Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: A Stellar Gaming Handheld, Despite Its Xbox Integration

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X has arrived, and with it, the promise of a new era for Windows gaming handhelds, largely thanks to Microsoft’s touted Xbox app integration. However, the reality is that, for the most part, Windows alternatives still can’t quite match the overall user experience of Valve’s Steam Deck. Despite its less-than-stellar Xbox console-like interface, the Xbox Ally X remains a phenomenal handheld, well worth considering thanks to its outstanding AMD processor.

At the heart of this device is the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme, delivering a significant performance boost over the original Steam Deck and other first-generation handhelds like the ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go. While competitors such as the Ayaneo 3 and AOKZOE A1X have offered similar raw power with AMD Radeon 890M-class GPUs, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X stands out with a more approachable, albeit still premium, price point. With its sights set on our guide for the best gaming handhelds, let’s explore what makes this Windows handheld a formidable contender.

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Specs

Design

The Xbox Ally X’s design immediately catches the eye with its unique grip. For the most part, however, it serves as a refined evolution of the existing ROG Ally X. It maintains the familiar black color scheme (contrasting with the white of the standard Xbox Ally), along with identical face buttons, d-pad, and thumbstick layout, complete with the signature RGB lighting rings. The sole new addition is the prominent Xbox button positioned on the front-left of the screen.

This means you shouldn’t expect a radical overhaul. There are no detachable controllers, no slide-out keyboard, no built-in kickstand, no exotic extra connections, and no touchpads akin to those found on the Steam Deck. It largely adheres to the classic Windows handheld formula, save for those distinctive grips.

And those grips truly make a difference. This is arguably the most comfortable gaming handheld available, with the added depth and contoured shape settling naturally into the hand, much like a premium PC controller. The distinctive split design at the bottom, giving the impression of a screen inserted between two controller halves, allows for a more secure wrap-around grip. This, coupled with the textured crosshatching, makes one-handed holding surprisingly manageable.

Beyond the grips, its ergonomics are broadly consistent with other handhelds. At 715g, it’s slightly heavier than a Steam Deck but significantly lighter than the 854g Lenovo Legion Go. The 7-inch screen’s proportion to the control layout feels well-balanced, though the noticeably wide bezels hint that a slightly larger display might have been accommodated within the chassis.

Display and sound

Delving deeper into the display, it features an LCD panel with a sharp 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) resolution, capable of a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Crucially, it supports variable refresh rate (VRR) with Freesync, allowing the screen to dynamically adjust its refresh rate to conserve battery life while eliminating screen tearing and stutter.

These specifications indicate a screen perfectly suited for gaming, offering the necessary speed and adaptability to handle both fast-paced titles at high frame rates and slower games in a manner that maximizes battery efficiency, all while delivering good image quality and a fluid visual experience.

However, when it comes to sheer image quality, this screen is competent but not groundbreaking. It boasts respectable viewing angles for an LCD and produces natural, adequately saturated colors. Yet, as a standard LCD without multi-zone backlighting, it struggles to achieve truly deep black levels. This results in a noticeable lack of contrast and vibrancy compared to OLED panels found in devices like the Steam Deck OLED and AOKZOE A1X. While technically not as quick in response time as OLEDs, this difference is largely negligible for a handheld of this nature.

Furthermore, this screen does not support HDR and covers 100% of the sRGB color space and 75% of the AdobeRGB color space, meaning its colors aren’t quite as vivid as those seen on the best gaming monitors.

Audio, on the other hand, is a strong point for the Xbox Ally X. Its stereo, front-facing speakers are impressively loud – often more so than needed – and maintain a respectable depth, avoiding a tinny or shrill sound profile. The headphone jack also delivers clean, clear audio, free from any noticeable background hiss or hum.

Operating system and Xbox app

Beyond its powerful Z2 Extreme processor and competitive price, much of the excitement surrounding the Xbox Ally X stemmed from Microsoft’s promise of a revolutionary new Xbox app experience for Windows gaming handhelds. However, while the updated app introduces some welcome features, it falls short of being a comprehensive solution to the inherent frustrations of navigating Windows with a d-pad and touchscreen.

