Why the Switch OLED is Superior to the ROG Ally

Hello, welcome back to a new video. So

today we'll be comparing the ROG Ally to

the Switch OLED to find out which is the

superior handheld gaming device. Which one

do you think is the better handheld gaming

device? Obviously by the title of this

video you know what I think. I think the

Switch OLED is much better, and we'll be

talking about why I think it's much better

in today's video. So first of all, we're

going to be purely talking about these

consoles as handheld portable gaming

consoles. We're not going to be talking

about different accessories and things you

can plug into them because obviously the

ROG Ally is running Windows 11, and it's

going to be a much better makeshift

desktop PC if that's what you wanted to

do, because it's just like— well, it's

basically a computer, isn't it? So it's

got all of the versatility and

functionality of a computer, whereas the

Switch doesn't really have that kind of

versatility. So we're not going to be

talking about that since it wouldn't

really be a fair fight. Okay, so first of

all, when it comes to portability, the

Switch OLED obviously destroys the ROG

Ally in every way. Look at the size

difference of these 2 different devices.

Now I'll put it on top of each other, put

them on top of each other like this, and

you can see that the screen sizes are

basically exactly the same. It looks about

the same that side, and this side is also

the same size lengthways and widthways.

So you got a similar size screen, but the

difference is with these hand parts where

you hold the console. The ROG Ally is much

larger and much chunkier because it's just

a much larger device in general, and it

feels like there's a lot more machine that

you're holding on to. And you do feel the

extra weight start to add up after playing

a lot of games for a while, and it does

start to feel a little bit chunky and

heavier than the Switch OLED, which

definitely feels a lot lighter in the

hand. Now you've got these tinier hand

grips here, which you'd think would make

it harder to grip, but actually I find the

smaller real estate, easier to grip.

Actually find it less comfortable to hold

the ROG Ally for longer periods of time,

even though there's more to grip onto for

your hands to rest on. It's kind of

strange because you think the opposite

would be true, that this would be more

comfortable to hold on to because there's

more to grip. But this is actually, I

find, much more comfortable to play for

extended amounts of time. And then you've

got the games library. Now obviously this

depends on what kind of gamer are you.

Are you a PC gamer? Are you an indie

gamer? Are you a Nintendo person? I kind

of personally prefer the Nintendo games

and the indie games that you could find on

the Switch OLED. For example, I've got

Dark Souls Remastered. If I want to play a

game like Elden Ring, obviously Elden Ring

is never going to run on this, but Dark

Souls Remastered is a good alternative.

