Xbox Ally X gets Auto Super Resolution in April, promising 30% performance boost with AI upscaling

ROG Xbox Ally X gaming handheld to get Auto Super Resolution boost in April -- Microsoft touts 30% performance boost thanks to AI-powered image upscaling

The ROG Xbox Ally X gaming handheld will soon be getting a performance upgrade in the form of Auto Super Resolution, or Auto SR. Microsoft confirmed the feature at the ongoing Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2026 and is expected to begin an initial rollout in April 2026. A key benefit of Auto SR is that it operates at the OS level and can run directly on the device using an NPU, in this case, the Ryzen Z2 AI Extreme chip powering the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X. This approach should increase frame rates, reduce load on the GPU, and potentially improve battery life. Auto SR was originally introduced as an exclusive feature for Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X or Snapdragon X2 processors. It is an AI-powered image upscaling solution designed to work similarly to DLSS, FSR, and other upscaling technologies. According to Microsoft, users can expect a boost in performance by up to 30% when Auto SR is enabled on the handheld console. While that may sound impressive, in a video shared by @ethangach on X, the company showcased a quick demo using the ROG Xbox Ally X, where Forza Horizon 5 ran at 35 FPS on average with no upscaling as compared to 51 FPS average when enabling Auto SR. Click the tweet below to see a video of Microsoft's announcement: An important aspect to consider is that enabling Auto SR can introduce some amount of latency, which may or may not affect the gaming experience depending on the title. On top of that, Microsoft's official documentation says that Auto SR is currently only supported in games that run on DirectX 11 or DirectX 12, although that may change once it adds support for Xbox ROG Ally X. In related news, the company recently confirmed that its next-generation Xbox console, codenamed Project Helix, will be powered by a custom AMD SoC with support for a new upscaling tech called FSR Diamond. Much like Auto SR, FSR Diamond is going to rely on AI-assisted upscaling in addition to ray regeneration for ray tracing and path tracing, as well as multi-frame generation to deliver higher resolutions and improved visual performance. While the next Xbox is still some time away, the introduction of Auto SR on handheld hardware could offer an early glimpse of how Microsoft plans to lean more heavily on AI-driven graphics technologies in the future. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

Xbox Ally X gets smoother gameplay with AutoSR update

A public preview of AutoSR for the AMD-powered Ally X is expected in April, promising smoother gameplay experiences for users. In a month, owners of Xbox Ally X handheld consoles will see their frame rates jump upwards, as Microsoft begins supporting the Automatic Super Resolution (AutoSR) tech on the console. Microsoft snuck in a reference to the technology as part of a presentation at the Game Developer Conference, where the company pitched features from its upcoming Project Helix console as well as AI enhancements coming to Microsoft's DirectX API. Essentially, AutoSR is an upscaling technology, originally designed for use with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X1 or X2 Elite processor, according to Microsoft. It's a visual enhancement tool, rendering a game in a lower resolution that's easier to calculate. Windows then upscales the game using AI to approximate what it would look like if it were rendered at the native resolution. It's a compromise: a less powerful GPU can deliver higher frame rates at higher resolutions, making top-tier games more playable on a wider range of hardware. It might not look quite as good as if the game were rendered on the higher resolution, but it may go unnoticed in a high-intensity game. Microsoft did design AutoSR as a technology that needed explicit game support, however, and Microsoft maintains a list of games that you can filter to discover if AutoSR works out of the box or if it needs to be opted into. That list, however, was designed with the Snapdragon's Windows-on-Arm architecture in mind. The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X uses an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip inside, an X86 processor. It's not clear, then, whether AutoSR will need explicit game support or not. In any event, a sharp-eyed Twitter user snapped video of Microsoft announcing that a public preview of AutoSR will appear on the Ally X in April, as noticed by Windows Central. Microsoft first began talking about AutoSR in 2024, and we saw AutoSR (also known briefly as DirectSR) debut in a Windows Insider Program release that same year. Microsoft tucked in the addition inside the Windows 11 Settings menu (System > Display > Graphics) though it doesn't appear to be there in stable builds. It's not clear whether users will have to explicitly turn on the feature, or it will be simply enabled via the update. In any event, smoother gameplay lies ahead.

Your ROG Xbox Ally X is about to get a free performance upgrade soon

The ROG Xbox Ally X is about to get sharper, faster graphics -- courtesy of a free April update that uses AI to do the heavy lifting in games. If you've ever squinted at your ROG Xbox Ally X's screen and thought that it could be a little sharper, Xbox (and Microsoft) heard you, loud and clear. In April 2026, the handheld gaming PC will get a free software update that will make your games look better. No hardware updates or additional costs included. Xbox will release a feature called Automatic Super Resolution or Auto SR -- Microsoft's AI-powered answer to Nvidia's DLSS and AMD's FSR -- which upscales video games from 720p up to 1080p or more (via Windows Central). What does the Auto SR feature do? The feature forces your Ally X to work smarter, not harder, delivering a performance boost of up to 30%. Unlike DLSS and FSR, Auto SR works at the operating system level, implying that developers won't need to integrate it on a per-game basis. However, the feature still trails Nvidia's DLSS in outright image quality. Recommended Videos No matter who the developer is or what the game is, Auto SR will simply work, well, mostly. For now, the feature supports DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games only. But why is it only available on the Xbox Ally X, and not the Xbox Ally? So, why is it only coming to Ally X? Well, the Ally X features AMD's Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chipset, which, like the modern smartphones or CPUs, also includes a Neural Processing Unit, specifically designed for AI and machine learning workloads. The feature seems to be relying on Ally X's NPU to upscale the video games in real-time, without increasing the CPU's load. Unfortunately, the base model doesn't have one, which is why the feature is exclusive to the X variant. One thing that worth pointing out -- the April release is technically a preview, not a final, polished rollout. So while the 30% performance figure is exciting, real-world results may vary as Microsoft continues to refine it.

Your Xbox Ally X Is Due for a Crucial Performance Update in April - IGN

Xbox says it's planning to add Automatic Super Resolution to the Asus handheld. Microsoft announced at GDC today that it's adding Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR) to the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X in April, reports Windows Central. The feature, which as Tom's Hardware notes, was originally part of Copilot+ PCs that feature Snapdragon X or X2 processors, should give players higher framerates thanks to AI processing that lets the system render games at lower resolutions and scale them up to higher ones. In a video posted to X by Kotaku's Ethan Gach, Microsoft showcases Forza Horizon 5 running on the Ally X, first at 35 fps without Auto SR turned on, then at "around 51 fps" with it active. The company says turning on Auto SR will mean "an almost 30% frame rate boost all while maintaining nearly equivalent visual quality." It's worth noting, though, that the feature, which only works for games with DirectX 11 or 12 support, can also introduce latency in its existing implementation, as Tom's Hardware writes. The coming update is a great change for the system, which is already the best handheld gaming PC you can buy. In the video, the company doesn't say whether the feature is also coming to the lower-powered ROG Xbox Ally.