Customer Ratings & Reviews

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Perfect for Weekly Hotel Travel I travel and stay in hotels every week, and this device has been a game-changer. It’s powerful enough to run everything I play smoothly, but still compact and easy to pack. Setup in hotels is quick, whether I’m playing handheld or docked to a TV. Battery life is solid for travel days, performance is impressive for the size, and it feels well-built and premium. It’s basically a full gaming setup that fits in my bag. If you travel often and still want a great gaming experience on the road, this is absolutely worth it. Highly recommend.

I had the OG ally for a few years and wanted to upgrade. Not for hardware specs as the games I played ran great on the old Ally, I mainly wanted this because of the handgrips. It is nice to be able to play on higher graphic settings though. Pros: Easy to hold over the 1st gen Ally Nice to not have to upgrade the SSD Great placement for buttons Longer battery life. Played WoW on turbo for about 3 hours before the battery warning came up. I got this before Christmas and have yet had to do a hard restart or task manager option to force close anything. No lock ups or lag in gameplay. Two USB-C ports. Audio is great Personal Complaints: The Armoury crate, Menu, View and Command Center buttons were swapped compared to the 1st gen ally. It took a bit to get used to as I use some of those buttons for gameplay. I have a scuff controller, and the triggers have sliders that you can switch the action of the trigger to just be a button or a full trigger, wish the ally had those options as well. Now let’s address the cons that folks are saying about this though.... Doesn’t play xbox games----no crap, it’s not a xbox. It’s a PC. Took forever to set up---get better internet. Mine took roughly 15 minutes and I was on the windows desktop downloading games. Cheap plastic and makes creaking sounds—ok, maybe you got a messed up one. Mine doesn’t creak or make sounds. Its study and is well built. Small Screen—I guess but we are talking about being able to play games on the go and not having to drag an entire rig or laptop around with you. Some complain the bezel is too big, but I really don’t have a problem with it at all. Loud buttons—they can be if you are wanting dead quiet. Not loud enough to keep the wife awake at night. Xbox UI bugs—all these complaints seem to be user errors. I haven’t run into a single issue yet. Only thing I don’t like is when you first startup, it goes to the xbox UI and you have to press 3 buttons to navigate to windows desktop.

