Asus ROG Xbox Ally X evaluation: I like this Home windows handheld for just a few causes, however value isn’t one among them

Introduction

It took a serving to hand from Asus, however 2025 noticed Microsoft formally throw its hat into the PC-based gaming handheld space. The ROG Xbox Ally X arrives because the beefier a part of the agency’s two-pronged assault on what has primarily develop into Steam Deck territory, alongside a less expensive, much less potent child brother.

Whereas I used to be impressed by the ROG Xbox Ally‘s comfy type issue and full-screen Xbox expertise that lastly felt comfy on a handheld, it wasn’t significantly highly effective – solely concentrating on 720p gameplay in most titles – and made just a few concessions to justify the Ally X’s value premium.

Can the addition of Impulse set off haptics, stronger {hardware}, and a contrasting color scheme make a greater impression? And may they presumably justify the $999/£799 asking value, which eclipses the Steam Deck OLED by a giant margin? You possibly can additionally choose up a number of Nintendo Swap 2s for that type of money. That Ryzen Z2 Excessive chipset has some heavy lifting to do…

Design & construct: black magic

The ROG Xbox Ally X is the Xbox Sequence X to the Ally’s all-white Xbox Sequence S, being decked out totally in black relatively than white. Each handhelds share the identical fundamental form, with chunky controller grips at both aspect mimicking the appear and feel of an Xbox console controller – simply stretched to make room for a 7in touchscreen. They’re as comfy to seize maintain of right here as they have been on the ROG Xbox Ally, and proceed to place most rivals to disgrace.

There’s plenty of Asus ROG Ally X DNA right here, however subtly up to date at Microsoft’s behest. The micro-etched lettering over the entrance face plate now reads ROG XBOX, and there’s now a devoted Xbox button subsequent to the same old brace of menu shortcut keys. It really works simply because the console controller’s model does, letting you bounce straight into the new-look Xbox app at any level throughout gameplay.

With an even bigger battery and extra superior haptics, that is unsurprisingly a good heavier handheld than the ROG Xbox Ally. At 715g it’s not so hefty I discovered it uncomfortable to carry for a multi-hour play session, however a Steam Deck OLED gained’t put fairly as a lot pressure in your wrists. The controller grips additionally make this a thicker system than, say, a Nintendo Swap 2; you’ll have to make extra room for it in a backpack, particularly as soon as tucked away in a protecting case.

The overall management format is unchanged from the Asus-badged Ally, with offset analogue sticks, an eight-way directional pad, 4 responsive face buttons, two bumper buttons and a pair of triggers. A pair of additional buttons then lurk on the rear, able to be assigned to no matter enter you want. The illuminated thumbstick surrounds might be set to any color, not simply Microsoft-approved Xbox inexperienced. You actually really feel such as you’re enjoying on an Xbox pad, not a third-party knock off.

Connectivity may also appear acquainted to anybody that’s used an Asus Ally, with two USB-C ports up high subsequent to a 3.5mm headphone port, microSD card slot, and a fingerprint-sensing energy button that normally (however not at all times) bought me straight previous the Home windows lock display screen. Some missed readings apart, it was virtually at all times faster than reaching for the touchscreen or getting into my PIN with the controller buttons.

Steam Deck homeowners would possibly bemoan the shortage of touchpads, however technique video games apart there aren’t many recreation genres I attempted the place I felt they have been actually missed. Having an Xbox UI that’s higher designed for controller enter actually has made a giant distinction.

I even have to say the Impulse set off haptics, that are way more immersive than the common vibration you get on different handhelds, ROG Xbox Ally included. In Forza Horizon 5 you genuinely can really feel your automotive start to understeer or wheelspin, whereas Hogwarts Legacy‘s spells every have their very own particular person really feel. It’s a refined addition, however as soon as that brings the Ally X a lot nearer to the sensation of enjoying on an precise Xbox.

Display & sound: a well-recognized face

The ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X share show specs, which means you get a 7in LCD panel with a 16:9 side ratio regardless of which mannequin you go for. When the OG Ally was new this was a reasonably aggressive setup, with a Full HD decision and 120Hz refresh fee bringing increased constancy and smoother movement than you’d get from a Steam Deck, however in 2026 it’s somewhat previous hat.

Rivals have since switched to extra impactful OLED screens with sooner response occasions and HDR assist, or gone a lot larger – 8in is now the norm. The black show bezels seen right here aren’t the slimmest, even when the all-black chassis helps disguise them somewhat, and to my eye a 16:10 side panel would’ve crammed the hole relatively properly. Microsoft’s tight grip over the finances seemingly meant Asus needed to follow what it had.

That’s to not say you’re getting a sub-par expertise, thoughts. The LCD has respectable distinction ranges and its colors nonetheless seem vibrant while you ramp the brightness up. A peak 500 nits is sweet sufficient for daytime gaming, except your recreation of alternative could be very darkish certainly, and viewing angles are respectable sufficient given you’re actually solely sitting in a single place to play the factor. An anti-reflective coating just like the one seen on the cheaper 1TB Steam Deck OLED nonetheless would’ve been good to diffuse sturdy gentle sources.

