AOK ZOE A1 Review - Steam Deck Killer, Competitor, or Forgettable?

[@panamike6178]

Regardless of it's issues, I have to say that the AOKZOE A1 is the nicest looking handheld out there. I like the little designs on the right and left and the hint of yellow is a nice touch, love the huge screen. Overall I think it's the best looking device. Steam Deck also looks really nice, simple sometimes is better. The Asus Rog Ally is a bit odd looking but what a power house. I read somewhere the Ayaneo 2 looks like a fisher price toy, I'm going to have to agree, not ugly but super plain and does look like a kids toy there. GPD Win 4 is super nice, but a bit too small. what's your favorite looking handheld out there?

[@kaneru8593]

Best comparison you can find on KZbin, thank u a lot

[@1UpNerdcore]

Thank you 🙏🏼

[@panamike6178]

Are you going to get one?

[@davidagiel8130]

I was about to get this over the deck, but then I saw how many issues the Aokzoe had, screens bleeding, software and controls failing, touch screen not the best response, and even one guy on Facebook showed his battery exploding. Also, the process to replace SSD is way more difficult than a steam deck. The aya neo 2 also had SSD fails, so I got the deck instead. But, I am looking forward to aya neo's next 2 with trackpads and a 7000 series

[@RolandDobbins]

Mine works flawlessly, so far.

[@ArnArngamingtv]

I got this, so far so good im enjoying using it, so worth it.

[@oranginafun]

Juste ordre thé aokzoe , m'y steamdeck is always crachin. A disastor

[@panamike6178]

@@oranginafun Always crashing? You must be doing something wrong with yours. I've been able to play Elden RIng, WItcher 3, Dark souls 1-3, GTA IV, GTA V, Jedi Fallen Order, Division 2, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Grounded, Hitman 1-3 (online), Wo Long, Sekiro... They all work fine and I rarely get any crashes (knock on wood).

[@gamers-generation]

Hey! Nice review, I just did this too! Do note that mAh are not a good metric for measuring battery capacity as the calculation for such does not include VOLTAGE. So you can have something advertised as 20 000mAh but at 1.5volts which means its actually only a 30Wh battery, vs. something like a 10000mAh battery with 5volt output which is actually 50Wh. Sadly there's no standardization for this in marketing so companies will try to inflate their numbers or not report at all on actual Watt Hours. Also, unfortunately you need to manually update the AOKZOE App (currently anyway), but doing so (to 0.4.5) lets you have the performance overlay settings within the App and allows you to put the metrics horizontally or vertically, it even includes a frame rate limiter. P.S., I did do some testing (only 3 games at this time). The average total (across numerous TDPs) is only slightly in the A1's advantage (but that's possibly because of a 10w TDP "issue"), and as you said, the ceiling for the A1 is higher than the Deck, and that's not nothing. The Spider-Man frame time issues I also experienced -- it's possible it's related to how drivers/power management is handled... but I can't confirm that.

[@1UpNerdcore]

Thanks for the info! I’ll be updating later this week and testing the app metrics and TDP options more 🙏🏼

[@gamers-generation]

@@1UpNerdcore Cheers! Also if you're looking for an alternative case, I'm using a JSAUX clone case, it's not a perfect fit -- but if you attach a velcro strap to the existing one (to allow for it to extend further) it'll then be able to fit the A1.

[@MKCamo520]

@@1UpNerdcore I have question what handheld has better colors than steamdeck I return my steam deck because the colors were very bad on it.

[@steamdeckers4405]

Do not mess with memory optimizer in and adrenaline app. It will break your gpu vram allocation. It will go from 3gb to 512mb.Leave it in productivity.

[@anthonyc5657]

To fix this just flash the bios and it’ll go back to normal

[@brotha1984]

I'm loving the specs with the Aokzoe but will you get support from the company when issues arrives with the software 🤔

[@1UpNerdcore]

I wouldn’t worry about software since it’s windows 11 and runs the amd adrenaline for the gpu. I’d worry about something physically breaking and them not fixing it. There’s not a warranty as far as I know.

[@verydavid]

Great video, very informative! Could you please mention what game you're playing after Spider Man in the beginning? The one with the swordfight? :) Thanks!

[@1UpNerdcore]

I’m assuming that one is god of war Ragnarok based off your description

[@verydavid]

@@1UpNerdcore Oh sorry, I meant the one from 3:30-4:30 is it GOW? Doesn't look like GoW ))

[@Cygaray]

yeah just bough mine and it was $512 16gb 512GB whereas the Deck 512gb is still $620 in my country so it was a no brainer

[@Cygaray]

welp up until still no protective case or any of that sort only tempered glass and skins is all that's available

[@Getgood1980]

this still worthy? In my country Aok Zoe A1 cost for 600$ should I get 1?

