ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X Review: High Performance, High Price

Full 1080p screens pinch up to 120-Hz refresh rates. Brilliant ergonomics. Extremely versatile. Compatibility pinch Steam, Epic, and different gaming clients. Cloud gaming useful amended than ever.

Extremely expensive. Compromised capacity connected nan Ally. Terrible AI “assistant” successful Gaming Copilot (but tin beryllium turned off). No OLED screens. Cluttered UI. Xbox crippled room only includes "Play Anywhere" titles.

A handheld Xbox has been rumored since astatine slightest nan Xbox 360 era, wherever gaming forums were rife pinch speculation that Microsoft was astir to look disconnected against Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PSP. If location was ever thing to nan rumor, thing came of it—until now, 20-odd years later, pinch Xbox’s first genuine foray into portable gaming.

The Redmond elephantine isn’t diving successful solo, though—rather than its ain dedicated device, Microsoft has collaborated pinch Asus to present 2 chopped units, nan entry-grade ROG Xbox Ally astatine $600, and nan much powerful ROG Xbox Ally X astatine a somewhat staggering $1,000. These aren’t truthful overmuch Xbox handhelds arsenic Xbox-branded handhelds, though, adding recognizable iconography onto what mightiness different beryllium nan adjacent procreation of Asus’ ain portables. The team-up delivers top-tier portable play—but a often confusing experience.

A What Box?

It’s champion to commencement pinch what nan X-ROGs—not charismatic terminology, but bully shorthand for nan pair—aren’t. They’re not Microsoft’s reply to nan Nintendo Switch 2, a bespoke console letting you seamlessly bask home-quality gaming connected nan go. Nor are they a return connected nan Steam Deck, a portable built astir nan Xbox ecosystem alternatively than your Steam library. Despite sporting nan aforesaid signature “X” icon fastener arsenic connected an Xbox controller, these are handheld gaming PCs successful Xbox drag, pinch each nan bully and bad that entails.

Both X-ROGs tally a afloat type of Windows 11, pinch nan Xbox app for PC’s caller “full surface experience” arsenic nan default personification interface. Because these are PCs astatine heart, though, moreover if you're utilizing nan aforesaid Xbox relationship arsenic connected your Xbox Series X aliases Series S, your crippled room connected nan X-ROGs will only show titles included successful nan Xbox Play Anywhere program. Since you tin only fig retired what's not disposable by their absence, you whitethorn find a crippled you fancied playing connected nan spell isn't an option. Along pinch nan quality successful really nan room is sorted and filtered, it’s not nan smoothest modulation for console players.

The wide UI besides feels much cluttered than a handheld should, pinch a Home surface that shows your precocious played games supra a bunch of “Featured” offers, a statement of titles precocious added to Game Pass, and more. It’s a acold outcry from nan stark, minimalist elegance of nan Switch 2, highlighting really overmuch is near to beryllium desired successful optimizing nan Xbox for nan handheld form.

Unfortunately, Microsoft is besides crow-barring AI features in, pinch a caller Gaming Copilot adjunct (also coming to nan desktop PC Xbox app). It’s pitched arsenic “your individual gaming sidekick”, recognizing what’s happening onscreen and responding to sound inquiries for thief connected parts you’re stuck on. It speaks successful 1 of 4 “personalities”, including a cringey “heroic”—it’s detestable, but thankfully optional, truthful I quickly deactivated.

Win Some, Lose Some

Running Windows nether nan Xbox hood besides intends frustrations erstwhile it comes to package updates—is it conscionable nan Xbox app that needs an update, aliases nan full system? Should you spell done nan Windows App shop aliases nan Windows Update tool? Will a early strategy update break your games? It’s each a batch much convoluted than simply turning a console connected and playing a game. And, while you tin switch to a afloat Windows desktop position astatine immoderate time—and moreover link a rodent if you don’t fancy battling done Windows’ endless menus and sub-menus pinch nan X-ROGs’ thumbsticks aliases touchscreens—finding precisely what mounting whitethorn request fiddling pinch erstwhile you conscionable want to play a crippled tin beryllium a chore.

However, because nan X-ROGs are fundamentally regular PCs, they’re a batch much versatile than Nintendo aliases Valve’s efforts. Not only tin you play media, browse, aliases do thing other you mightiness do connected a PC (even Office tasks, if you dislike joy), but you tin instal immoderate different PC gaming client—Steam, Epic, GOG, and much are each available. Better still, nan Xbox app aggregates each games installed connected nan strategy into 1 room view, sloppy of wherever they originate. You tin moreover move your ROG Xbox into an ersatz Steam Deck by moving Steam successful Big Picture mode (although immoderate of its controller keybindings whitethorn not work).

The large win—pardon nan pun—is that you tin instal mods pinch ease. While I’ve gotten a fewer mods moving connected my Steam Deck complete nan years, its Linux underbelly makes things trickier. On nan X-ROGs, I’ve been capable to usage mods arsenic easy arsenic connected my main gaming desktop, pinch nary second-guessing if they’ll really work. It’s a awesome characteristic that’s facilitated by having modular Windows arsenic nan base.