The Xbox app launches automatically upon booting the Xbox Ally X, aiming to be a central hub for your installed games, Xbox profile, Game Pass access, cloud gaming options, and the Microsoft game store.

While its installed games section successfully aggregates titles from various launchers like Steam and Epic, launching them directly from the app, this is largely the extent of its centralized control over device navigation or settings.

Ultimately, the app is merely a reskinned version of the existing Xbox app for Windows. It’s therefore somewhat understandable that it doesn’t deeply integrate every specific function of the device. However, Microsoft appears to have missed a crucial opportunity to incorporate basic Windows controls, such as screen brightness, volume, power modes, and more, directly into the handheld interface.

This oversight is particularly baffling given that such integration would be invaluable for gaming handhelds and other scenarios where a keyboard and mouse are absent (like a PC connected to a TV). Valve has already demonstrated a highly effective solution with its Steam Big Picture mode; Microsoft simply needed to create its own equivalent.

Regarding what the app does offer: the main home screen displays a list of your recently played games – unfortunately, only as icons without titles – and predominantly promotes other games and Game Pass content.

Similarly, the Game Pass section focuses more on promoting the service itself rather than highlighting games you’ve already installed through it. The Library section, however, effectively consolidates all your installed games into a clean, intuitive interface, while the cloud gaming and store sections serve their expected purpose as portals for acquiring new titles.

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 minimal device management capabilities within the Xbox app, these functions are instead relegated to the Xbox/Asus overlay. This overlay can be summoned over games and other applications by pressing either the Xbox button or the adjacent Asus Command Center button.

Pressing the Xbox button leads to the overlay’s home section, where you can quickly launch one of your three most recently played games or open a game launcher. Tapping left brings you to the main Asus Command Center, which is the hub for all device settings.

Here, you can adjust brightness and volume, power down the device, switch between various power modes, set an FPS Limiter, enable AMD RSR, and change resolutions. The power modes allow the processor to run at a maximum output 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 but reduces performance. We’ll examine the impact of these settings in the performance section of this review.

To the right of the overlay’s home section lies the settings area, which redundantly duplicates volume, brightness, power, and network controls already present in the Command Center. Additionally, it offers an Xbox Social tab, Audio tab, screen capture tab, system monitoring tab, Xbox Achievements tab, the inevitable CoPilot AI tab, and a Widget Store tab.

This amalgamation feels overly complex and disjointed, with curious overlaps like having three different locations to adjust system volume (Command Center, Settings, Audio tab). While having these functions readily accessible is undoubtedly useful, the overall impression is one of a rushed implementation lacking holistic design. For instance, on my review unit, a recent automatic firmware update caused the Xbox button to launch 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 the overlay – a frustrating, though likely temporary, bug.

More critically, the Xbox app and overlay ultimately fail to address Windows’ inherently poor touchscreen and d-pad navigation experience. Microsoft urgently needs to develop a unified interface that centralizes core Windows functions into a truly mobile-friendly design, featuring a clean, scrolling app drawer and a simplified settings menu.

The current approach of haphazardly merging touch and mouse interfaces has already diminished 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 struggles of Windows 8, yet it still hasn’t been fully embraced.

Performance

Fortunately, despite the Xbox Ally X’s less-than-polished Xbox experience, its raw performance and gaming capabilities are exceptional. Once games are up and running – particularly through Steam – the controls operate flawlessly. The new AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor at the core of this machine delivers significantly higher frame rates than early-generation handhelds. While devices like the Ayaneo 3 and AOKZOE A1X might boast similar GPU power, the Ally X’s performance figures remain highly impressive.

Starting 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 provided 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 entirely satisfactory for controller input. Bumping FSR upscaling to balanced mode (which starts from a lower initial render resolution before upscaling) saw performance climb to a 49fps average.

In the more power-efficient 17W mode running on battery, performance decreased by roughly 25%, with our balanced upscaling average falling to 37fps. This is still just about playable, but for more intense combat, you might consider tweaking a few other settings, such as dropping to low overall quality, for a smoother experience. When playing at the same resolution as the Steam Deck, with balanced upscaling, an impressive 52fps average was achieved.

