When the Asus ROG Ally debuted last year, it came with some caveats. Yes, gaming performance was good, but battery life wasn’t. And while the design and build quality have stood up to the competition, the temperature management has not. The Asus PDA was undoubtedly a positive entry in the segment, but it had serious limitations that prevented it from truly challenging the heavyweights. ROG Ally can be an alternative to Steam Deck, but not a replacement.
Fast forward a year and Asus is back with another gaming laptop. Asus ROG Ally X debuted on June 2, ahead of Computex Taipei. The portable gaming PC tries to eliminate the obvious shortcomings of the ROG Ally with tweaks and improvements across the board. The upgrades are small but important — the laptop’s battery capacity (80Wh) is significantly higher than the original (40Wh), it has more storage and memory, and it’s said to have better cooling , than the ROG Ally. There are other changes that make the portable device better.
Two days after its launch, the Asus ROG Ally X was present at the company’s booth at Computex, where Gadgets 360 got the chance to test it for an extended period of time. It’s hard to tell how spec boosts translate into real performance improvements based on early and short hands-on experience, but first impressions can go a long way. The first thing that strikes is the new color scheme, which makes the ROG Ally X – well, ironically – less impressive. Now in black, this portable gaming PC is a perfect match for the competition (Steam Deck, MSI Claw A1M, Lenovo Legion Go all in black). Ally’s original white color, although more prone to dirt from your hands, conveyed a distinct aesthetic.
The black color makes the ROG Ally X less impressive
ROG Ally X retains the design of its predecessor, and little has changed on the front panel. It offers the same 7-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS touch display that refreshes at 120 Hz and has a brightness of up to 500 nits. The D-pad has a more expressive design and a new matte finish – Asus says it also has a more tactile feel. The face buttons are also the same, but the company says they are “more springy”. The Taiwanese firm has equipped the PDA with new joystick modules that are said to offer more control when aiming, a smoother feel and improved durability.
The changes are more noticeable when looking at the console from the sides and back. Due to the larger battery, the Asus ROG Ally X is slightly thicker than the ROG Ally, reaching 1.45 inches compared to its predecessor’s 1.28 inches. With rounder and fuller handles, the new handheld is also more ergonomic. I picked up and played both the Ally X and the original Ally in my hands at Computex; the new handheld feels a little more powerful and solid in your hands. It’s also a bit harder. But it’s impressive how Asus has kept the weight of the new PDA at 678 grams (the standard Ally weighs 608 grams), despite the larger battery and larger handles. The shoulder buttons have also been updated: they have become wider and more ergonomic. The back buttons, on the other hand, are now smaller to avoid accidental presses. These changes certainly improve the feel of the laptop in the hand.
Asus ROG Ally X lies more ergonomically in your hands
The bigger changes, however, are under the hood. A ROG Ally with a 40Wh battery wouldn’t be able to last two hours of demanding PC gaming. Its insufficient battery was perhaps its biggest drawback and prevented it from becoming a truly portable laptop. The ROG Ally X addresses this shortcoming with an 80Wh battery that should result in longer gaming sessions. Playback time numbers are still unknown, and Asus hasn’t provided details on battery performance, but that should become clear once the device is tested in detail.
The laptop’s memory has also been updated, the ROG Ally X has received more RAM — 24 GB at a higher speed of 7500 MHz, of which 16 GB will be allocated to the system and 8 GB to the GPU. This should probably lead to better gaming performance overall, but don’t expect a huge improvement as the Ally X is still powered by the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Zen 4 platform with RDNA 3 graphics, just like the 2023 ROG Ally. The new PDA also comes with more storage, a 1TB SSD with support for the more common 2280 M.2 drives instead of the standard 2230 used in the ROG Ally.
Ports have also been changed, with Asus ditching its signature XG Mobile port for two USB Type-C ports, one of which supports Thunderbolt 4. Asus also claims to have redesigned the PDA’s cooling system. The ROG Ally X uses smaller fans that make room for a larger battery, but provide better airflow — about 24 percent more than the previous model, according to Asus. It is also claimed to reduce the touchscreen temperature by up to 6 degrees Celsius. The 2023 model did have issues with thermal management, so this is a welcome change. But the real thermal characteristics will become clearer only with long-term use.
The location of the ports has been changed, and the ROG Ally X now has two USB Type-C connectors
One big thing that held the Asus ROG Ally back and works against the new model is the OS. ROG Ally X comes with Windows 11, which, despite its flexibility and versatility, remains a clunky and unintuitive touch interface for touchscreens. Sure, it allows the handheld to function as a Pocket PC with attached controllers, but it pales in comparison to the Steam Deck’s SteamOS, which offers a smoother, more console-like interface. This time, however, Asus has released a new version of the Armory Crate SE software, which promises a more customizable interface and an easier-to-navigate game library.
At Computex, Gadgets 360 tested games like Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, Palworld, and Tekken 8. The games ran smoothly and we didn’t notice any overheating issues in our short time with the PDA. This was different from the hands-on experience with the Zotac Zone, another new PDA introduced at Computex. Zotac’s Windows-based laptop crashed while running Horizon Forbidden West and showed signs of overheating. A detailed review will shed more light on the gaming and thermal performance of the new Ally X, but given the improvements made to an already decent laptop, the ROG Ally X might be the easiest to recommend among its Windows-based counterparts.
ROG Ally X is supported by Windows OS
However, upgrades also come at a price. The Asus ROG Ally X is priced at $799 (roughly Rs. 66,700), which is $100 more than the 2023 version of the Z1 Extreme. Pricing in India should be available closer to the launch here, which Asus said should happen later this year. And while all the updates bring significant improvements, an OLED screen would also be a nice addition. But considering the price, it seems that Asus made the right choice to update its mid-range PDA. The verdict can wait until a detailed review, but the ROG Ally X impressed us during hands-on use with the PDA. It may not be a true successor to the 2023 model, but it looks like a success.
Disclosure: Asus sponsored the correspondent’s flights and hotel for the event in Taipei.
