Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: A Powerful Handheld That Shines Beyond Its Xbox Identity

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The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is here, and while many hoped for a new era in Windows gaming handhelds spearheaded by Microsoft’s Xbox app, the reality is a familiar one. For the most part, this device highlights why Windows alternatives often struggle to match the Steam Deck’s seamless usability. However, despite its disappointing Xbox console-like experience, the Xbox Ally X remains an excellent handheld well worth considering, largely thanks to its fantastic AMD processor and competitive pricing.

Specs

Design

The Xbox Ally X immediately distinguishes itself with its unique grip design. However, in most other aspects, it’s an evolution of the existing ROG Ally X. It maintains the same color palette (black for the Xbox Ally X, white for the original Ally), along with identical face buttons, D-pad, and thumbstick design, complete with RGB lighting rings. The sole new addition is an Xbox button positioned to the front left of the screen.

Therefore, don’t expect a revolution in terms of hardware features. There are no detachable controllers, no slide-out keyboard, no integrated kickstand, no unique extra connections, and no touchpads like those found on the Steam Deck. It embodies the classic Windows handheld form factor, save for those distinct grips.

These grips, it must be said, are surprisingly effective. This is arguably the most comfortable gaming handheld I’ve ever used. Their enhanced depth and fullness settle naturally into the hand, reminiscent of premium PC controller designs. The distinctive split section at the bottom, making the handheld appear as if a controller has been cleaved in two and a screen inserted, allows for a truly immersive wrap-around grip. This, combined with the textured crosshatching pattern, enables comfortable one-handed use.

Beyond the grips, the ergonomics largely mirror other handhelds. At 715g, it’s slightly heavier than a Steam Deck but considerably lighter than the Lenovo Legion Go’s 854g. The overall integration of the 7-inch screen with the control layout feels balanced, although the relatively wide bezels around the display hint that a slightly larger screen could have potentially been accommodated within the chassis.

Display and Sound

Delving into the screen specifics, we find an LCD panel boasting a 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) resolution and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. Crucially, it supports Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) with FreeSync, allowing the screen to adapt to lower refresh rates for battery conservation while eliminating screen tearing and stutter.

These specifications point to a screen well-suited for gaming, providing the responsiveness and adaptability needed for both high-frame-rate action and battery-saving modes, all while maintaining good image clarity and a smooth visual experience.

However, when it comes to raw image quality, this screen is competent but not exceptional. It offers commendable viewing angles for an LCD and produces natural, adequately saturated colors. Yet, as a standard LCD without multi-zone backlighting, it struggles to achieve deep black levels. This results in a noticeable lack of contrast and visual ‘punch’ compared to OLED panels found on devices like the Steam Deck OLED. While technically not as fast in response time as OLEDs, this difference is less impactful on a handheld device of this nature.

Furthermore, this screen does not support HDR and covers 100% of the sRGB color space and only 75% of AdobeRGB. Consequently, its colors may lack some of the vividness seen on high-end gaming monitors.

Audio, on the other hand, is a strong point for the Xbox Ally X. Its stereo, front-firing speakers deliver impressive volume – often more than necessary – and maintain a respectable amount of depth, preventing them from sounding overly shrill or tinny. The headphone jack also provides clean, clear audio, devoid of any discernible background hiss or hum.

Operating system and Xbox app

Beyond its powerful Z2 Extreme processor and competitive pricing, much of the excitement surrounding the Xbox Ally X centered on Microsoft’s promise of a revitalized Xbox app experience, designed to revolutionize Windows gaming handheld usability. While the new app introduces some welcome features, it falls well short of comprehensively addressing the inherent frustrations of navigating Windows with a D-pad and touchscreen.

Upon booting, the Xbox app launches immediately, serving as a central hub for your installed games, Xbox profile, Game Pass access, Cloud gaming options, and the Microsoft game store.

The “installed games” section cleverly integrates titles from other launchers like Steam and Epic, allowing you to launch them directly from the app. However, this is largely the extent of the app’s ambition as a unified access point for device navigation or settings control.

Given that the app is essentially a refreshed version of the existing Xbox app for Windows, its limited integration with device-specific functions is somewhat understandable. Yet, Microsoft has conspicuously missed a crucial opportunity to incorporate standard Windows controls such as screen brightness, volume, power mode settings, and more. This oversight is perplexing, especially considering how beneficial such integration would be for handheld gaming and other keyboard/mouse-less Windows setups (e.g., a PC connected to a TV). Valve has already demonstrated a highly successful model for this with its Steam Big Picture mode – a clear blueprint Microsoft could have followed.

