#60: A few days with the ROG Ally X

Good morning, hello, welcome.

Before we start a short reminder (you'll have to read this a few times during the next weeks, so bear with me): Chris and I will be at gamescom again this year. So from August 20th until the 23rd, we'll be sending out one email per day. For this, we've launched a pop-up newsletter that will be active during that period only. You can sign up here for free, we'll never spam you and it will only be active for this (and future events). Thank you!

Now let's get to this week's content.

Big this week

This week has been a busy one for me. For one, I finally finished my review of the AYANEO Pocket S, which is probably one of the prettiest handhelds currently in my possession. But is also hard to recommend.

Next, I have received a review loaner of the ROG Ally X for the next week. While my review isn't remotely done yet, I've had a few notes that I'll share with you exclusively (the advantages of subscribing to this newsletter —though I am working on more to come whenever we go live with our relaunch). So my notes in no particularorder:

It is remarkably larger, heavier and thicker than the original ROG Ally.
It doesn't feel too uncomfortable to hold, however. I'd argue the subtle changes ASUS made to its design make this comfortable enough for most people.
But so far I've been preferring the lighter design of its predecessor.
Having more RAM has a minimal impact from what I've seen so far. Games at 1080p run a few FPS better.
Black is a much better colour for these handhelds. My ROG Ally's back has slight smudges which you wouldn't see on a black body.
The D-Pad is lightyears better compared to the one in the ROG Ally. The analogue sticks are supposed to be better, too, but I don't think I have a preference yet.
The back pedals are indeed easier to hit as some other reviewers reported (but I never had any issues with the original ones; I've never used them!)
The battery life in the ROG Ally X is insane. Not only compared to its predecessor but in general. This upgrade alone might be worth it.
The microSD slot has moved from the left to the right. I haven't heard if this fixes the issue of them dying, but in my testing, it's not located next to the device's hotspot anymore.
Since it's not my device I can't upgrade it, but being able to use full-sized m2-SSDs is a welcome upgrade.
Having two USB-C plugs is a great upgrade. I would have wished that one would be on the bottom, but this is the next big thing.
This is not a ROG Ally X update, but the new Armory Crate makes Windows on a handheld a better experience (but still not a great one; I think only Microsoft can fix this).

While I still have one more week with this device (but this includes creating the review), I can say that I see why this device exists. I believe it's basically like the Pro version of a smartphone. In the end, it's the same device but it has some upgrades here and there that might make this a better pick for different users.

But at $800 it's also a very expensive device. And (again, I still need a few more days) so far, I believe I prefer the original ROG Ally because of its thinner frame and lighter size. But maybe that will change during the next week.

In either case, you can read as much in my upcoming review.

In other news

Fallout: London has launched. I haven't yet spent a lot of time with this game (after all I had to review two handhelds), but this might just be one of the better Fallouts in a long time. However, the installation process, especially on Steam Deck is not the easiest, which is why I've been working with our own Timo on a script to automate the whole installation process. I'll share it here when that is done.
My PSVR 2 has been collecting dust since I bought it, but I might soon be able to take it out of its box again, as Sony is getting ready to bring compatibility to PCs.
The Bioshock movie adaptation is still happening, although in a much smaller scope.
Valve has updated the demo interface on Steam. They should now behave better in your library, appear more prominently in the store, and you can now get notifications whenever a demo becomes available.
Fortnite will soon be back on iPhone in the EU since Epic is planning to launch the Epic Games Store worldwide on Android and in the EU on iPhone. Interestingly, Epic also decided to launch Fortnite in competing stores like the AltStore. Of course, no words if it will launch in the Apple App Store, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
AYANEO announced that the AYANEO Pocket DMG (the Game Boy-looking one) and the AYANEO Micro (the Game Boy Micro-looking one) will be available on Indiegogo starting Wednesday.
Humble Games, the publishing arm of Humble Bundle, has announced a "restructuring", laying off its 36 employees. However, I don't know how you are supposed to restructure without any employees, so I think I can say that Humble Games is dead.
Netflix continues pushing their gaming efforts by hiring a former Epic executive. I don't have a Netflix subscription anymore, but every time I consider getting one, it's because of their game library available on iPhone, and their plans to launch a new game every month.