ROG Xbox Ally X review

How can Microsoft compete against the Steam Deck or the Lenovo Legion Go? That’s where the ROG Xbox Ally X comes in. The prospect is a potentially mouthwatering one: combining ROG Ally’s excellent design with Xbox’s casual console experience. I’ve been putting Asus’ brand-new device through its paces over the last two weeks, and I’m left feeling conflicted rather than overjoyed.

That’s because when it comes to the best Steam Deck alternatives, I’m a firm believer that the ROG Ally Z1e is the go-to choice to consider. Backed by enough power to play plenty of high-profile FPS games or massive RPGs, the flexibility it offers appeals to me far more than Valve, Lenovo, or MSI’s portable gaming consoles. There’s no denying that Windows 11 can be a clunky obstacle to overcome on the go, but using the Z1e for work is also extremely valuable when I’m away from home.

Although the Steam Deck still manages to beat out most handheld PCs on the price front, the Z1e usually sells for around $450/£450 brand-new, with second-hand units beating that by at least $100. Jumping up to the ROG Ally X, its more expensive cousin, is where things can get complicated. And that’s where a hurdle for the ROG Xbox Ally X appears.

Price and availability

The ROG Xbox Ally X is available now for $999/£799, and you can get it directly from Asus’s official website, Best Buy in the United States, or Currys in the United Kingdom. Like previous ROG Ally consoles, you can expect it to ship with a sturdy 45-65W charger and a complimentary kickstand to display it. Comparatively, the slightly lower-spec ROG Xbox Ally is available for $599/£499.

Considering that the ROG Xbox Ally X is more expensive than an actual Xbox Series X|S, it’s a hard pill to swallow if you’re looking for some handheld goodness. With Microsoft Gaming partnering up to give players an Xbox console experience on the go, the weighty price doesn’t exactly scream approachable. But do the upgrades lessen the blow to your wallet? As the higher-spec version of the ROG Xbox Ally, here’s what you can expect underneath the hood:

Specs

Features and software

If you haven’t come across Asus’ ROG Ally series before, then here’s the logline: it’s a Windows-based handheld PC. Rather than relying on a branch of Linux like the Steam Deck, you’re right at home with Windows 11, which is probably on at least one of your devices in your home. It functions the same, with your usual gamut of familiar programs available from the get-go. Booting it up out of the box, though, I do need to warn you – there’s going to be a lot of updates.

Provided you have a decent internet connection, this should be a mostly painless experience. However, even with excellent fiber internet at home, the setup experience for ROG Ally X can take at least 90 minutes. You’ll be downloading updates for a variety of programs, including drivers and tweaks to Armoury Crate. Think of Armoury Crate as the ROG Xbox Ally X’s central hub, and it’s accessible at the tap of a button. Inside of Armoury Crate, you can swap between settings on the fly, navigate game launchers, or get into the nitty-gritty of performance.

Debuting with the ROG Xbox Ally X is the latest version of Armoury Crate, an absolute highlight of using the handheld. I can’t express enough how much of a win this update is, as the previous version of Armoury Crate made me want to scream at strangers on the street. What was usually a clunky, slow application is now a fluid, compact tool to toggle what makes the device tick. Accompanying it is the refined focus on using the console in full-screen mode, a goal that Microsoft and Asus are splashing all over the console’s marketing.

So yes, you can use it in a style similar to the gold standard for handheld user interfaces, and that’s SteamOS. Here, you’re exploring all your games through the guise of the Xbox app primarily. Yes, the Xbox Game Bar is here, too. It’s handy seeing all my titles unified together, and I do appreciate the push to ‘gamify’ using Asus handhelds. It still isn’t quite as intuitive or slick as SteamOS, but the right moves are getting made, and it can only get better from here on out. Outside of that, like I said above, you are still using Windows 11.

Windows 11 can be a little frustrating for gaming. Because this operating system isn’t designed with the small screen in mind, it can be a little troublesome to get through its menus. Using accessories such as solid Steam Deck docks like the JSAUX 6-in-1 docking station, it is not a hassle when I’m using a monitor or a TV. Paired with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, you should feel right at home. That isn’t to say the onboard touchscreen doesn’t get the job done, but it’s more of a case that Microsoft needs to streamline Windows 11 on handhelds – an issue not exclusive to the ROG Xbox Ally X.

