Customer Ratings & Reviews

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

My only real frame of reference for comparison in the handheld space is the Playstation portal. I have been very happy with Xbox Ally X. It has run everything I have wanted to play thus far well, this has been mostly indie titles and older games so I can't speak to how in runs AAA titles. I have been happy with battery life as well. The only cons I have about the device are no oled screen (this probably would have driven the price higher), more storage is always better, and finally I find the PlayStation portal to be more comfortable in my hands, but that is definitely a personal preference thing.

Ok, while I’m still a fanboy of ASUS (they have always been good to me), I’m torn on the ROG Xbox Ally X (from here on out the XAX).  On one hand I can see the future of console and computer gaming but on the other it is still so early in the process that it is still painful.  Actually, in many ways it’s more painful than either system is on its own.  For the most part, the hardware side of things is great and ASUS did their job, it’s on the software side that we see the wonkiness rear its ugly head (and that is mostly on Microsoft). I’ve owned/played with both the original Ally and the Ally X, and both were wonderful systems with the Ally X being EXACTLY what I wanted Microsoft to do for a portable Xbox.  Maybe they make the grips more like the Xbox controller and it would be perfect.  Well, imagine my delight when I saw the XAX announced.  It was even going to have a whole new Windows setup to better emulate the Xbox console experience!  While still not a dedicated handheld Xbox with the ease of use of something like a PSP or Switch, it was way closer to anything I had hoped for. Upon opening the box, I was greeted by that ASUS simple, but classy packaging.  Holding the Ally Xbox in my hand (at first) felt *right*.  Firing it up and setting it up dashed all my excitement against the rocks of frustration.  I have NEVER in all my years of gaming ever had such a dismal and lengthy set up process.  It was SIX HOURS of downloads and waiting despite me having a massive pipeline of data coming into my home.  And that was all BEFORE I even downloaded my first game! (Side Note: On the Xbox Ally forums, it would seem that quite a few others had the same problem and it would seem to be on the MS end of things.) It didn’t help that you are thrown into two operating environments and it is not always obvious which one is in charge at any given time.  The XAX WANTS to be using the Full Screen Experience 100% of the time but you have to drop out of it to do A LOT of the tweaking and set up still.  The back and forth and the associated restarts, boot ups to FSE, getting out of FSE to go into Windows settings or Armory Crate (so actually THREE software environments), became rather exhausting. The fun didn’t stop there.  Once I got everything up to date and was ready to play, I found that my Game Pass Premium subscription (of which you get a free 3 month subscription, thank you ASUS and MS) did not give me as many games as I had hoped.  There were a handful of my games there that I also play on the Series X and there were a few games that are strictly PC that I like so I went to install those and was greeted with the Xbox ‘compatibility’ window, that made virtually every game I wanted to install seem like it was going to be an absolute disaster on the Ally.  With that in mind I decided to just try streaming one of my go-to games on Xbox and one that had worked well on the previous Ally X, Elder Scrolls Online.  ESO started up surprisingly fast for how bad my downloads had been previously but then I spent the next hour starting, playing for 5-10 minutes and then getting kicked off and having to start over.  Needless to say, it REALLY ticks off your team when you drop in the middle of a dungeon. In the interest of NOT making this ‘War and Peace’, I’m going to say that I finally caved, bought an upgrade to Game Pass Ultimate (which kinda seems like the goal), and downloaded some optimized games to include the new ‘Outer Worlds 2’ and ‘Oblivion’ remake.  I can play them and the previously failed games much better now, and OW2 is an absolute blast and looks great on the Ally Xbox!  I’m now going to just highlight some likes and dislikes after a week of using my device: Hardware: ASUS did a great job with the build, specs, and feel of the XAX.  The balance is great, the screen is bright and beautiful, the sound is loud (if lacking a bit in the bass), and the buttons/triggers feel responsive. I also like the LED rings and the ability to modify them, but in the end I just turned them off. Ergonomics: I have only one quibble.  I thought that having the Xbox grips would improve this version of the Ally over the Ally X and I was wrong.  I actually like the feel of the Ally X over the XAX.  The grips are just a bit too long (maybe half and inch) and it makes some button presses, and especially the shoulder button presses, a literally stretch at times.  And I have regular sized hands for a guy.  If you have small hands, this may not be that comfortable. Battery Life: Of course this will always depend on how taxing your games is and the settings you employ, but I’ve been VERY happy with the battery life on the XAX. Software: We are still in the early phases of this handheld Xbox world, and I think the shake ups over at Microsoft held the experience back from where it could and SHOULD be.  There is no excuse for some of the headaches they introduced into the system with FSE.  And don’t get me wrong, I think FSE is really cool, it’s just not where MS should have had it for a known quantity like Windows, Xbox, and the Ally system.  I have hopes that over the next several months we will see more updates that address those issues and also address some of the backend problems they seem to be having with their servers. Final Thoughts: While not the Xbox handheld I had hoped for, it has so much promise to eventually get like 90% of the way there, I’m willing to ride this out to see where it goes.  The price is a bit steep and when FSE rolls out to other handhelds supposedly early next year, you might be served just as well with the Ally X running it.  But right now, I’m happy with it and I’m going to jump on and play some more ‘Outer Worlds 2’ now, so excuse me… P.S. Oh, BTW, be sure to pick up the ROG Xbox Ally Case and the ZAGG screen protector when you pick up your XAX! The case is awesome and the screen protector is super easy to put on with no mistakes (though I DO wish it had a bit less glare).