Soft Where?

But wait, there’s a 3rd UI subordinate successful nan mix: Asus’ ain Armoury Crate SE software. Broadly, this is much of a instrumentality manager, pinch a dedicated fastener connected some consoles to bring up a Command Center speedy menu. This allows you to instantly move powerfulness profiles, create civilization power inputs, aliases group framework complaint limits. It besides offers a real-time show displaying useful strategy accusation for illustration temperature, CPU and GPU performance, artillery level and powerfulness drain, and nan existent framework rate.

However, afloat unfastened Armoury Crate and you’ll find an array of acold deeper controls, from granular strategy settings to tweaking colour profiles of nan LED rings that beryllium nether each thumbstick. It besides has its ain Update Center—yet different to check—and its ain unified library, chopped from nan Xbox app’s. After a week pinch nan X-ROGs, I’m yet acquainted pinch wherever functions live, but nan learning curve is steep, and having fundamentally 3 cardinal interfaces—Xbox, Windows, Armoury Crate—for a azygous instrumentality is ridiculous.

On this astatine least, nan X-ROGs are nary different from Asus’ original ROG Ally aliases 2024’s ROG Ally X, aliases moreover different Windows-based gaming handhelds, specified arsenic nan Lenovo Legion S Go. Hopping betwixt aggregate UIs doing variations of nan aforesaid point has go a benignant of jank that feels baked into nan full merchandise category. If you’re accustomed to that, you’ll consciousness correct astatine location pinch nan X-ROGs, pinch each their foibles.

However, it’s not unreasonable to expect nan Xbox branding present is apt to pull players who, while possibly much committed than “casual” gamers, still want a slick, pick-up-and-play acquisition from a handheld. If you instrumentality purely to nan Xbox app, nan X-ROGs tin beryllium adjacent to that, but nan much you want to get retired of them, nan little intuitive they are.

Spot nan Difference

That’s a batch to get your caput astir earlier getting started, but mercifully, it’s worthy it. Both nan ROG Xbox Ally and nan ROG Xbox Ally X are important improvements connected some of Asus’ predecessors. In fact, these mightiness beryllium 2 of nan champion handheld gaming PCs I’ve ever used—although nan usage lawsuit for each ends up being rather different.

At a glance, nan X-ROGs mightiness look separated only by colorways. The ROG Xbox Ally comes successful achromatic pinch multi-colored A/B/X/Y look buttons, while nan ROG Xbox Ally X opts for all-black pinch grey buttons. Both usage nan aforesaid 290.8 x 121.5 x 50.7mm shape factor, each subtly dressed up pinch near-microscopic “XBOX ROG” lettering cascading vertically down nan ammunition for illustration The Matrix code. They look and consciousness distinctly premium, arsenic you’d expect for their prices.

Ergonomics are superb, pinch angular grips emotion much for illustration holding a accepted Xbox controller than nan brick-with-a-screen of galore handheld PCs. All inputs are wrong reach, from nan traditionally asymmetrical thumbsticks to nan textured enarthrosis buttons and satisfyingly chunky triggers. At nan rear beryllium 2 macro buttons, pinch customizable inputs. Despite being nominally heavier than a Steam Deck’s 669 grams—Xbox ROG Ally weighs successful astatine 670 grams, nan Ally X astatine 715 grams—the masterful creation intends they beryllium amended successful nan manus and are much comfortable to usage for agelong play periods.

Both models besides usage nan aforesaid screen, a 7-inch, 1920 x 1080p, 16:9 IPS touchscreen sheet pinch a 120Hz refresh complaint and 500 nit brightness. Buyers will want to get a surface protector—it’s made of Gorilla Glass Victus, but fixed really often you’ll flick aliases swipe nan surface to navigate nan system, added protection feels necessary. When it’s not covered successful digit smudges, this is simply a great, crisp show astatine its default settings, and its capacity tin beryllium further tweaked successful Armoury Crate, either manually aliases pinch quicksets tailored to circumstantial gaming genres.

However, astatine nan prices these handhelds are coming successful at, it’s intolerable not to consciousness a spot shortchanged that nan surface isn’t OLED, moreover connected nan higher-priced ROG Xbox Ally X. These are fundamentally nan aforesaid screens arsenic connected Asus’ erstwhile ROG Ally, and contempt some X-ROGs offering a higher solution and refresh rate, nan Steam Deck OLED‘s cleanable achromatic levels and expertise to present HDR does still springiness it a flimsy edge.

Power Players

The X-ROGs much intelligibly diverge successful function. Some differences are small—the Ally’s triggers incorporated Hall effect tech, while nan Ally X uses Microsoft’s Impulse Triggers for much nuanced haptics. Both characteristic 2 USB-C ports astatine nan top—and you tin complaint done either—but nan Ally’s are some USB 3.2 Gen 2 (with DisplayPort 1.4 output and Power Delivery 3.0 support), while nan Ally X has 1 USB 4 larboard pinch Thunderbolt 4 compatibility, and 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (both pinch DisplayPort 2.1 out), giving much versatility.