The variable refresh fee made a giant distinction to my notion of clean gameplay in titles that couldn’t at all times hit 60fps, and I can’t fault the Ally for readability. 1080p is a noticeable step up from the Deck’s 1280×800, which isn’t practically as sharp or outlined in video games operating on the native decision. I’d nonetheless rank this display screen alongside the bigger Lenovo Legion Go S, even when I’m disenchanted to not get an OLED panel or HDR assist given the excessive asking value.

I believed the ROG Xbox Ally X did an ideal job on the audio entrance, with sufficient punch at 80% quantity that I solely wanted headphones when there was another person within the room – useful, as a result of Microsoft nonetheless hasn’t made it any smoother to pair Bluetooth headphones with out heading to the Home windows desktop. The Atmos digital upmixing helps create a fairly broad soundstage and the tonality is nicely balanced. There’s not a lot in the way in which of bass, however Cyberpunk 2077‘s explosions and gunshots didn’t sound correctly tinny both.

Software program: far more prefer it

With Asus dealing with {hardware}, that largely left Microsoft to focus on what’s been an Achilles’ heel for each PC-based gaming handheld that isn’t the Steam Deck: Home windows. The OS was designed for mouse and keyboard controls, and far larger screens than this. It additionally runs all types of superfluous, battery-sapping background duties that aren’t wanted while you simply need to play video games.

I’m not saying the agency has addressed all of those points – but it surely’s gotten very shut.

The complete-screen Xbox interface is now the very first thing you see after passing the Home windows lock display screen. It’s bought a format that truly works on a small show, with touch- and controller-friendly navigation, and it doesn’t faux different storefronts don’t exist: Steam, Epic, GOG and BattleNet are all built-in, with newly added video games showing routinely. Handheld compatibility labels in Microsoft’s personal retailer additionally let you recognize whether or not to anticipate respectable efficiency before you purchase. In-game, the refreshed Recreation Bar exhibits up while you press the Xbox button. The buddies record is clearer now and helpful options like recreation/chat audio stability are simpler to succeed in.

End enjoying a recreation in your Steam library and also you’ll be taken proper again to the Xbox interface, relatively than the desktop. That’s as a result of plenty of Home windows 11 isn’t truly loaded into reminiscence till you want it now, preserving system sources; you’re even requested to reboot relatively than return to the Xbox interface for higher efficiency. Home windows Safety alerts don’t take over the display screen as a lot anymore, and even the preliminary Home windows setup course of is less complicated to get by means of on a controller. The opposite massive win is compatibility with anti-cheat software program, one thing the Linux-based Steam Deck has but to totally nail.

Asus hasn’t stripped out its personal Armory Crate SE software program, but it surely’s not as outstanding because it was on the unique Ally. I solely actually used it to replace drivers, customise the rear buttons, or tweak the RGB lighting. Just about each different setting might be modified by means of the Recreation Bar’s fast settings panel: energy modes, decision and refresh fee, show brightness and quantity are all right here. There’s additionally an onscreen efficiency overlay, however I hate the way in which it interferes with home windows whereas on the desktop. There are just a few different examples the place Microsoft may nonetheless do extra to streamline the hand held expertise, and till it does, it’ll sit in second place to the Steam Deck for general usability.

Efficiency: largely meets the 1080p promise

AMD’s alternative of identify implies the Ryzen AI Z2 Excessive chipset contained in the Xbox ROG Ally X is a straightforward step up from the Z2 A that powers the Xbox ROG Ally, however the two are based mostly on completely different structure and have built-in graphics from completely different generations. The Z2 Excessive’s 8 cores and 16 threads can hit a better enhance pace, and are permitted to run at a 35W TDP whereas on mains energy – a giant step up over the Z2 A’s 20W.

The AI half then means assist for Microsoft’s upcoming automated upscaling tech, which can work with any recreation you want – not simply ones with baked-in compatibility, like Nvidia’s DLSS. What efficiency beneficial properties that brings stays to be seen, although. The replace is because of arrive in some unspecified time in the future in 2026.

A wholesome 24GB of RAM additionally ensures the GPU isn’t starved of reminiscence for contemporary titles with top quality textures, and the 1TB of on-board storage is extra beneficiant than the Xbox ROG Ally’s 512GB, which rapidly fills up when you’ve put in just a few AAA releases.

Desktop efficiency beneficial properties over the Asus Ally X’s Z1 Excessive aren’t enormous, with artificial checks displaying a roughly 5-10% acquire throughout single- and multi-core checks. They’re a giant step up over the Xbox ROG Ally, although. I observed the distinction generally responsiveness, with apps and video games opening a good bit sooner.

Asus Xbox ROG Ally X productiveness benchmark scores
Geekbench 6 single-core	2765
Geekbench 6 multi-core	12891
Speedometer 3.1 browser benchmark	29.4

It’s body charges in video games that’ll matter to most potential homeowners, after all. Microsoft says the Xbox ROG Ally X is concentrating on 1080p gameplay, and whereas on mains energy it largely delivered. The 35W turbo mode sees roughly 10-20% beneficial properties over the Asus-badged Ally X, so whereas extra demanding newer titles require some wise graphics settings (or upscaling trickery) to get you there, I may move the 60fps mark in many of the video games I examined on the handheld’s native decision.