Turning to what the app does offer, the main home screen presents a list of your recently played games – frustratingly, only as icons without titles – and primarily serves to promote other games and Game Pass subscriptions.

Similarly, within the Game Pass section, the focus isn’t on highlighting games you already have installed through the service but rather on encouraging further subscriptions. The “Library” section is where your installed games are neatly consolidated into a clean, intuitive interface, while the “Cloud gaming” and “Store” sections function as expected portals for discovering new titles.

Accessing the “Friends” section allows you to chat with your Xbox contacts, view who’s online, and communicate via voice, voice-to-text, or the on-screen keyboard.

With such limited device management capabilities within the Xbox app itself, control over these features is relegated to the Xbox/Asus overlay. This overlay activates over games and other running applications when either the dedicated Xbox button or the adjacent Asus Command Center button is pressed.

Pressing the Xbox button typically directs you to the overlay’s home section, from which you can launch one of your last three played games or open a game launcher. A leftward tap navigates you to the main Asus Command Center, the central hub for all device settings.

Here, you can adjust brightness and volume, power down the device, toggle between power modes, set the FPS Limiter, enable AMD RSR, and change display resolutions. The power modes allow the processor to operate at a maximum of 13W (Silent), 17W (Performance), and either 25W on battery or 35W when plugged in (both labeled Turbo mode). Lower power consumption extends battery life at the expense of performance, a trade-off we explore further in the performance section.

To the right of the overlay’s home section lies the “settings” tab, which redundantly duplicates volume, brightness, power, and network controls already available in the Command Center. Further tabs include Xbox Social, Audio, screen capture, system monitoring, Xbox Achievements, the obligatory CoPilot AI, and a Widget Store.

The cumulative effect of these overlapping interfaces is a sense of excessive complexity and fussiness, exemplified by having three distinct locations to control system volume (Command Center, Settings, Audio). While the availability of most functions is undeniably useful, the entire experience feels rushed and lacks cohesive, holistic design.

Furthermore, on my review unit, a recent automatic firmware update caused the Xbox button to erroneously load Steam Big Picture, rendering the D-pad navigation within the overlay non-functional. Consequently, I had to rely on the ROG Command Center button to access and navigate these features. While likely a bug to be promptly addressed, it contributed to a frustrating user experience.

Ultimately, neither the Xbox app nor its overlay can overcome the fundamental issue: Windows itself still provides a subpar touchscreen and D-pad navigation experience. Microsoft urgently needs to develop a singular, streamlined interface that consolidates core Windows functions into a proper mobile-style environment, complete with a clean, scrolling app drawer, a straightforward settings menu, and so forth.

The current approach, which awkwardly merges touch and mouse interfaces, has degraded the Windows desktop experience and remains abysmal on touchscreen devices. This is a lesson the company should have learned over a decade ago with the failure of Windows 8, yet it continues to be unaddressed.

Performance

Fortunately, while the promised sleek Xbox experience falls short, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X delivers an excellent raw performance and gaming experience. Once games are up and running – particularly those launched via Steam – the controls operate flawlessly. The new AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor at the heart of this machine provides significantly higher frame rates than early-generation handhelds. While devices like the Ayaneo 3 and AOKZOE A1X may offer similar GPU power, the Ally X’s performance figures are consistently impressive.

Beginning with Cyberpunk 2077, I initiated testing in the highest 35W power mode (with the device plugged in). Running the game at 1080p with medium detail settings and FSR upscaling set to ‘quality’, the Xbox Ally X delivered a perfectly playable experience. An average of 43fps with a 1% low of 33fps might not feel perfectly smooth with a mouse and keyboard, but it proved perfectly adequate for controller input. Boosting the FSR upscaling to ‘balanced’ mode (which starts at a lower initial render resolution before upscaling) saw performance jump to a 49fps average.

In the lower-power 17W mode, running on battery, performance decreased by approximately 25%, with our average using balanced upscaling falling to 37fps. This is still just about playable, though you might consider further tweaking settings – perhaps dropping to ‘low’ overall quality – to achieve a smoother experience during more intense combat sequences. Playing at the same resolution as the Steam Deck, with balanced upscaling, yielded a 52fps average.