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, whew that is a mouthful to try and say every time you talk about this thing. Anyway, this thing is Asus's 3rd go at making a PC Handheld, this time in partnership with Microsoft's Xbox team. From the start with the ROG Ally we were given a great windows-based handheld that performed well, but had a few stumbling blocks in its way, with less than stellar battery life, and a pretty common flaw leading to dead SD card readers. (Thankfully this was addressed with later revisions) Then our first major upgrade almost a year later with the Ally X, upping the RAM, both in quantity and speed giving a bit of a performance boost, while also doubling the battery life through the brute force of just straight up doubling the battery capacity. Slightly better ergonomics rounded the whole thing out for a great refinement of what the ROG Ally was truly meant to be. Now, another year has passed, and we now have the XBOX ROG Ally X, both a refinement to the form factor once again, as well as a significant upgrade to the APU on board. Visibly jarring at first glance with its 'controller' handles my first impressions really were "This looks so dumb." But getting my hands on it actually changed my mind. So, let's dig into the Wins and Losses of this new handheld. Starting with the Wins: Performance/Efficiency: The Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme APU gives a modest performance increase with faster RAM, and a little more top end grunt. However the true excellence here is how much performance it gets in the performance mode at 17Watts. At this setting your can expect the same or better overall performance as the ROG Ally or ROG Ally X has with the Z1 Extreme APU at 25Watts. Which is amazing and really let's this machine shine giving it the kind of battery life that will start letting you think more about the game you are playing than should I look for an outlet soon. Ergonomics: While I said they look dumb, those handles completely off set a negative of the new handheld, its weight, it clocks in heavier than previous models, but the way it's distributed in your hands almost makes it feel lighter, or at the very least makes it feel like it weighs about the same. I won't say the same things as I'm sure so many others have said about it "Feeling like an Xbox controller" because to me it doesn't really feel the same, but it does feel good in the hands, enough so that I think they could have gotten away with larger paddles on the back because there's more to hold onto it would be less likely to accidently press them even if they were bigger. The Losses: Moving buttons around: Not really an issue if you have never used one of the previous versions of the Ally before, but if your coming from the Ally or Ally X, they swapped the Start/Select buttons with the armory crate/menu buttons or whatever you want to call them here. That kind of messes with muscle memory a bit, not a big deal, but felt rude. Xbox Full Screen Experience: There is a lot of promise here. But as of right now it's a tad underbaked. The XBOX app on PC focuses too much on trying to sell to you than being a Hub for your games. And your not really getting any more performance here than you do in regular desktop mode. It's great that they are taking steps to make gaming a priority on windows, and giving us an option to cut the fat of the OS when we need/want to. But it's terribly limited. I would like to see the Full Screen Experience give me more control over it. Microsoft/Xbox is not subsidizing this from what I can gather, and Asus is handling the hardware. So the investment they made was just a windows update. Let me set my Home App to whatever I want. I want to launch into the Full Screen Experience right into Steam Big Picture mode without the xbox app running at all. Or launch into the Armory Crate Library without xbox running in the background. It's my PC let me set it up the way I want. Marketing: And the other big Loss for this is the marketing. Xbox's marketing of "This is an Xbox" has been a big push to say that basically anything with a screen is an Xbox thanks to their game streaming service. And that marketing is a bit misleading at best, and a downright lie at worst. What we have here is a PC Handheld. With a focus on Xbox style controls, a dedicated Xbox Button, and an Xbox themed front end. But that's where it ends. People want to think console with this marketing push. So when they crash into the foibles of managing a Windows machine, Windows Update, Armory Crate Updates, My Asus Updates. The several hours of setup and updating before you can really jump into a game, it turns them away before they've even really started. This partnership should have really pushed to consolidate all of that into a single update location within the XBOX app if that's really what they were trying to do as far as making this a console. Overall, I came into this knowing exactly what I was getting into as I also own the Ally, and Ally X handhelds that came before as well as the Steam Deck that really jumpstarted the Handheld PC form factor in the wider market. So for me this device is a total win, I love it. The ergonomics are amazing, performance is great for a handheld, and you can pick it up in a brick-and-mortar store. All big wins for me. It gets my recommendation, with some minor notes. If you already have a premium gaming handheld like the Ally X or the Legion Go, or something in that realm. Then unless your passing your current handheld on to someone else, or selling it to offset the cost of new hardware, then you can probably give this a pass. It's a great leap in battery life compared to a lot of other contemporary handhelds, but only a modest overall performance increase. Around 30% more than the Z1E when both are running at 17W, and only about a 10% or less increase when both are running at 25+ Watts. This is definitely a PC Handheld for the enthusiast who wants the best they can get. Because to get any better, you're paying an additional 50% more on top of it at least. Just remember, this is a PC handheld and comes with all the trappings of a Windows PC. Things are getting better, but some of the 'Jank' is still there.

I recently purchased the ROG Xbox Ally X from BestBuy and I couldn’t be happier. The performance is outstanding for a handheld — games run incredibly smooth, the screen is bright and sharp, and the build quality feels premium. Battery life is much improved compared to older models, and the ergonomics make long gaming sessions super comfortable. The integration with Xbox Game Pass is seamless, and the overall experience feels like having a powerful gaming PC in my hands. If you want portability without sacrificing performance, this device is absolutely worth it. Highly recommended!

