Foreign media outlet Notebookcheck has just reviewed the new ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld. Its highlight is the new OLED screen, which offers noticeably better image quality compared to the IPS panel of the previous generation.
In addition to increased brightness (over 600 nits for SDR content and up to 1400 nits in HDR mode), this OLED display supports a 120Hz refresh rate and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) from 30-120Hz. Despite the significant improvement in image quality, battery life during gaming has not decreased. Depending on the selected performance mode, players can still get two to four hours of battery life even when running demanding games.
Last year's ASUS ROG Ally X already ranked among the most comfortable gaming handhelds on the market thanks to its prominent hand grips. ASUS has largely retained the chassis design for the X20, but added a thin layer of rubber coating to the back of the handles, further enhancing grip comfort and hold.
The gamepad and controls have also been improved. The tactile feedback of the buttons is clearer, and the D-pad can switch between four-way and eight-way operation modes. The new TMR joysticks also resolve the issue of stick drift.
However, the gaming performance of the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme is slightly disappointing, as this processor was already used in last year's model. Nevertheless, its gaming performance remains decent, especially in low-power mode.
However, Intel offers a faster handheld gaming processor—the ARC G3 Extreme. Currently, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is almost the only gaming handheld using this Intel processor. This handheld is also hard to find and significantly more expensive than the Ally X20, making it unlikely to attract most users.
AMD officially released FSR 4.1 yesterday, which includes support for the Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor. This should significantly improve graphics quality while boosting performance. We will test the new FSR 4.1 as soon as possible.
