Asus ROG Xbox Ally now nails the frame rate and battery life sweet spot
Default Game Profiles for the Xbox ROG Ally will boost the frame rate if games are underperforming while sacrificing a bit of battery life. And vice versa.
Microsoft has dropped an exciting update for its recently launched handheld gaming console made in partnership with ASUS – the ROG Xbox Ally.
The key new feature for the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally is Default Game Profiles which, for supported games, will automatically find the right balance between frame rate and power consumption for the best experience on handheld.
Because the vast majority of these games were designed for consoles, where power consumption is less of an issue, Microsoft is acting to streamline the experience for the portable realm. It’ll mean less tinkering with settings for gamers who’re looking for a quality frame rate without draining the battery on their expensive new handheld console. Naturally the feature only comes into play when the handheld is running on battery power.
In a blog post, Microsoft explains: “In Hollow Knight: Silksong, the Default Game Profile can add nearly an hour of battery life compared to Performance mode while still delivering smooth 120 FPS gameplay.”
The profiles are fine tuned for the individual games with 40 supported at launch of the feature, which is initially available in beta. Fortnite, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and Gears of War: Reloaded are among them. There’s plenty more to come too.
Microsoft adds: “If the game falls short of its target FPS, the game profile is designed to boost power to help reach the target FPS, trading a bit of battery life for a smoother gameplay experience.” The opposite applies if the game is performing above the target frame rate.
Furthermore, Microsoft is improving the Gamepad response after login, while libraries will load faster and there’s a new Game Gallery filter alongside some general bug fixes and performance improvements.
Chris Smith