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is an almost perfect Windows handheld. Had it not been for a particular component that I feel misses the mark (which I'll discuss later in this review), this would have been a five star product. With that said, the Xbox Ally X gets everything else right and delivers an impressive handheld gaming experience with some of the best gaming performance stats you'll find on the market. From unrivaled ergonomics, to the best speakers I've ever heard on any handheld, there's very few handheld consoles that will be able to go toe-to-toe with the Xbox Ally X. In terms of build quality and design, the Xbox Ally X not only feels premium in the hands, but it has the best ergonomics I've ever experienced on any handheld. This is of course due to the wonderful controller grips which were a result of a collaborative effort between Asus and Xbox. I've always praised Xbox for designing the best controller in console history and their years of experience are certainly showcased here. I'm able to game on the Xbox Ally X for hours due to how extremely comfortable the grips are to hold. The face buttons, as well as the shoulder buttons & D-pad, all feel premium. I'm a huge fan of the power button fingerprint unlock feature at the desktop screen login. Not once did I have an issue with the Xbox Ally X not detecting my fingerprint. The thumbsticks are an absolute dream. They feel very solid, articulate very smoothly, and I love that the rubber grips have a smooth surface on the concave section, while housing a coin-edge outer rim to ensure a non-slip experience. Huge praise to Asus for making the speakers front-firing. They are hands-down the best speakers I've ever heard on any handheld. They get loud! Not just that, but even at higher volumes, the mids and highs are very crisp and clear. Dialogue is full of depth and presence. Bass also has decent presence and it never distorted when at max volume. The only thing I would add is a small trackpad. I find it much more convenient when navigating through Windows, or closing game launcher pop-ups, versus having to take my hand off the grip to interact with the screen every time. I've spent the last week playing several AA/AAA titles at 1080p on medium settings. In terms of handheld performance, the Asus Xbox Ally X packs a serious punch. Under the hood, it's outfitted with the latest and greatest mobile APU/NPU from AMD: The Ryzen AI Z2 extreme processor. Another upgrade over the last generation ROG Allys is the 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM. Coming from the original Asus ROG Ally, it's nice to know that I have a larger unified memory pool for texture packs or mods. Combined with AMD Freesync, I had a very smooth and seamless gaming experience. I ran a few benchmarks and have included my average FPS stats below: All Games Were Ran in Turbo Mode in the Armoury Crate Software @ 1920x1080: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Location: Spring Meadows Graphics: Medium Preset Scaling Mode: Quality Avg FPS:41 Avg CPU/GPU temp: 65°C Alan Wake 2 Location: Initiation 2:Casey Graphics: Medium Preset Render Resolution: 1280x720 (Quality) Avg FPS: 42 Avg CPU/GPU temp: 68°C Doom The Dark Ages Location: Sentinel Command Station Upscaler: FSR FSR: Balanced Graphics Settings: Handheld Avg FPS: 61 Avg CPU/GPU temp: 73°C Time Spy Score: 3858 Graphics Score: 3518 CPU Score: 8556 Even with demanding AAA games, the Xbox Ally X delivers solid performance at 1080p on medium settings. The beauty here is that because it features a smaller 7-inch display, you can always lower the resolution to 900p or 720p, without sacrificing too much on visual fidelity. For example, I lowered the resolution on Alan Wake 2 to 900p and went from an average frame rate of 42 to 54. The game still looked fantastic in 900p on the 7-inch display! One important thing I'd like to note is that during a lot of the press release information, I read that the Xbox full screen experience on the Xbox Ally X would run your games more optimally and thus lead to better performance. After a ton of testing, I did not notice any performance differences when running games from the Xbox full screen experience mode (which requires a restart), versus running them in Windows directly from their game launcher (e.g. Steam, Epic Games, GOG, Battlenet). For reference, all armoury crate driver updates, Windows updates, and the latest BIOS update was performed. With that said, I do still prefer using the Xbox full screen experience during my gaming sessions as it provides a consolidated dashboard to launch all of my games from; regardless of platform. I also love that Xbox lists several handheld optimized games on their website that would run optimally on the Asus Xbox Ally X. And now, for the part where I feel that Asus missed the mark: No OLED display or HDR! Unfortunately, we are still getting the same 7-inch IPS display that we got with the original Asus ROG Ally back in June 2023. While it's by no means a bad display, it's age is starting to show. The IPS display does meet the 100% sRGB standard, and while it does have good color reproduction that one would expect from IPS, it is lacking that "color pop" and depth that you get with OLED and HDR. When it comes to dark scenes, you can tell that the contrast is just not on par with OLED and it's inky blacks. Since IPS relies on a backlight, sometimes blacks can appear a bit gray. It's not a huge deal since it is a handheld display after all, but I feel that we should have gotten OLED this time around; especially considering that this is Asus's flagship product. Despite the lack of OLED and HDR, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is still one of the best Windows handhelds on the market. The ergonomics are unrivaled, the Ryzen AI Z2 & 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM deliver solid handheld performance at 1080p, the front firing speakers are best in class, armoury crate software delivers incredible fine tuning & customizability, and the Xbox full screen experience provides a seamless user interface from which you can enjoy all of your games. If you've been on the hunt for a powerful Windows based handheld, and if you don't mind not having the absolute latest display technology, I highly recommend checking out the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X.

