Zotac: Zone handheld competes with the Asus ROG Ally X

After gaming handhelds such as the Steam Deck OLED, Zotac is now also launching a gaming machine for on the go. We were able to see a pre-production model of the Zotac Zone handheld at Computex. We have now tried out the finished product at Gamescom. It can already be pre-ordered with 512 GB of storage space for 850 euros and is primarily intended to compete with the 900 euro Asus Rog Ally X.

The Zone also uses Windows 11, turning the mobile games console into a mobile PC with a connected mouse, keyboard and monitor. Zotac is also in talks with Valve to provide Steam OS for the Zone handheld. The AMD Ryzen 7 8840U processor is on a similar performance level to the Z1 Extreme of the Rog Ally or the Lenovo Legion Go. Zotac has opted for 16 GB of LPDDR5X-7500 RAM.

Vibrant OLED colors

Only the launcher software for the handheld gaming PC had not yet been finalized. At launch, the software should offer the option of setting installed stores, games and their individual performance profiles (a beta version of the software can be seen above on the cover image). The online retailers Alternate and Caseking are planning delivery around September 12. The end product has a high-quality finish, feels good in the hand and, at 690 grams, is slightly heavier than the Ally X (678 grams) - although the battery is significantly smaller at 48.5 watt hours (Ally X: 80 watt hours).

The small seven-inch OLED multi-touch screen with 1080P resolution, 120 Hertz refresh rate and HDR support looks particularly stylish and colorful. According to Zotac, it achieves a brightness of up to 800 nits for good outdoor visibility. In contrast to the Ally X, the analog sticks with their long lever travel use long-lasting Hall effect technology to prevent the dreaded "stick drift". The non-slip buttons and sensitive touch surfaces were also convincing.

Rotary controls and customizable triggers

Two sliders even shorten the lever travel of the analog triggers if desired. The quick trigger pull in shooters imitates a short "hair trigger" on firearms. On the other hand, we liked the relatively flat directional pad, which makes a clicking noise with every directional input, much less than the Asus. An interesting little gimmick are the two rotary knobs around the sticks, which can be used to adjust brightness, volume or other assigned functions. These "dials" also make a soft clicking sound when turned, as they do not move continuously. Perhaps this could also be used to play emulated arcade oldies, such as Arkanoid with its rotating controller.

A fan kept the device pleasantly cool while playing Forza Horizon 5. However, the benchmark of the racing game was four frames behind the Ally X in battery mode on ultra settings. In 1080p resolution, we achieved 37 frames per second with the Asus device and only 33 frames per second with the Zone handheld. It should be noted that the Zone software was not yet final and no performance modes could yet be set. It will later be possible to choose between 15 and 28 watts.

If you don't want to use the fold-out stand, you can purchase the fold-out dock from Zotac for 80 euros. Among other things, it is equipped with two USB 3.2 outputs, Ethernet and an M.2 SSD slot. The handheld itself has two USB 4 ports with a slim USB-C format socket. All in all, the Zotac Zone could therefore be a sensible and slightly cheaper alternative to the Ally X, which performed better in some respects and weaker in others during the first test run in Cologne.

(jpw)