ASUS has officially announced the ROG Ally X, its second gaming handheld and a followup to the original it launched in 2023. The ROG Ally X is less of a true sequel device than a few small updates or improvements. Much like the Steam Deck OLED, the Ally X is not too different from the first model of the device. However, it does come with some changes. Mainly improvements on key areas that the first handheld struggled with.
In fact, the improvements that were made all seem to be addressing pain points that consumers had. The microSD card slot has been updated, for one. Following the launch of the ROG Ally last year, a lot of users were experiencing problems with the microSD reader. For many users, the microSD card would randomly pop out of the slot.
ASUS later acknowledged these problems and said it was caused by overheating. Noting that certain thermal conditions could result in the microSD reader malfunctioning. This was obviously an issue since games get big and the internal storage on the ROG Ally could fill up fast. So people would naturally turn to microSD cards for extra storage. ASUS updating this with the ROG Ally X is a big improvement. Even if it’s not a major hardware upgrade. Now ASUS did also remove a thing or two. Namely the XG Mobile port for plugging in ASUS’s external GPU dock.
In its place are two USB-C ports, one of which is USB 4 with Thunderbolt support. So you can still hook up an external GPU dock. Just not the XG Mobile.
The ROG Ally X handheld has 24GB of RAM, double the storage, and an 80Wh battery
Let’s talk about upgrades because the ROG Ally X is being upgraded in three to four key areas compared to the ROG Ally. The first is RAM. The ROG Ally offers 16GB of RAM, and that’s certainly suitable for gaming on a handheld PC. However, more RAM is never a bad thing. Both the ROG Ally and ROG Ally X are using the same chipset. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme. This is an APU though, and that means the video RAM is shared with the system RAM. ASUS has bumped up the RAM on the ROG Ally X to 24GB so users have more to allocate to both.
It’s an important upgrade because games these days can suck up VRAM like there’s no tomorrow. Having 24GB at your disposal should allow for tuning the graphics settings up a bit so games look a little better and run smoother.
More space for more games
In addition to the RAM, the ROG Ally X also now comes with a lot more storage. 512GB in the ROG Ally is fine and certainly sustainable for some gamers. But many will need or want more than that. Without it, you end up having to do this dance of deleting games you aren’t currently playing to make room for new ones. And the cycle continues. The ROG Ally X bumps up storage from 512GB to 1TB in its new SSD, plus it still has the micro SD card slot for even more storage if needed.
Game longer without plugging in
Another improvement is the battery life. The ROG Ally can realistically get you close to around 95 to 100 minutes or so of battery life when playing games on the 15W profile. Even less if you were playing on 25W. ASUS says the 80Wh battery in the ROG Ally X doubles the battery life of the ROG Ally. So if you were getting an hour and a half in a particular game on the ROG Ally, the ROG Ally X should increase that to around three hours.
ASUS does not, however, show hard numbers or specifics. It simply says the battery life is double what it used to be. And if accurate that’s a huge improvement.
Better thermals and ergonomics are present as well
Remember the microSD reader issue and its cause being the device overheating? Well, the ROG Ally X shouldn’t have that issue. ASUS says the ROG Ally X has improved thermals to help keep the device cool. Fans now push up to 24% more air through the vents according to the company. Another thing that’s been upgraded is the ergonomics. On the ROG Ally, the bottom of the handheld had these sharp angular corners. Not sharp as in they would stab your hands and pierce the skin if not careful. But sharp as in they were very defined angular lines.
To some, this made holding the device less comfortable for longer sessions. On the ROG Ally X, ASUS seems to have taken note of people’s complaints about the design. Because those same corners are less sharp angles and slightly more rounded curves. The other ergonomics improvement is the back of the hand grips. The ROG Ally didn’t have much to hold onto. These grips where your fingers sit are more pronounced on the ROG Ally X, and this should make holding it for longer periods of time more comfortable.
ASUS updated some of the controls as well. The back buttons are slightly tweaked to account for the slightly larger hump of the hand grips, and the face inputs all have adjustments. Most notably the joysticks which are more responsive than before. The D-pad has been updated too.
Pricing and availability
You might be thinking that with some of these notable upgrades, the unit surely costs more. And you’d be right. ASUS is pricing the ROG Ally X at $799. This is compared to $699 for the ROG Ally. For more storage and RAM though, this is to be expected. As for availability, you can already pre-order the ROG Ally X at Best Buy. There is no official release date yet, though. You can also sign up to be notified about its launch via the official ROG Ally X product page.
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