Asus ROG Ally X hands-on review: the best gaming handheld just got better
Asus ROG Ally X hands-on review: the best gaming handheld just got better
Now available to purchase, the ROG Ally X has bigger grips, 2x battery capacity, more memory and extra storage
The Asus ROG Ally X is basically the Steam Deck OLED upgrade to the original Asus ROG Ally – but not exactly. Now in stock at Best Buy, the new $799 Asus ROG Ally X is a much-improved device with girthier grips, a bigger battery, more memory, supplemental storage, plus tweaks to its controls and cooling.
The Ally X improves upon every shortcoming I felt about the original handheld – and it only costs $100 more than the original for all these upgrades. With no release date for the Zotac Zone yet and the rumored Sony PSP 2 handheld slated for 2025, the ASUS ROG Ally X is our current best PC gaming handheld 2024 pick.
This isn’t a total revision, though. The screen and processor remain exactly the same, so it’s too early to call this an Asus ROG Ally 2. But from my hands-on time with the device at Computex 2024, I’m already falling in love with Asus’ new gaming handheld. Check out our Asus ROG Ally vs Asus ROG Ally X comparison to see how both models compare.
Pros:
✅ 😌 Bigger grips make the Ally X more comfortable to hold
✅🔋 Larger battery promises 3-8 hours of battery life
✅ 🕹️ Tighter thumbsticks & a more accurate D-Pad
✅ ⚖️ The Ally X has hardly grown in thickness or weight
✅ 🧠 More storage and up 24GB of RAM
Cons
❌ 💰 $100 more than the original Asus ROG Ally
❌ 📺 Display remains the same, down to its large, ugly bezels
❌ ⚙️ No direct tweaks to the Z1 Extreme chip to make the Ally X faster
🖤 It comes in black now. One easy way the Asus ROG Ally X distinguishes itself from the original is it comes in black now. It was curious that the original ROG Ally didn’t come in multiple colors, because we really like the darker shade on this new handheld. The new black paint job also helps mask the screen bezel, which, unfortunately, isn’t any smaller with this upgrade.
🍞 Baby got back. Another thing you’ll instantly notice about the Asus ROG Ally X is it has fuller grips now so it’s easier to hold for long periods. I thought the original Ally was already well sculpted for ergonomics – especially when placed at an angle on a tabletop – but now every edge has been rounded for a more comfortable feel.
👆Better back touch. Asus has also moved the back buttons on the Ally X more towards the center and away from the enlarged grips, so you can clench your fingers around them without accidentally triggering one of your shortcut buttons. Originally these rear buttons were positioned right where your fingers would hold onto the handheld, making it easy to accidentally press them.
🕹️ Tighter sticks. The loose joysticks on the original Ally detracted from its gaming experience, so I’m glad Asus has put a little more resistance behind the new sticks on the Ally X. They feel tighter and closer to the feel I get from an Xbox Series or DualSense controller so you can be a little more accurate while you’re moving them.
➕ A bigger D-pad. The D-pad similarly feels better now that it has an eight-way gate underneath it. That should make pulling off quarter-circle combos in Street Fighter 6 a little easier. It could also make the Ally X a better machine for retro gaming too.
🔋 2x battery life. The battery in the Ally X has doubled in size with a new 80Whr cell compared to the 40Whr battery in Asus’ original handheld. According to Asus, this should allow the Ally X to last through three hours of heavy gaming and up to eight hours with lighter titles. Of course, I’ll have to see it to believe it, but longer battery life definitely fixes one of the ROG Ally’s greatest shortcomings.
⚡ Two ports are better than one. Asus has also upgraded the Ally X with a second USB-C port and it’s even a Thunderbolt 4 port too. While the original Ally’s USB-C only supported USB 3.2 Gen 2, this new extra Thunderbolt 4 opens up to handheld to connect with more external graphics cards and docks. Plus with two USB-C ports, you can charge the device while also adding a gaming headset or mouse to the mix. The only thing I don’t love about having two USB-C ports on the Ally is they’re placed right next to each other so you practically need a USB-C wire extension if you plan on plugging any large wireless dongles in.
⚙️ Same AMD processor. Unsurprisingly, though somewhat, disappointingly, there’s no new processor here. Understandably, there isn’t a new Z2 Extreme chip powering the new Ally X, after all AMD hasn’t announced a new processor for handhelds. But at the very least this new chip should be running better and for longer with all the cooling improvements and larger battery.
📺 Same screen. Another thing that changed about the Asus ROG Ally X is its processor and display. It still has the same 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS display as the original Ally. That said, this is still a fantastic display, and it’s still the only handheld that supports variable refresh rates to make gaming feel extremely smooth even if your actual frame rate fluctuates. I just wished it had at least some slightly smaller bezels or a slightly larger display.
💾 More stock memory & storage. Asus may not have upgraded Ally X’s processor, but it does come with 24GB of memory running at a faster 7,500MHz speed and a 1TB SSD from the get-go. The 8GB increase and faster memory means you have a bit more RAM to run games, especially AAA experiences that demand a lot of video memory. The new 1TB storage is also very welcome, letting you store more games. And in case 1TB of storage still isn’t enough, it’s a little easier to upgrade the SSD now that the Asus ROG Ally X can accommodate full-sized M.2 SSDs.
💨 Better cooling. Asus tells us it has also completely revamped the cooling system inside and outside the Ally X. Most notably, Asus has added a third exhaust vent on the upper edge of the new handheld. Internally, the fans are 23% smaller with 50% thinner blades to improve airflow. With all of these cooling improvements, the Asus ROG Ally X should be able to push 24% more air volume out and reduce operating temperatures by 6 degrees Celsius.
🤏 Thicker, but imperceptibly so. Between the larger battery and bigger grips, the Ally X has put on a little bulk that makes it 0.97 to 1.45 inches thick. However, that’s not too bad compared to the Ally’s original 0.83 - 1.28-inch thickness. The Ally X has also only put on an extra 0.15 pounds, so it’s really hard to tell it's any heavier than its predecessor.
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director and a gaming handheld aficionado. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.