Powerful PC gaming handheld running the Xbox full screen experience over Windows 11. Its basically the Xbox app being used to make Windows more console like with some advantages to run smoother with less background tasks so it frees up resources (RAM). Mostly works with some quirks making it less smooth than a traditional Xbox experience but much better than normal Windows for someone coming from console. Could the screen be bigger and OLED? Yes. But the speakers are industry leading which matters to me, super comfortable ergonomics and great performance for even recent titles like Ninja Gaiden 4. I do like that with this I can also play many of my owned Xbox digital library like Gears 5 so I already had games I could download and play day one, no need to rebuy many of my first party digital games from Xbox One generation and up. Would be nice if 360 games also worked. Will look forward to more games being added to Xbox Play Anywhere, buying once and having a Xbox and PC copy is very nice and I mostly get games through Xbox now that support this.

This is the best handheld probably ever made, you have everything here besides 1 thing that is actually a huge letdown. That 1 things is an OLED SCREEN. I’m not even mad about the screen being the same size as prior, but it needed to be oled. I still give it 5 stars because the AI processor, the rumble motor triggers, speakers , battery , literally everything about this is top notch. Hopefully this paired with an egpu and docked to an oled screen will work well!

Coming from the Ally X I was not expecting a huge leap in performance but have been getting better battery life than expected. Games run about the same but are slightly better than on the Ally X. Somehow this does feel super light compared the Ally X even though it is heavier and it is very comfortable. This upgrade is not a must but I am very happy with my purchase. One note is that I did have to do an exchange because my first unit would not connect to bluetooth, this does seem to be a common theme with ROG Handhelds in general.

I’ve only had the ROG Ally X for a day, but first impressions are mostly positive. Setup took about 30–45 minutes due to Windows updates, driver installs, and Armoury Crate — so be sure to keep it plugged in during setup. It’s not an instant-on experience like a console, but that’s expected with a Windows handheld. Performance is strong out of the gate, but I did run into one crash during gameplay while downloading other games in the background. The screen went blank and I had to force restart. Probably early driver issues or thermal protection — not a dealbreaker, but something to watch. What really stands out is the new design. The updated grips feel great — super comfortable to hold, especially compared to other handhelds I’ve tried. Battery life seems decent so far, but varies a lot depending on what you’re playing. Overall, it’s a solid piece of hardware with a lot of potential. If you’re okay with some day-one quirks and like tinkering, I think you’ll enjoy it.

I had the original ROG Ally, and I’m so glad I upgraded to the Xbox Ally X. The change in grip design alone is a phenomenal selling point. It’s much more comfortable on the hands. The other great difference is the battery life - I can play for much longer without having to plug in. Graphics and speed are great, and the Xbox full screen option is really convenient. It’s nice to finally have an Xbox button built in as well!

For a handheld console, this is best on the market. Even though the price tag is scary to look at, I believe you will get your money worth if you do travel a lot or not at home all the time. Im using the handheld as my main console and pc as of right now and I absolutely love it. I play a lot of newer titles and the storage does end up to be a problem so I will buy sd card but besides that I think the device is actually surprisingly better than I thought.