Screen is a little too small compared to the rest of it but its 1080p so it looks amazing, it doesn't have hall-affect sticks, it's not OLED, but it is 120hz, it has amazing cooling, it doesn't come with a dock, it doesn't come with a case or cover, and the storage isn't enough to download many games, the battery is amazing, it's really heavy, it's the about the same size as a steam deck but it is a lot thicker but it has great performance.

I’ve been using the ASUS ROG Ally X for a while now, and overall it’s an impressive handheld gaming PC with excellent performance and lightning-fast game load times. It works smoothly across multiple platforms—Xbox Cloud Gaming, Steam, Battle.net, Epic, and more—making it incredibly versatile compared to a traditional console. As expected with any Windows-based device, you’ll encounter occasional bugs or small quirks, but nothing that truly interrupts the gaming experience. The built-in speakers on the base console deliver surprisingly rich and loud sound, which makes handheld gaming much more immersive. Visual quality is great as well, with fast refresh rates and sharp detail. I do wish it came with an OLED screen for deeper blacks and richer colors, but the DLCD display still looks very good and gets the job done. For users with larger hands, the controls might feel a bit small at first, but the issue is easily solved with a grip case or protective shell. Battery life and charging speed are solid, and the overall build quality feels premium and durable. The device also stays relatively cool thanks to an efficient cooling system, which is a big plus during long sessions. In short, the ROG Ally X is a powerful, flexible, and enjoyable handheld that delivers a near-PC experience in a compact form factor. It’s not perfect, but the strengths easily outweigh the minor drawbacks—making it a great choice for gamers who want portability without sacrificing power.

The handheld is comfortable to use for long periods. Battery life is pretty good even in demanding games. When plugged in this thing performs really well, but hey that's not always available. I'm a Game Pass subscriber so if a game supports a PC install, I can install right on the device. If I play it through cloud I've had a lot of success. I played Borderlands 3 for a whole afternoon from cloud and it felt very native. I tried an older game Ori and the Blind Forest and it struggled via cloud. The new full screen Xbox experience is the big push and the big play from Microsoft here. If you're an experienced Windows user, you're going to be fine. If not, well, it has a long way to go. I think if they stick with it, it's going to work out. Right now trying to have two users on this thing is a little painful. I got it to work but I'm also an experienced Windows user. I'm getting a lot of use out of this. But it's not for everyone. If you think taking your PC games on the go is worth it, you get that with Steam, Epic, GOG, Xbox and really just whatever runs on Windows. Without hooking up more accessories, your games or apps really need to be controller friendly. But if you're willing to bind up keyboard and mouse it's possible to set it down and use those peripherals. That's not my use case. I want this to play games. I'm finding some Steam games are really great on here... ones more ready for a controller or Steam Big Picture experience. Xbox Remote Play (where it streams from your console over your home wifi) works really well. I dont use it much... I almost would rather just cloud stream. Overall I think if you are a PC and Xbox gamer and you think you might get value in a portable handheld, this is a powerful and useful device. If not, give this space more time. It's going to improve and we're going to see more offerings.

