ROG Xbox Ally is rolling out improvements to make docked play ‘more like the Xbox console experience’
Auto Super Resolution is also coming to Xbox Insiders for testing
Microsoft is rolling out updates for the ROG Xbox Ally which it says will make docked play “more like the Xbox console experience”.
The latest updates are intended to improve performance on the handheld, “especially when your device is docked to external TVs and monitors”.
“More than ever,” it says, “a docked ROG Xbox Ally device will look, feel, and play more like the Xbox console experience you know and love.”
With the new update, when players dock their ROG Xbox Ally or Xbox Ally X their game moves to the TV and the handheld display automatically turns off (similar to the Nintendo Switch), rather than simply mirroring the handheld display to the TV.
Microsoft says this will allow the handheld to make better use of the TV’s features, optimising the resolution, refresh rate and HDR output of each game.
A new Display Widget is also being added to the in-game Game Bar, which lets players adjust display resolution, refresh rate and projection mode during the game.
When players connect an Xbox controller while the ROG Xbox Ally is docked, the handheld’s controls are automatically disabled and the paired controller becomes the main way to control the game. “This streamlines the experience and unlocks docked play for a wider range of games, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 7,” Microsoft says.
One of the major improvements that has been promised for awhile, Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR), is also rolling out to Xbox Insiders for testing. While the mode was promised for the handheld in general, it will initially only be available when the handheld is docked.
Auto SR is an upscaling process which Microsoft says will deliver “1440p-like visuals and higher FPS on larger screens, where this balance [between resolution and frame rate] matters most”.
Explaining why it’s only coming to docked mode first, Microsoft said: “Docked play means larger screens and higher resolutions, where drops in image quality are more noticeable or where some games struggle to maintain smooth FPS. That’s exactly the problem Auto SR was designed to solve, so we’re starting the preview with docked mode where we expect players will see the most value.”
Other features added in the new update include the ability to add games from other PC storefronts to the Xbox app, and enhanced vibration. The full patch notes can be found on the Xbox support site.