Upgraded from a ROG Ally Z1 Extreme. Debated for a while on if the upgrade would be worth it, because the OG Ally is still powerful. After 2 months if owning this, i have to say that this was worth it. The chip is way more power efficient with the Xbox Ally X, and the battery is 80-watt, vs the OG 40-watt. I couod really only play AAA games with the OG Ally for about an hour. The Xbox Ally X I can play AAA games for around 3 hours, which makes this actually a portable gaming beast. Indie, or 2d games like Marvel Cosmic Invasion will more than likely get 6 to8 hours. The new Xbox Fullscreen Experience is also an upgrade as you can sign in, navigate, and play with just the controller. There is no doubt that this thing is expensive at $1,000, but if you like the idea of a full portable PC with access to Xbox Gamepass games, and Xbox "Play Anywhere" games than this is great. I also use it as a full gaming PC hooked up to my TV in the living room. When you add everything that this machine is capable of, the price actually is reasonable.

Great device so far. Very ergonomic for long play sessions. I mainly play indies and the battery life for those is great. The sound is better than any other handheld I have tried. My main complaint is the software needs some work. The sleep function is unreliable for quick resume. And the battery drains quickly if you don’t shut it down. Hopefully they will fix this in the future.

Overall great purchase. I really like the ability to play games from different platforms/ stores (such as Xbox, Steam, Epic, GoG, etc). The quality is very good, the performance and battery life is great, i can usually squeeze out about 4-5 hrs playing games like RDR2 or God of War. You have alot of options to tailor the performance to get a really smooth experience. The weight feels just right (lighter than i expected). I wish the buttons (XYBA) were back lit but thats just nitpicking. You can upgrade the SSD to store more games if needed and can even put emulators thru the microSD card slot. Initial updates and setup did take a while but its to be expected, dont think you can just turn it on and start playing right away. Mine took about an hour or 2 for all the setup to complete. Overall im really happy with the purchase. I work away from from home and this is definitely more convenient than hauling around a whole console and monitor.

The ROG Xbox Ally X is the newest version of the portable ROG Ally series! It’s designed to be a more streamlined Xbox experience while still having the ability to be a portable PC and Steam Deck style system. This is ASUS’s highest end Ally and I was excited to finally get my hands on the device to see if it’s truly a better experience than its predecessors. Initial impressions of the look and feel of the ROG Xbox Ally X are favorable. It’s a beautiful piece of machinery with curved handles that fall right into your hands like an old familiar friend. Having owned all the 3 versions of ROG Ally so far it is by far the comfiest of the 3. The buttons are crisp and the joysticks and triggers on top and behind the unit feel great. It feels like they put a screen in between an Xbox controller. The customizable RGB lighting on the joysticks is a nice touch and adds to the premium feel of the product. Overall, it feels like a nice improvement from past versions. Setup of the ROG was straightforward but slightly painful at the same time. It’s recommended to install all your gaming apps initially and then run Windows and ASUS Armory Crate updates. There were a lot of different firmware updates out of the box for the software and hardware. The ROG Xbox is still running Windows 11 but now is accompanied by a new “Full Screen Experience” with the Xbox app. This allows the ROG to boot up specifically into the Xbox app to give more of a streamlined experience. It’s worth noting that this version is still considered a PC and not a true Xbox, so it will only play Xbox PC games, Cloud Games and Play Anywhere Games. There is a list of handheld optimized games, and it will tell you how compatible they are. There’s a quick access Xbox button on the left that lets you flip back and forth between apps and access quick settings for video, sound and your Armory Crate settings as well. The Xbox full screen experience is an improvement on the Xbox app but still has some kinks to work out. Moving back and forth between the EA app and others to play games from Game Pass it basically ruins the whole point. Once you do open other apps then Windows 11 is now open, it will give you the ability to go back to a full Xbox screen experience, but this causes you to have to reboot the entire system. Hopefully they figure out a way to streamline that feature in the future. Playing games so far on the ROG Xbox Ally X has been a mixed bag. Some games work better than others. Doom Dark Ages and Clair Obscur: 33 run fantastic. But then older games that you think wouldn’t have issues struggle mightily to the point of not being playable. Ori and the Blind Forest which is a handheld recommended game that came out years ago struggles every few seconds and essentially kills the whole feel of the game. It doesn’t matter if it’s plugged in or not with the extra FPS power in Turbo mode, it doesn’t run well. Same for the new Madden, I couldn’t play it for longer than a few plays. Even an older game like Rayman Origins didn’t run as expected. Some games have gotten frozen loading, some don’t load at all, and this is something I wasn’t expecting. I’m not sure if it’s a glitch with the Xbox app itself that’s causing this but I’m being patient and hoping some updates in the future will help alleviate some of these issues. But I will say, when the ROG Xbox ALLY X is running smooth it’s an absolute beast. Doom feels SO fluid that I think it’s better experience than on a console. It shouldn’t feel THIS good to play a portable Xbox game, but it does. Having something this powerful in your hands that’s portable feels like something I dreamed about as a kid but never thought would become a reality. Clair Obscur runs great as well and I know thats a game that requires alot of power so its interesting that something like that would run fine but older less intensive games would have bugs. I know as time goes on, they will only optimize this system more, so I’m excited for what the future holds once they get the kinks worked out. Overall, I am impressed with the ROG Xbox Ally X, but I’m not 100% convinced it’s worth the upgrade if you already own the previous model. The Full screen Xbox experience is a nice touch, but it’s not a game changer, in the end you still have a portable PC which is what they’ve been offering in previous versions and I didn’t notice a big enough performance difference to justify the upgrade. If you don’t own one yet I feel like this is the one to get, the ergonomics are better and it’s the top-of-the-line ALLY they offer. But if you own the previous ROG ALLY X that came out last year, I find it hard to justify an upgrade at this time. But nonetheless if you’re a big gamer and are in the market for a portable gaming system that runs Xbox, Steam, and a ton of other possibilities this should definitely be on your short list of options!