Unlike the Z1e or ROG Ally X, though, applications play ball a lot more often. Freezes and unresponsive applications were and are still a big downside of previous ROG models, but this isn’t as frequently the case here. That’s because the console strips down bloatware, running a more lightweight build of Windows than before. In June, Xbox’s vice president of experiences Jason Beaumont explained that “when the player boots into the full-screen experience, there is a whole bunch of Windows stuff that doesn’t get loaded […] We’re not loading the desktop wallpaper, the taskbar, or a bunch of processes that are really designed around productivity scenarios for Windows.”

There you have it, right from the horse’s mouth. It doesn’t stop Windows 11’s typical frustrations, but it does feel far more responsive than any other Windows-based handheld on the market right now.

Design

Upon the initial reveal of the ROG Xbox Ally modes, I have to admit, I found the design to be pretty laughable. There’s something obtuse and a little strange about what is essentially a 715g controller. Yet, I’ll gladly say that I’m eating my hat with this one, because the ROG Xbox Ally X feels fantastic to play. I already think the Z1e is comfortable to play, and with a case, I confidently think it bests anything else out there on ergonomics. I’m sorry, Nintendo Switch 2, but your ultra-thin bezel kills my hands within 30 minutes.

The shift to a design akin to something like the PlayStation Portal works wonders here. From playing FPS games such as The Finals for extended periods of time to replaying Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 in bed at night, I’ve got no complaints about the ROG Xbox Ally X’s form factor. The flared triggers are especially great, echoing the feel of some of the best phone controllers on my shelf, like the GameSir G7 Pro. I’m glad that Asus’ collaboration with Microsoft doesn’t lean into the Xbox Series controller for improvements, as it’s easily my least favorite controller around, with third-party brands beating them at their own game.

I love how it feels to the touch, but I will say, the face of the ROG Xbox Ally X does give me some grief. I have one specific gripe, and that’s with the placement of the in-game pause button and the library button. This is likely a niche complaint, but the pause button is located under the library button, going against everything console controllers have been teaching me throughout my nearly 30 years of existence. Every time I go to pause or access a menu, I’m always booting up into the Xbox application instead, and it becomes infuriating quickly. There’s likely a way to remap this, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying.

What I am digging is the addition of two USB-C ports on top of the device. Between accessories and charging the Z1e, it becomes a hassle deciding what I can plug into it if I don’t have a docking station to hand. That’s a thing of the past now. Including a 3.5mm auxiliary input is always a plus in my book, too. For those of you who own previous ROG Ally devices, you’ll be glad to know that the Micro-SD card port isn’t compromised anymore. A rare fault with the Z1e and standard ROG Ally is that this port can fry Micro-SD cards, as it’s placed closer to one of its heat sink arrays.

I’m one of many sufferers mourning my fried Micro-SD card, but not anymore. I’ve been pushing performance pretty hard over the past two weeks, and I haven’t cooked my storage. Good job, Asus.

Display and audio

Disappointingly, there’s still no sign of an OLED ROG Ally model. Asus is on record speaking about this, citing that it isn’t willing to sacrifice variable refresh rate functionality for an OLED display. It’s a shame, because debuting it with the ROG Xbox range seems like a match made in heaven. If you’re expecting something as sharp as the Steam Deck OLED, it isn’t quite on that playing field. The ROG Xbox Ally X is still impressive to the eye, though. It comes with the same screen as the Z1e, which is a 7″ IPS FHD touchscreen at 1920x1080p resolution, at a 16:9 aspect ratio. It may be 100 nits less than the Steam Deck OLED, but brightness is great at 500 nits, and I’ll always sing the praises of 120Hz support.

It’s an odd position to be in because I like this display a lot, but I feel like this is where Asus should be working harder to explain why the handheld’s price is worth every bang for your buck. This applies to battery life, which brings over the 80W capacity battery from the ROG Ally X, but I’ll get to that later. The speakers onboard the ROG Xbox Ally X are good, but not great. It can be easy to let sheer volume give off the illusion of quality, as these speakers can be exceptionally loud. However, at higher volumes, clarity begins to dwindle, resulting in a muddier output than I’d prefer. I tend to play at lower volumes when I’m not using headphones, and they sound better on the down-low.

Performance

So, the big question: how does the ROG Xbox Ally perform? This is where I’m conflicted the most with the handheld. There’s no denying it’s up to the task, just like its predecessor. Triple-A juggernauts such as The Last of Us 2, Grand Theft Auto 5, Hogwarts Legacy, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are all able to run decently at 1080p. Spidey’s second Insomniac Games outing and Rockstar Games’ open-world opus can even revel in the sheen of popping the settings to high. I’d seen Hogwarts Legacy up close before during my Xbox Ally preview at Gamescom, which runs smoothly on similar settings.