It runs excellent. I had my doubts due to complaints about it being unrefined software-wise but I feel with its current performance it is great. It runs everything I have thrown at it like a champ, and that includes some heavier titles. Battery is decent and the customization to run it with your own paramenters is pretty straightforward. Do you want the convenience of handheld gaming without worrying whether a game will run decently or not? This is it. It will run them fine out of the box, and if you know about performance optimization on PC gaming, you may be able to squeeze in better performance on certain games. I have played this thing for multiple hours a day and my grip never gets tired because I am holding a controller with a screen attached to it. Super happy with my purchase

I've never owned a hand held gaming device, but I'm so glad I got one. I travel often for work and wanted something that I didn't have to lug around with me while weighing down my suitcase. The ASUS ROG Xbox ally X is amazing! It's much quieter and lighter than my gaming laptop, fits in my suitcase while I'm traveling, the battery lasts a really long time, you can play games from various gaming platforms (battlenet, steam, xbox, EA, etc) and the games run really well! It doesn't get super hot while you play unless you are plugged in, but even then it doesn't get very warm. After owning the device for a few months, one of the only things I have to complain about is how loud the A,B,X, and Y buttons are.

I'm a BIG XBOX FAN i have been waiting for a long time for XBOX to come out with a handheld device and now it's here. The only thing is this is a mini computer not a XBOX console like you would get with another company. This can and will do a lot more than other handhelds. So first thing you must do i download the updates and there are some big one's. But don't worry with this you get a full 1TB of storage that is impressive so such a small device. You can go online and see what else you need to download as in steam or epic games so you can have a bigger game library. The screen on this is so awesome crystal clear you can see all of the details just as if you were watching this on your TV at home. The screen is 7inch 1080p it is a touch screen so a little extra not just for a display. The screen is gorilla glass so don't need to worry about little scratches or something rubbing on it your safe. For this being the X model it isn't that heavy at all kind of light weight the controls are just like the controller of the XBOX and same button config. It has the triggers and bumpers and 2 buttons under the unit. They did this justice the feel of this this in my hand is very comfortable. The speakers a clear and have a great sound to them i had it in party chat and could hear everyone so clear and the game sound at the sometime. You can connect Bluetooth headphones or earbuds to this. So overall this has a great screen clean and clear The speakers are clear and don't get distortion like some little speakers do. The unit is light weight and controls are comfortable The only downside to this is some games that you own on your XBOX can't be played on this the game must be Play anywhere title. You can play games on the cloud. Now i did hear that next year they are going to fix this issue with an update i don't want to buy a game twice to play it away from home.

Review for ROG Xbox Ally X 7" FHD 120Hz Gaming Handheld Pros: Out of the box, the ergonomics are evident on this new handheld from Asus. The grips mirror those found on the Xbox and the touch screen is bright and responsive. Setting up the handheld takes a little effort, but you’re basically initializing a Windows PC, so time consuming, but not difficult. To be clear, this is a portable Windows PC, not a portable Xbox. The 7” display is great for handheld use and the 120 Hz display refresh makes for sweet gameplay without tearing. The 24 GB of high speed RAM and 1 TB storage made it easy for me to download my games for quick loading and offline play. In fairness, my game loaded quickly, AFTER a rather slow download over WiFi. The audio is sharp and clear for such a compact device and the haptics and the addition of the impulse triggers make for involving feedback. Cons: The integration of the various game platforms was difficult and confusing for me as a user new to this kind of handheld (I’m a PC gamer). I found buying a new Xbox game very frustrating. While using the Xbox app, I downloaded a game. The UI showed no indication I had a new game. It wasn’t in my games, owned games, nor the install queue although I received an email confirming my purchase. When I went to the game store, it showed I could purchase it. I shouldn’t be able to purchase the same game more than once and it should be clear how to find the game. Finally, in frustration, I closed the app and reopened it and my new game was there. I’ve attached a picture that shows you the extent to which a game is playable, which I found helpful. I wish there were filters when you search for compatibility to easily find games well suited for the device.