Love this machine. Reading lots about it good and bad on social media and some reviews. My take is the screen is great I have zero problems with it. If you’re looking for an oled or larger screen there are other options but the screen is no slouch and I enjoy it. As far as performance I am impressed and haven’t had any issues playing what I like to play, Arc raiders, Warzone, madden, or stellar blade. It is a PC so keep it up to date on windows and the, armory crate and you won’t have issues. No different than updates that occur on consoles. I would definitely recommend this to someone is like me a dad who is on the go a lot who has limited time to play what I want that doesn’t always have access to my pc or console and tv.

Graphics and performance is amazing. Have tried many games and it runs smoothly and almost the sam as on my xbox/pc! The only 2 things that are not perfect is the storage and the weight of the console.

Love it so far. Very comfortable to hold and easy to carry with u. So far every game i throw at it runs pretty good. I recommend this product for all your gaming portable needs.

Overall this Device does a lot of heavy lifting! its great for minor computer tasks emulation, steam and Xbox run with little trouble and of course the touch screen completely changes the gaming experience. (dont forget the free months of Gamepass!) I have a few gripes - The fans can and will kick up and sometimes they can be heard, this is really not a con just an observation for me. - the device is clearly heavier than most similar things in the same category the controller grips do change the ergonomics of how that weight is handled but it is still noticeably more chunky - THEM BUTTONS BE CLICKIN' the buttons are just loud- this device is too expensive for this. that is all. -Cardboard kickstand is just cheap and lazy, cmon guys just 3D print one. THIS DEVICE IS OVERALL A BANGER but a bit pricey for some of these smaller things being looked over HOWEVER the overall functionality of the device is what i care about and for that 5 out of 5 !

I really really hate to hear when people complain about screen size! They all forget that this is a “handheld” device. It shouldn’t be too bulky, big and heavy. What’s the point otherwise!!! Having an LCD screen in 2025 is lame, yes, but it’s not a bad looking LCD screen. There is only one thing you can complain about this device and that is the xbox full screen experience. Let’s all agree, Microsoft sucks. Every single thing they do or make or sell… sucks. So use Armory Crate as full screen experience, and notice the difference. I think performance of this device is very good considering it’s size. I finished Battlefield 6 and COD BO7 on this and it’s been great. Using it as a desktop pc for browsing etc is absolutely great. Personally, i’m keeping this until Steam Deck 2 comes out. Stop listening to people talking about the screen. In fac, ignore them right away

I'm amazed at how well these things run games and it's fast. Have a MSI Claw 8 AI and they both rock. Battery life is great and i love the new xbox overlay. I do admit there not cheap, but it is made well and the ergonomics are top notch. If your on the fence, this is a buy.

Never having a handheld PC before I was nervous about spending $1,000 on one. I can honestly say after almost a month of using it, this is easy to use, comfortable to hold, and does what it is supposed to do.