Major distinctions travel down to earthy power. The Ally packs successful an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, 16GB LPDDR5-6400 RAM, and a 512GB SSD—no slouch, but wildly outclassed by nan Ally X. The flagship model’s Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme spot is an absolute beast, and it’s backed up by 24 GB LPDDR5X-8000 RAM and a 1TB SSD. The resulting quality is clear to see, some successful capacity and who each handheld is aimed at.

Installing Forza Horizon 5 connected both, nan Ally impressed initially, still gathering requirements for nan game’s “High” value preset. However, nan crippled automatically group nan framework complaint headdress to 30fps, while a buried mounting wrong nan Xbox app for nan Ally itself (absent connected nan Ally X) was group to “automatically limit games to 720p” resolution. Turning that disconnected and raising nan framework complaint to nan 120fps nan Ally is hypothetically tin of, capacity dived, resulting successful somewhat juddery races astir Mexico. Plugging nan Ally in, maxing its powerfulness floor plan to nan 20W “Turbo” mounting successful Armoury Crate, and boosting conscionable astir each different imaginable metric improved things, reaching a precocious of 48fps—eminently playable, but thing amazing.

On nan Ally X, however, Forza ran astatine a soft 60fps consecutive away, disconnected battery. Again, lifting nan framework headdress to 120 fps, moreover nan Ally X ne'er rather deed that magic number, but it did hover astir 78-85fps, while plugging successful and mounting nan console to its 25W Turbo max saw it occasionally crest complete 90fps. Similar capacity differentials were observed connected different demanding AAA games installed connected each handheld, including Gears of War: Reloaded, Avowed, and Halo Infinite—the Ally struggled while nan Ally X handled everything I threw astatine it.

The basal Ally tin radiance pinch little technologically demanding games, though. Hollow Knight: Silksong hits a accordant 120fps, while immoderate retro classics and indies installed via Steam—Final Fantasy IX, Dredge, and Owlboy among them—all ran without a hitch. Much for illustration nan Steam Deck itself, nan Ally feels champion suited to these smaller titles, which besides person nan use of not eating up nan full SSD. Forza unsocial required a afloat 4th of nan Ally’s storage, colossal instal sizes being different reminder of a deficiency of optimization. Both X-ROGs usage modular M.2 2280 facet SSDs, though, truthful they should beryllium easy upgradable, and some support microSD cards, too—again amended for smaller, little demanding games to beryllium installed on.

There’s 1 different workaround for capacity throttles aliases retention issues, though: unreality gaming, which is amazingly good implemented here. Testing retired Bethesda’s DOOM: The Dark Ages done Xbox Cloud Gaming (other platforms specified arsenic NVIDIA’s GeForce Now are besides accessible), it connected quickly, played without a azygous driblet out, and ran astatine a accordant 60 fps connected some X-ROGs. I don’t cognize what witchcraft Xbox has been doing backstage, but this is nan champion unreality gaming I’ve ever encountered.

Whatever and nevertheless you’re playing, artillery life is awesome for some X-ROGs. Even though nan Ally X again has an advantage—packing an 80Wh artillery vs nan Ally’s 60Wh—I regularly sewage astir six hours’ play retired of some units betwixt charges, depending connected nan game. Playing an hr of Hollow Knight: Silksong—again, not nan astir demanding title—on each took nan Ally from afloat to 85 percent, while nan Ally X dropped to 88 percent. Cloud gaming saw hardly immoderate drain connected either, astir 7 percent per hour, but locally installed Forza aliases Gears slurped up astir 30 to 35 percent of a afloat complaint connected some X-ROGs successful astir 45 minutes. Even that’s acold little draining than I expected, rendering some units amazingly viable for longer play.

Who Are These for?

Both X-ROGs guidelines retired successful nan progressively crowded section of handheld gaming PCs acknowledgment to beardown design, comfortableness of use, and cross-platform versatility that outpace astir of nan competition. Neither exemplary is perfect, but for its first task into nan handheld space, Microsoft gets a batch correct successful its business pinch Asus.

If you want a reasonably powerful gaming PC that tin tally mini to mid-size games pinch ease, and moreover immoderate much demanding ones successful a playable if not astounding state, nan ROG Xbox Ally is simply a awesome choice—especially if you’re happy to move to unreality gaming for nan astir demanding titles.

If you want uncompromising capacity and high-end capabilities, though, nan ROG Xbox Ally X is simply a clear winner. It breezes done everything nan baseline Ally does, and delivers authentic AAA gaming to boot. It’s exceptional. In doing so, it’s clearly, unabashedly targeting nan “hardcore” gamer—and it’s going to financially bleed them for nan privilege.

Those prices are by acold nan biggest obstacle for either model, but if you’re capable to scatter retired connected a high-end handheld, these tin return portable gaming to nan adjacent level.