The gaming handheld space is getting two excellent additions thanks to a collaboration between Xbox and Asus’s Republic of Gamers brand. The ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X are set to carve out a niche for themselves in a crowded, competitive corner of the gaming world, bringing the best of Xbox to a portable form factor.
Despite the presence of some truly versatile devices, the new handhelds are poised to make their presence felt, coming with a lot of nifty features that could make them quite appealing to both Xbox loyalists and newcomers alike. But are they going to be worth your money? We’re here with a list of things you should know if you’re planning to invest in one yourself.
Let’s get started!
1. A Familiar OS With a Familiar Twist
The Ally and Ally X may not be the first handhelds that operate on Windows 11. But they’re going to be much better to navigate thanks to an Xbox-styled overlay that many early previews of the two devices have been praising – and with good reason.
Windows 11-based handhelds in the past have suffered from performance issues thanks to the OS eating up a lot of RAM, while touch-based controls have often made their UI quite unintuitive. Having a familiar Xbox overlay that mimics Microsoft’s iconic consoles solves both those problems, making them easy to use while freeing up memory that can then be used by what the devices are meant to run: their games!
2. A Design That’s Appealing and Functional
One of the areas which Xbox has had an edge over other gaming platforms in the past has been in its controllers. While its rivals have since caught up and come up with solid designs on their own, the Xbox controller continues to be quite an appealing option.
It’s a good thing, then, that the two devices are modelled around bringing the Xbox controller’s iconic layout to their designs, alongside a build quality that has kept them feeling sturdy yet light in their players’ hands. That’s great news considering that portability is part of the appeal of a handheld gaming device, and having one that can withstand a bit of wear and tear while remaining easy to use is definitely a plus.
3. Build A Library of Games
While bringing over your library of Xbox games could be among the most appealing facets of the ROG Ally and Ally X, the fact they they run on Windows 11 means that you also have access to your game libraries on other storefronts, with Steam, Epic Store, and Battle.net being among the options that previews of the two devices have revealed.
This gives you a lot of freedom to play on your terms, and is a welcome addition that makes these handhelds quite versatile indeed.
4. Performance Profiles
We already know that the Xbox ROG Ally X is the beefier of the two devices, but new information shows that it brings a very significant upgrade to the table. That’s because of its Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip and an XDA NPU that could make it quite future-proof, with the ability to use AI and upscale titles that are compatible with it.
While the standard Xbox Ally is certainly capable in its own right, the Ally X is designed for hardcore users who might wish to dock it to external 4K monitors and run games at their highest settings, all while Discord or other applications are open in the background. You might want to consider which one suits your needs before you fork over your cash.
Another thoughtful addition is that games will now be clearly labeled to show how well they perform on the handheld, a small but meaningful detail that’s easy to appreciate.
5. A Glaring Omission
Many previews of the two devices lamented the lack of an OLED display, despite the LCD on both devices being quite capable of handling the job of making your games immersive and running at smooth framerates for the most part. Considering the price of these two handhelds, an OLED might be a major factor in influencing purchasing decisions for a few very discerning players.
But for most of us, the displays on board are going to be more than enough to get the job done, and perhaps even help keep the prices down.
6. Boost Your Performance With ROG Accessories
If you’ve got the luxury of spending a little extra on your purchase, you could consider pairing the Xbox ROG Ally X with the ROG XG Mobile 25, essentially giving it a boost in processing power roughly equivalent to that of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU. That’s sure to make resource-intensive games run like a dream either on the device or on a compatible monitor.
That could make your Ally X a very versatile gaming device indeed. Sadly, Ally’s lack of a USB4 port isn’t going to let it take advantage of this boost. It is what it is.
7. Memory and Storage
While the two devices’ specs have been known for quite a while at this point, we still think it’s a good idea to discuss a few crucial differences between them. Aside from the lack of a USB4 port, the Ally comes with only 16GB of memory and a 512GB M.2 2280 SSD, which you can upgrade with a 2280-size SSD or a UHS-II microSD card.
The Ally X once again gets the upper hand over its sibling, bringing 24GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD that’s upgradeable with a 2280-size SSD. It’s quite a gap and justifies the differences in their prices, which we’re going to be talking about a little later down the line.
8. Your Devices, Your Setup
An advantage that both devices share is the ability to rig them up with external monitors, keyboards, and mouse setups, and Xbox controllers. That could make them perfect for those of you who like more options while you game at home, while continuing to retain the joy of gaming on the go. It’s a great way to have the best of both worlds at your fingertips, all the time.
9. Xbox Game Bar Integration
If you’re somebody who makes use of Xbox Game Bar, know that it comes integrated with the UI on both the Ally and Ally X. It’s a nifty little addition that could bring its users a lot of value, allowing easy screen grabs, performance monitoring, social features, and a variety of widgets that you can customize to your liking.
It’s a great way to make your shiny new devices feel uniquely yours while offering very useful features that could make your gaming experience on either device feel just like it does on a PC or console.
10. Xbox Cloud Integration
While we knew that Xbox Cloud integration was making its way to both the Xbox Ally and Ally X, you might be interested to know that you’ll need an active Game Pass subscription if you want to stream your games on the go.
That could be a downer if you disapprove of the new price hikes on Xbox’s subscription service, but on the bright side, you could just stick to your own library of games across storefronts.
11. Playing Things Cool
Previews suggest that while temperature management is quite efficient at keeping your device cool enough in your hands, the onboard fans do get quite loud. If that’s something you’re likely to find off-putting, perhaps investing in a nice pair of earphones alongside your new handheld could help offset that particular disadvantage.
In the long run, it’s still a good thing to have a device less prone to overheating, and we’d say that the loud fans on these bad boys are a worthy trade-off.
12. A Weight on Your Wallets
All of the great features we’ve listed above don’t come cheap! The ROG Xbox Ally comes with a $599.99 USD price tag, while the Ally X carries a hefty $999.99 USD! Preorders have been available for a while now, so go ahead and get one if you’ve been keen on owning either one of these solid handhelds.
13. Watch Out for Play Anywhere
If you’re primarily picking up either the Ally or Ally X to play your library of Xbox games on the go, you’re going to want to check up on how many of them are actually playable on your new handheld. That’s because only games that are compatible with the Xbox Play Anywhere service, which lets developers release games for both Xbox and PCs with a unified store listing, can actually run on the new handhelds.
For all their Xbox branding, they are still Windows 11-based PCs at their core. A relatively simple workaround for new releases not compatible with the service would be to simply purchase their PC versions of either Steam or the Epic Store, though.
14. Watch out for Crashes
A few previews pointed out the potential for crashes on the new handhelds, but also iterated that those issues could very well be ironed out closer to the final release. It could simply be that the preview devices carried software versions that are going to be further optimized ahead of the devices’ final release.
15. Asus Armory Crate Launcher Built-In
For you ROG fans out there, the Xbox Ally and Ally X come with an Asus Armory Crate built in, giving you a suite of tools to further fine-tune your gaming experience on either device. It’s an extensive suite of tools that can bring you a lot of options to customize things exactly to your liking, and it is a welcome addition to this collaboration between Xbox and Asus.
And that’s a wrap on everything you need to know before you decide to splurge on either the Xbox Ally or Ally X! Are you going to be grabbing one on release, or perhaps wait for a sale? Let us know in the comment