Intriguingly, if you’re so inclined, you can even (just barely) play with ray tracing enabled in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p. Utilizing the ‘low’ ray tracing quality preset and FSR set to ‘balanced’ again, the Xbox Ally X achieved 29fps in the 35W power mode. While not my preferred way to experience the game, the option is available.

Speaking of ray tracing, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a title that doesn’t allow for its complete disablement. Yet, it ran remarkably well on the Xbox Ally X, even without any upscaling. With the ‘low quality’ preset, you can play this game at an average of 33fps in the 35W mode. Switching to 17W mode saw this drop to 29fps, but for a slower-paced game like this, it remained acceptably playable.

For a noticeably smoother frame rate, enabling FSR upscaling at the ‘quality’ setting resulted in a 42fps average in 35W mode (37fps at 17W), and employing ‘balanced’ upscaling further boosted this to a 46fps average at 35W (39fps at 17W). Throughout these tests, even with the quality setting on ‘low’, the game retained its fantastic visual appeal at this resolution on a screen of this size.

Beyond rigorous benchmark runs in contemporary AAA titles, I also enjoyed a variety of older 3D games, such as 2011’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, which cruised along at well over 100fps even in 17W mode.

Regarding heat and noise, this handheld maintains a remarkably cool and quiet operation. Even in its maximum 35W mode, fan noise only registered 38dB from 10cm away during Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay. In 17W mode, it dropped to a mere 33dB. Throughout, the device only ever became mildly warm to the touch.

Battery life

Housing a substantial 80Wh battery, the Xbox Ally X delivers solid battery life for a gaming handheld. In the demanding PCMark 10 gaming battery life benchmark, the handheld endured for just under two hours in its peak 25W power mode. However, this dramatically increased to three hours when utilizing the 17W mode.

It’s worth noting that both these tests were conducted without the FPS Limiter activated, which would further reduce the GPU’s workload. We anticipate updating this review with results incorporating the FPS limiter in the near future.

For general usage – such as web browsing or video playback – the Xbox Ally X’s battery life is phenomenal. In the PCMark 10 Office benchmark, used for our gaming laptop reviews, it lasted over 17 hours in its 17W mode. This is a remarkable achievement, typically outperforming most gaming laptops by more than double their battery endurance.

Price

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is priced at $999 / £799, placing it as a premium purchase significantly more expensive than the Steam Deck OLED and many first-generation handhelds. However, it positions itself comfortably below other competing handhelds featuring similar second-generation AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chips. The UK price, in particular, is exceptionally competitive, matching that of the existing ROG Ally X. In contrast, devices like the AOKZOE A1X can cost upwards of $1,300.

Alternatives

AOKZOE A1X

Currently, the AOKZOE A1X stands as a champion among Windows gaming handhelds in terms of both performance and screen quality, also incorporating a comparable second-generation AMD processor to the Xbox Ally X. However, it comes with a substantially higher price tag and offers inferior battery life.

Asus ROG Ally X

Despite featuring an older generation processor, the original ROG Ally X remains a strong handheld choice. It largely shares the same features as the Xbox Ally X, differing primarily in its slower processor. Currently, its price hasn’t fallen sufficiently below the Xbox Ally X to make it a clear budget alternative. Should Asus significantly reduce its price to around $600-$700, it would become the definitive mid-range option.

Steam Deck OLED

The Steam Deck’s interface continues to be unparalleled for ease of use. With the Steam Deck OLED being roughly half the price of the Xbox Ally X, it remains arguably the best overall gaming handheld. While its 800p screen and older processor are showing their age, it still offers an unmatched user experience.

Verdict

The grand expectation that an Xbox-branded Windows device would finally deliver a slick, streamlined gaming handheld interface has not been fully realized with the Xbox Ally X. However, despite its Xbox additions feeling largely superficial, this device nonetheless stands as the premier Windows handheld available today.

Much of its appeal stems from the raw power of its AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, which provides a genuinely significant leap in gaming performance compared to the Steam Deck and earlier-generation handhelds. Furthermore, the uniquely designed, controller-style grips on the Xbox Ally X are a notable and welcome ergonomic improvement.

Perhaps the most compelling factor is its pricing. While still a premium gaming handheld, it is far more competitively priced than other devices within its performance class. If you’re seeking the best Windows handheld currently available, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is undoubtedly it.