I can’t say enough good things about the ROG Ally X. I installed a 2 TB microSD card, and the amount of storage and performance I’m getting is unreal. I have so many games loaded up, and they’re running smoother and faster than on my Alienware laptop — no exaggeration. The new design feels solid, the controls are tight and responsive, and the screen quality is just chef’s kiss. The performance boost over the original Ally is immediately noticeable — faster load times, better thermals, and longer battery life. It’s honestly wild having this much power in my hands wherever I go. If you’re on the fence about getting one, do it. Pair it with a high-speed SD card, tweak a few settings, and it’ll easily handle AAA titles without breaking a sweat. I’ve used gaming laptops and consoles for years, and this thing still impresses me every time I turn it on. 5/5 — Portable perfection. The best handheld gaming device I’ve ever owned.

Upgrading from a launch Steam Deck to the ROG Xbox Ally X is a night-and-day difference. The performance is incredible. I’ve been playing Gears of War: Reloaded and consistently getting over 60fps. The battery life is also impressive compared to my Steam Deck, and the screen isn’t bad for a non-OLED panel. VRR is a game-changer on these devices. The Xbox full-screen experience definitely needs some work, but I’m excited to see how it evolves. If you’re considering buying this or upgrading from a Steam Deck, I highly recommend it. Definitely purchase before the inevitable price increases.

Overall happy with it. Price is steep but device is enjoyable. The handheld plays every game surprisingly well. Most new Xbox games are also on PC so plenty of games to play. I also get to play some Playstation games which are available on PC. The speakers are great and the battery is good. First handheld, so I can’t compare to others. It does work good as a PC, if you are using a usb c hub. The windows full screen experience is certainly a step in the right direction but it can be buggy at times. I get the “windows” complaints. There is no reason teams, outlook, and those office products show up on this device. They should release a stripped version of windows without all the traditional PC bloatware. I use it as a PC so it doesn’t bother me as much but people are buying this as a handheld, not a PC. For me it works great as a handheld gaming device. Finally, it’s comfortable to hold.

Great performance, comfortable, easy to use. Bought when it first came out. Played every day since then. Batterly life is stil good. Recommoned for people on the go.

If you want to play games with little compromise on the go this is a device worth checking out. Your xbox game pass games are available & yes your steam library is available. In my opinion this is the best tech device of 2025. The next iteration of this will only be better. Pros. Xbox games can be downloaded direcrly to the system. Emulation works for older consoles. It can be a PC. Feels premium and comfortable. Storage is upgradable. Cons. Expensive im a realist but worth it for me personally. Requires PC tinkering for your personal game playing preference. Can be pkayed out the box but i do recommend watching some set up tutorials. Overall great experience, love it, no regret$. Was exactly what i expected.

I bought the ROG Ally X mainly for Steam, and it’s turned out to be way better than I expected. The hardware feels solid, performance is great for a handheld, and the ergonomics are surprisingly good -- though it does feel a little heavy, which is understandable given the power inside. The game library is impressive for a device that just launched, but keep in mind you can only download titles that are on Game Pass or part of the Play Anywhere program. That limitation is a bit of a bummer if you were hoping for full Xbox access. Windows can sometimes get in its own way, but overall, this is a fantastic device that I think will only improve over time. And for the record: I don’t want Copilot’s help with game tips. Seriously, go away.

I upgraded from the Ally X. I didnt think it would be much better but it is, a lot. It just feels so much better, more comfortable. I wish they would have improved the scereen but it does look very nice just could be about an inch bigger. With the Z2e even some AAA titles run well(ish). I mostly stick with smaller rpgs because they just feel so much better on a handheld rather than big screen. So nice to just turn on and go.

I’m really happy with this device so far. It was easy to set up right out of the box and worked perfectly without any issues. The performance is smooth, responsive, and does exactly what it’s supposed to do. The design feels solid and comfortable to use, and the quality is better than I expected for the price. I’ve been using it regularly and it hasn’t lagged, overheated, or malfunctioned at all. Battery life is also great and lasts a long time between charges. Overall, this is a reliable product and definitely worth the purchase. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, dependable device