I've got things like Cult of the Lamb,

Dead Cells for some roguelike action. I

can even play Resident Evil 2 over the

cloud, and I got Mortal Kombat 11. And

then I got great Nintendo games like

Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom, which is

really great, really good game, and Mario

Kart 8. But if you wanted to play the

latest and greatest PC games like

Cyberpunk, GTA 5, Starfield, those kind

of games, or MMOs like World of Warcraft

or even Diablo 4, then obviously you're

not going to be able to play those kind of

games on the Switch OLED. And you have to

consider that when choosing to buy this

over the ROG Ally. Now I do like playing

those games sometimes, but I still find

myself playing more casual and arcadey

games when I'm on the go. So when you're

on the go, like on an airplane or on the

train or in public transport, what kind of

game do you really think you're gonna

play? Like a serious hardcore game like

Diablo or Cyberpunk, or do you just wanna

play something lighthearted and casual to

waste a few hours? I'd rather play

something more casual like Cult of the

Lamb, for example, or do a few tracks on

Mario Kart than just get really stuck into

a game like Cyberpunk, which really you

wanna play a game like that on a big

desktop kind of setup with a big monitor,

or maybe on a big TV, to really enjoy

those games. I wouldn't really want to

play a game like that on a smaller

handheld console. So although you can play

those games on the ROG Ally, I don't

really find myself wanting to. Nintendo

once again proves that software is

superior to hardware, because obviously

the performance and the specs of the ROG

Ally completely blows the Nintendo Switch

OLED out of the water. Even though the

OLED only came out a few years ago, it's

still running on a system that's about 10

years old now, and even though that is the

case, I still find myself picking up the

OLED over the ROG Ally every time. And

that's mainly because of the software,

because the games I find to be more

enjoyable than whatever's on Steam or Xbox

Gaming Pass. I really like how sleek and

slim the body of the Switch OLED is. It is

really nice. And then you've got that

built-in kickstand, which I would have

loved if the ROG Ally had that built-in

kickstand as well. I love that kickstand,

it's so nice. You can just pop it down

there, take off the Joy-Cons, slap it onto

one of those controller thingies, and then

just play like that. You can't really do

that with the ROG Ally. You need to bring

like a separate stand and a separate

control pad to prop it up and then play

using a controller. So let's say for

example you're on the plane and then you

just take down dinner tray in front of you

and then you prop this up and then you've

got some, uh, game like Mario Kart and you

bring your little controller thing and

then you can just plug in the Joy-Cons and

then you got like a nice little on-the-go

gaming setup, whereas it would be a lot

more cumbersome to do the same thing with

the ROG Ally. You can do it, it's just a

little bit more cumbersome. Next, we have

to talk about the screen quality. I find

the Switch OLED screen to be much better

than the screen panel that is on the ROG

Ally. It's much more vibrant and more

detailed on the Switch OLED. As you can

see, I'm playing these YouTube videos of

this guy wearing glasses And look at the

difference in quality between the Switch

OLED. It's just much brighter and much

more colorful compared to the ROG

Ally.

For some reason, the colors are just much

more muted on the ROG Ally, and it's also

less detailed. I noticed when playing

1080p videos on YouTube on the web browser

on ROG Ally the videos don't really look

sharp. There's like a bit of graininess,

a bit of blotchiness, and I don't think

that's because of the video quality that

was uploaded to YouTube. It's just because

the screen is much lower resolution than

the screen that's used on the Switch OLED.

And I mean, look at the difference in, in

the vibrancy. It is very noticeable that

the screen is much nicer on the Switch

OLED than it is on the Ally.

Although one thing I have to say that's

really nice about the ROG Ally is it is

really nice having a full Windows-based

web browser where you can just use it like

a computer. I know there's a browser on

the Switch OLED, but it's kind of hidden

and it's like a very cumbersome way that

you have to try and unlock the browser by,

I don't know, going into the settings or

something. I haven't looked it up, but it

is really nice just having a web browser

that's functional on the ROG Ally. That is

something I would like to have on the

Switch OLED, but you know, it's for gaming

really, whereas ROG Ally is more like

gaming slash computing. Now when it comes

to the battery life, the Switch OLED

completely destroys ROG Ally in every

single way. I can play Rainbow Six on the

ROG Ally for about 30 minutes and I've

lost 50% of the battery already, so I

could probably play about 50 minutes to an

hour before the battery hits zero from

100%. You really can't do much gaming on

the go with ROG Ally unless it's plugged

in somewhere. So either have to bring a

massive battery bank, or you need it to be

plugged into some kind of energy source at

all times to be able to do any kind of

long gaming. If you only want to game for

an hour, then this is perfect for you.

But as for me, I usually game for like 4

to 5 hours. Sometimes if I'm really into a

game, I'd play it for like 10 hours.

There's no way 1 hour is going to be

enough for me. But with the Switch OLED

I've been able to play Zelda Tears of the

Kingdom for like 6 to 7 hours just off the

battery without it plugged in, which is

absolutely crazy that it could play for

such a long time. And Zelda is like one of

Nintendo's big games, not just like some

kind of old indie game. It's a big open

world game, and the battery on the Switch

OLED can last you for hours upon hours

upon hours. And if you're going to play a

less demanding game, like more of a

2D-based game or an indie game or an older

game, then you could probably play that

game for like 10, 11 hours if it's a much

less demanding game. So Switch OLED

battery life is so much better than the

ROG Ally. Obviously it drains way faster

than the Switch OLED. So for those

reasons, I think it's easy to see that the

Switch OLED is a much better handheld

gaming device than the ROG Ally. The ROG

Ally is a good hybrid between gaming

device handheld gaming device and kind of

like a makeshift desktop PC if you want to

plug in a monitor and a keyboard and

stuff. Obviously the gaming performance is

more powerful on the ROG Ally and it can

play more demanding games— well, it plays

anything that's on the Steam library— but

for handheld gaming and gaming on the go

and traveling light, I don't think you can

do much better than the Switch OLED