Enabling a touch of frame generation improves things, of course, pushing the frame rate past 60fps on most occasions. If you’re partial to legally running older games, that might be on other consoles through other means. I’ll answer your question now: yes, they run great for the most part, depending on what console era you’re exploring. I’m still waiting on a next-gen Metal Gear Solid 4 port to come to fruition, though, if you catch my drift. In the June Xbox Showcase, Microsoft promises that it can run any game in the presentation. That means big blockbusters like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and the hardware here backs up those claims.

With 24GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage to contend with, it complements the move up to the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor. But here’s the thing: it isn’t that much of a boost over the Z1e or Ally X in my opinion. You’re still coming to the table with the same eight cores and 16 threads. The shift from the Z1e to the Z2e processor is the meat of the upgrade here, but the improvements are marginal rather than massive. You aren’t going to get quality improvements like a powerful desktop rig, either, so you need to temper your expectations if this is your first handheld PC.

Games are still mostly superb performance-wise and visually, but think of it like jumping ship from the PS5 to the PS5 Pro. Sure, you’ll get a few extra enhancements and extra graphical sheen to play with it, but at the end of the day, the standard PlayStation 5 is still enough. It’s here where I take issue with what Asus and Microsoft are demanding from your wallet. At least it doesn’t get overly hot, even when I’m cranking things up as far as it can handle. Zero Gravity Cooling is back again, and it’s just as pivotal to keeping ROG Xbox Ally X from sizzling in your lap. I also appreciate that it isn’t loud when the fans are spinning up, a downside of the Z1e.

Battery

The original ROG Ally and Z1e take plenty of flak for their weak battery life, so Asus carries over the battery life of the ROG Ally X. The handheld now packs an 80Wh battery, double the capacity of the original’s 40Wh, but in practice, performance is only slightly better. It lasts a bit longer, though not dramatically so, putting it roughly in line with its predecessor when running demanding games.

Battery life depends on the mode you’re using. The ROG Xbox Ally X offers four presets: 35W Turbo, 25W Turbo, 17W Performance Mode, and 13W Silent Mode. 30W Turbo while plugged, 25W unplugged, which lasts just over two hours, depending on how heavy the game is performance-wise. The 17W Performance Mode gives roughly three, and the 13W Silent can stretch to about four. Actual results vary depending on the game and settings, but overall efficiency has improved slightly thanks to better power management and less drain from background systems.

Standby power use is one of the standout upgrades. Unlike many handheld PCs, the ROG Xbox Ally X barely loses charge when idle, so you can pick it up after a break and start right away. Charging speeds are also steady, reaching full capacity in about 90 minutes to two hours on standby, or twice as long while gaming. It’s not a revolutionary change, but the tweaks make the ROG Xbox Ally X more dependable for everyday play.

Should you buy the ROG Xbox Ally X?

If you’re leaping into the handheld PC market with an ample budget, the ROG Xbox Ally X is a good place to get started, thanks to its user-friendly form factor and improved user experience. However, it doesn’t distract from the fact that Asus’ previous models directly rival it and provide the same amount of gaming value at a much cheaper price.

The ROG Xbox Ally X puts up a decent fight against other Windows-handhelds performance-wise, but so do the ROG Ally X and Z1e models. I can’t quite get the past price, especially in tandem with the recent Xbox Game Pass subscription increase, making it even more expensive to check out the latest titles out of the box. In my opinion, the existing ROG Ally models are still worth considering.

Alternatives

Asus ROG Ally

I’m a huge fan of the original Asus ROG Ally and its upgraded model, the Z1e. Even a couple of years removed from launch, it remains one of the slickest handheld devices around, and I use mine daily. While our Asus ROG Ally review of the launch model in 2023 is a tad skeptical, I personally vouch for this handheld as the de facto choice to consider.

Steam Deck OLED

Valve’s handheld is already a force to be reckoned with, even if it is slightly underpowered compared to recent portable additions. Nevertheless, SteamOS is a delight to use, making it the closest thing to a ‘proper console’ user interface on the go. It’s easy for anyone to use out of the box. But don’t just listen to me; read our Steam Deck OLED review to find out more.