Forza Horizon 5 defaulted to Excessive and ran at 75fps. Hogwarts Legacy? A locked 60fps, albeit at low particulars. Gears Techniques would possibly’ve fallen simply shy at 51.1fps, however that was with each graphics setting cranked; turned all the way down to a mixture of medium and excessive particulars it sailed by means of easily. It’s not like 51fps was unplayable both, with the variable refresh fee display screen choosing up the slack.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider wasn’t fairly the identical story, with even modest particulars solely getting me 49fps; I most popular to play with nicer visuals and settle for the 43fps most. Dropping all the way down to 720p after all makes a giant distinction, however if you happen to’re going to try this – or follow older, much less demanding titles and indie fare – the cheaper ROG Xbox Ally would possibly make extra sense. Relying on the sport, a Steam Deck OLED also can get very shut, and even outperform it.

Asus Xbox ROG Ally X gaming benchmarks	Native rendering (1920×1080)	Upscaled (720p)
Gears Techniques	51.1fps	75.3fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (RT low)	55.04fps (FSR3+body gen)	86.59fps (FSR3+body gen)
Cyberpunk 2077 (Steam Deck preset, RT off)	85.51fps (FSR3+body gen)	122.82fps (FSR3+body gen)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (RT on)	26fps	40fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (RT off)	43fps	63fps

Cyberpunk 2077 stays my torture check for handhelds, particularly as soon as ray tracing is thrown into the combination. At 1080p and with the Excessive graphics preset, the ROG Xbox Ally X managed 32.6fps; the RT Medium preset noticed that dip to simply 11.5fps. AMD’s FSR upscaling and body era massively enhance issues, although. On in any other case equivalent settings, it managed 42.2fps and 19.7fps respectively. With a little bit of tweaking, it was completely playable with out having to drop to 720p.

It means ray tracing ought to largely be skipped if you’d like constant body charges, but additionally that few trendy titles will likely be totally out of attain at respectable ranges of visible constancy. I additionally appreciated how cool and quiet the system stayed even whereas operating at full pelt.

Battery life: critical stamina

With a sizeable 80Whr cell and a few spectacular energy scaling from the processor, the ROG Xbox Ally X might be very environment friendly when it desires to be. Whilst you can nonetheless sap it dry in lower than two hours when enjoying a graphically demanding titles on the very best efficiency profile, dialling issues again and sticking to less complicated 2D or indie releases will see your time spent away from the mains skyrocket.

You possibly can choose between 25W, 17W, 13W and 7W energy profiles, or create a customized one in Armory Crate. Even with display screen brightness at 50%, flight mode enabled and the thumb stick LEDs switched off, Cyberpunk 2077 would go away me out of juice in simply over an hour and a half when set to 25W. Nonetheless, I discovered the 13W and 17W profiles to be actual silicon candy spots, climbing north of three hours with none main efficiency penalties. It is a welcome enchancment from the earlier era Ryzen Z1 Excessive.

On common, I used to be getting an hour further playtime over the Asus-branded Ally X. On the decrease energy profiles, Cloverpit and Hole Knight may very well be cranked to the max and nonetheless churn out excessive body charges, whereas the hand held stored going for north of six hours. That’s up there with the Steam Deck OLED in my expertise.

I additionally like that the 65W energy brick Asus contains is sweet and compact, so doesn’t swallow an entire lot extra room in my backpack when travelling. Recharging takes round an hour and a half.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X verdict

The mixed would possibly of Microsoft and Asus has helped form the Xbox ROG Ally X right into a convincing gaming handheld. The Xbox-styled controller grips are splendidly comfy, the full-screen interface is much better suited to the small display screen, and the Impulse triggers are the connecting tissue to the Xbox residence consoles. Home windows lastly isn’t as a lot of a lead weight because it was, and also you’re getting an ideal mixture of efficiency and battery life.

In order for you top-tier energy for 1080p play, although, you’ve gotta pay for it. With a Steam Deck OLED costing significantly much less, you’ve bought to be one thing of a Microsoft die-hard to purchase one among these at full retail value. You’ll be nicely served by Valve even when your recreation library isn’t completely stuffed with older titles, indie gems and retro throwbacks, on account of its extra restrained display screen decision.

Equally if you happen to can settle for 720p playback and need Home windows relatively than Linux, the common ROG Xbox Ally would possibly make sense – although I do know I’d personally miss the Ally X’s haptics, and I want its black color scheme. It’s a powerful first step into handheld territory for Microsoft, however one which costs out plenty of players.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X technical specs

Display	7in, 1920×1080 LCD w/ 120Hz variable refresh
Processor	AMD Ryzen Z2 Excessive
Reminiscence	24GB RAM
Graphics	AMD Radeon (built-in)
Storage	1TB on-board, microSD enlargement
Working system	Home windows 11
Connectivity	2x USB-C, 3.5mm headphone
Battery	80Whr w/ 65W charging
Dimensions	290x121x27.5~50.9mm / 11.42×4.76×1.08~2.00in 715g / 1.58lbs