Furthermore, if you’re inclined, you can even (just about) experience Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing enabled at 1080p. Using the low ray tracing quality preset and FSR set to balanced, the Xbox Ally X delivered 29fps in the 35W power mode. While not my preferred way to play, the option is there.

Speaking of ray tracing, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a title that doesn’t allow this feature to be completely disabled. Yet, it performed admirably on the Xbox Ally X, even without any upscaling. With the low quality preset, you can achieve a 33fps average in the 35W mode. Switching to 17W mode reduces this to 29fps, but for a slower-paced game, this is still marginally playable.

For a slightly smoother frame rate, enabling FSR upscaling at the quality setting yielded a 42fps average in 35W mode (37fps at 17W), and balanced upscaling pushed this to a 46fps average at 35W (39fps at 17W). Throughout, despite the low quality setting, the game maintains a fantastic visual fidelity on a screen of this size.

Beyond specific modern AAA benchmarks, I also enjoyed a variety of older 3D titles, such as 2011’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, which consistently ran at well over 100fps in 17W mode.

Regarding thermals and acoustics, this handheld remains remarkably cool and quiet. Even in its most demanding 35W mode, it only reached 38dB from a distance of 10cm while running Cyberpunk 2077. In 17W mode, it registered a mere 33dB. All the while, the device only ever became slightly warm to the touch.

Battery life

Equipped with a substantial 80Wh battery, the Xbox Ally X delivers robust battery life for a gaming handheld. In its top 25W power mode, using the demanding PCMark 10 gaming battery life benchmark, the device lasted just under two hours. This figure impressively extended to three hours when operating in the 17W mode.

However, both these tests were conducted without enabling the FPS Limiter, which helps reduce GPU workload. We anticipate updating this review with further testing that includes the FPS limiter’s impact.

For general use, 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 achieved over 17 hours in its 17W mode – a stark contrast to the typical sub-eight-hour performance of most gaming laptops.

Price

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X carries a price tag of $999 / £799, making it a significant investment and considerably more expensive than the Steam Deck OLED and many first-generation handhelds. However, this pricing positions it comfortably below other competing handhelds that feature second-generation AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chips. The UK price, in particular, is exceptionally competitive, matching that of the original ROG Ally X. In comparison, devices like the AOKZOE A1X often retail for upwards of $1,300.

Alternatives

AOKZOE A1X

Currently a leading Windows gaming handheld in terms of raw performance and screen quality, the AOKZOE A1X features a similar second-generation AMD processor to the Xbox Ally X. However, it comes at a significantly higher price and offers shorter battery life.

Asus ROG Ally X

Despite housing an older generation processor, the original ROG Ally X remains a strong handheld option. It shares nearly all the same features as the Xbox Ally X, differing primarily in its slower processing power. However, its price has not yet dropped sufficiently below that of the Xbox Ally X. Should Asus significantly reduce its cost, perhaps to around $600-$700, it would become an excellent mid-range choice.

Steam Deck OLED

The Steam Deck’s user interface continues to be unparalleled for ease of use. With the Steam Deck OLED priced at half that of the Xbox Ally X, it undoubtedly retains its title as the best overall gaming handheld. While its 800p screen and older processor are beginning to show their age, it remains the device to beat for many users.

Verdict

The highly anticipated vision of an Xbox-branded Windows device finally delivering a slick, streamlined gaming handheld interface has not fully materialized with the Xbox Ally X. However, despite its Xbox-branded additions feeling somewhat superficial, this device still stands as the benchmark for Windows handhelds right now.

Much of its success stems from the sheer power of its AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, which provides a truly noticeable leap in gaming performance compared to the Steam Deck and other earlier-generation handhelds. Furthermore, the uniquely designed, controller-style grips on the Xbox Ally X are a highly commendable addition, significantly enhancing comfort.

Crucially, while it remains a premium and expensive gaming handheld, its pricing is remarkably competitive within its performance category. For anyone seeking the absolute best Windows handheld experience currently available, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is a compelling choice.