. The feature works by rendering a game at a lower internal resolution, such as 720p, and then using AI to upscale the image to 1080p or higher. This reduces the load on the GPU while still delivering a clear image on the display.

Automatic upscaling for ROG Xbox Ally X

Automatic Super Resolution is one of three big roadmap features announced shortly after the handheld was released back in October; the other two (Highlight Reels and Game Profiles) have already been released. Microsoft documentation shows that Copilot+ PCs running a Snapdragon X or X2 Series chip already benefit from the tech – the Ally X is up next with its Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor.

The technology works differently from other popular upscaling tools like Nvidia DLSS or AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution. Those solutions usually require developers to integrate them directly into a game. Auto SR, on the other hand, operates at the operating system level, which means many supported games can benefit from the feature without needing additional updates from developers.

Auto SR will make use of the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) inside the handheld’s AMD Ryzen AI chipset. These AI-focused cores are designed to handle machine learning workloads efficiently. By running the upscaling process on the NPU instead of the GPU, the system can maintain better performance and potentially improve battery efficiency during gameplay. This also means the base model (Xbox Ally) won’t get any benefit from this feature, as only the Xbox Ally X has NPU cores.

Microsoft also demonstrated the technology during GDC using Forza Horizon 5 as an example. When the game was running at 1440p Ultra settings, performance dropped to around 38 frames per second. After enabling Automatic Super Resolution, the frame rate increased to about 51 FPS, which represents roughly a 30% improvement in performance.

However, the feature will not work with every title. According to Microsoft’s documentation, Auto SR currently supports DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games, so compatibility will depend on the game in question.

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Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.