[@1UpNerdcore]

At 600 it’s a great deal

[@Getgood1980]

@@1UpNerdcore thanks alot sir ☺

[@alenezi989a3]

The main attraction for the Aokzoe for me is that it runs windows 11, I can get my Xbox app with game pass, my Epic library, and steam, plus all the emulation I ever want. While you can do this on the steam deck it's just that I have zero experience with Linux and I saw some videos saying that you would require some coding that's just a big no for me. Valve is more trust worthy but I'm not gonna use handheld for steam only.

[@mrjcflores1696]

I'm planning to buy this though I'm afraid about the quality of it. It going to cost me 600 usd to buy it in my country.

[@tclinshiqiang]

Hi , do you think it is a bit blur to run 800p on a 8inch, or it is totally fine like on SD

[@1UpNerdcore]

It’s gonna have more rough edges than 1080 and it’ll be noticeable.

[@Justin-General]

How about re-imaging the AOKZOE with steamOS, and i guess changing those thumb sticks, omg, they look awful, worse than the nintento switch, and those are the worst.

[@RolandDobbins]

It seems that your review of the AOKZOE A1 was inaccurate & incomplete. You completely omitted the outstanding AutoTDP functionality of the latest AOKZOE app (in conjunction with HWINFO & RTSS). All you had to do to learn about this was to peruse other KZbin reviews of the A1. Also, I get a solid 40fps out of both Cyberpunk 2077 & Microsoft Flight Simulator on the AOKZOE A1 with medium settings for almost everything - at 1200p with FSR 2.1. I get 60fps at 1200p for titles like Madden 23 & PGA Tour 2K23 with either RSR or FSR. There’s no question that the Steam Deck is the value king, as @The Phawx indicates. But my Steam Deck largely gathers dust with my Switch since I got the AOKZOE & the GPD Win Max 2. These are premium devices, absolutely. But your review of the AOKZOE A1 is inaccurate & incomplete from both a performance & usability perspective.

[@1UpNerdcore]

I would like to see video of you running those games at 1200p with those fps. You didn’t say average fps in your claims and I’m not interested in peak fps so clarification would be great here as well as what I’m game settings you’re running. I don’t like the auto TDP function on any handheld personally and I approached this from a max performance (max TDP) perspective but this has given me a reason now to showcase games at low/medium/max and auto TDP in games in a video. I’ll work on that after my next group of reviews are done 👍🏻

[@RolandDobbins]

@@1UpNerdcore - variable fps with 40fps as a floor, with FSR or RSR rendering. You can do it yourself. It’s necessary to mess around with the settings for demanding games in order to find the optimal mix of quality & performance. For example, I get 50-60fps on PGA 2K23 on the AOKZOE A1 at 1200p using AutoTDP & limiting the frame rate to 60fps. I get the same at 1600p on the GPD Win Max 2. I’m using the in-game FSR 1.0 on both, & mostly High graphics settings. That’s a good game to tinker with, as swing timing on Pro difficulty is tied in part to consistency in frame rate.

[@WoLF-xp3cy]

I have halo infinite on my aokzoe but the buttons are not working with this game, do you know how to solve this issue ?

[@1UpNerdcore]

I haven’t had that issue yet, try launching from the Steam big picture mode

[@jongreene5605]

Sucks you should have waited for the 7800u version

[@1UpNerdcore]

I still might get one 👍🏻

[@Renvaar1989]

DON'T BUY THIS.The build quality is SH*T! After barely using it 3 months the Y button has lost ALL sensitivity, I have to mash it hard to register a button press... And that's even if it turns on... A lot of times it just turns on with a black screen, and that's even after sending it back to the factory once for a new screen. And forget software, their app works like ass.

[@oyeyemisodiq7831]

Which one ...aokzoe or steam

[@steamdeckers4405]

Don't call it ack Zoe lol.

[@1UpNerdcore]

Ock Zoe

[@revinbedwards4323]

For RDR2 change from Vulkan to dx12 then restart it will go full screen, your welcome

[@1UpNerdcore]

Awesome thank you!

[@revinbedwards4323]

No problem

[@panamike6178]

@@revinbedwards4323 Dude, I was having small issues playing witcher 3 on directx 12, not terrible issues but crashes ever so often, I switched to Directx 11 and not only does it look and play better, it never crashes now. Everyone online was saying to go with Directx 12 for some reason, idk man.

[@revinbedwards4323]

@@panamike6178 older games l would use dx11. But I know rdr2 prefers dx12. Resolves full screen issue.