While many PC makers haven’t quite fully embraced the gaming handheld yet, Asus is already releasing their second entry in the category. Called the Asus ROG Ally X, the device is, basically, a revamp of the original Ally, retaining the core hardware but upgrading it in significant ways.
Promising to “raise the bar with numerous hardware improvements,” the gaming handheld takes the original Ally and beefs it up based on user feedback. From bigger memory and larger storage capacity to longer battery life and a more ergonomic build, this should offer a better overall gaming experience.
The Asus ROG Ally X retains the same 7.0-inch touchscreen display as the original, with its 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 500 nits of max brightness, 7ms response time, and 100 percent sRGB coverage definitely making it good enough for this generation of gaming handhelds. It also keeps the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which combines a Ryzen CPU and a Radeon GPU on a single chip. However, this updated version gets 24GB of shared RAM for both the CPU and GPU to use, which is quite the meaningful upgrade from the previous 16GB of RAM. It also uses the faster LPDDR5X 75000 RAM, which should translate to overall better gaming performance.
The new gaming handheld also gets a 1TB SSD option compared to the 512GB max from before. Even better, the M.2 2280 storage can be removed and swapped out for something even bigger, so you can put in a 2TB SSD in there (or whatever other bigger capacities become more affordable down the line). There’s also a new 80Wh battery, which is double that from the previous model, No word on how long actual battery life is, but this is still a handheld device running a full-fledged Windows PC, so you’ll probably need to plug in at various points throughout the day
The Asus ROG Ally X also gets a redesigned chassis with deeper grips in a rounded shape to give you a more secure hold, while the controls have been reworked to sit at more ergonomic angles. Asus says they also slanted the triggers a bit to make them easier to press, made the paddle buttons smaller to minimize accidental presses, and replaced both the joysticks and D-pad with better modules. They also removed the questionably useful XG Mobile port in favor of two USB-C slots, including one that’s Thunderbolt-compatible. Because of the bigger battery, the device features redesigned thermals that use smaller and thinner fans. Despite being smaller, it supposedly pushes 24 percent more air volume through the device, resulting in better cooling performance.
The handheld gets dual front-firing speakers with Dolby Atmos, built-in mic array, an audio combo jack, and two-way AI noise cancellation to ensure quality sound, regardless of how you want to experience it during play. Other features include Wi-Fi 6E, a Corning Gorilla Glass DXC coating, FSR and RSR upscaling, AMD Fluid Motion Frames, and Radeon Anti-Lag. It runs Windows 11 and comes with three months of free Game Pass membership.
The Asus ROG Ally X is available now, priced at $800.
