Design and display: Xbox goes portable
But when it comes to ROG Xbox Ally, the company claims that Xbox Ally has been redesigned from the ground up and most importantly includes a number of exclusive features that will make Xbox fans feel right at home. This includes things like the classic ABXY button layout, long pulse triggers, and of course the requisite Xbox home button. And at the center of it all is a 7-inch IPS LCD screen.
Speaking of the screen, ASUS has chosen a FHD IPS panel with a refresh rate of 120Hz, which seems to be exactly the same screen as the Ally. With a brightness of 500 nits (our test model was actually slightly higher at 510 nits), this display offers just about everything you could want without feeling like you’re stepping up to something like the Lenovo Legion Go 2’s massive 8.8-inch OLED panel.
On the back are two adjustable paddles, while the top edge houses a fingerprint reader and all the connectivity options for the Xbox Ally X: two USB-C ports, a microSD card reader and 3.5mm audio. While both ports support charging and display functions, the leftmost port also supports Thunderbolt 4. This means it has enough bandwidth to support external GPUs, such as ASUS’ recently updated XG Mobile graphics dock.
In the end, the ROG Xbox Ally might not be all that different from previous ASUS laptops, but with its oversized buttons, triggers and new grips, it really feels like you’re holding a portable version of Microsoft’s console in your hand. Even without Hall sensors, the only thing ASUS and Microsoft would have liked to pay a little more attention to are the Xbox Ally joysticks, the handheld’s optics, which are fine, but far from the expressive sound engines you get from a DualSense controller or the Switch 2’s Joy-Con.
Performance: maximum portable power
As the high-end model of ASUS and Microsoft’s new joint laptop line, ROG Xbox Ally offers a number of background processes and services for laptops, thanks in part to the new full-screen experience of Xbox for the first time on a Windows 11-based laptop. The result is a slightly better-looking device, even compared to its closest competitors.
IN Cyberpunk 2077 With 1920×1080, average graphics and performance-optimized FSR, the ROG Xbox Ally achieved almost five fps more than the Lenovo Legion Go 2 (57.5 fps) when the settings were also at maximum. Sure, this doesn’t seem like a huge improvement, but it ultimately adds 7% more performance to the same chip, which isn’t bad. At this moment Backwards, I got similar numbers after switching to the Ally’s more power-efficient 17-watt performance mode (unplugged), where it produced 42fps in Full HD at medium settings, compared to 39fps on the Lenovo.
However, it’s important to note that Ally’s performance changes depending on whether it’s plugged into a wall outlet or not. If you want to use the full 35-watt turbo mode, you’ll need a power supply, while the 17-watt and 13-watt quiet power modes stay the same no matter what you’re doing. There’s also a manual performance optimization tool, but you’ll have to go to the ASUS Armory Crate app to access it, as there’s no place to tweak things directly in the Xbox app.
Software: the gaming experience we needed
It’s usually pretty hard to get excited about the software on a portable gaming device. But between the aforementioned changes to background services and the new full-screen Xbox experience, Microsoft has managed to eliminate many of the annoyances typical of other Windows portable devices.
Instead of having to navigate the traditional Windows desktop before launching a game, the Xbox app now greets you on launch (and even during the initial setup), meaning fewer steps are needed to get to your favorite title. In addition, Microsoft has produced a revised layout that makes it easier to find the most important functions. The Home tab contains all your installed software, while other sections are dedicated to Game Pass downloads (provided you have a subscription), cloud/remote play (also via Game Pass), and the Microsoft Store. If you prefer other digital marketplaces like Steam or Epic, there are shortcuts in the My Apps tab to download installers from those stores (and a few others like GOG and Ubisoft). There is no need to open a browser and do any actions manually.
Plus, pressing the Xbox button gives you a bunch of quick settings for all sorts of things, including the Performance Command Center, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth toggles, Xbox friends list, and more. It’s kind of like a ‘do everything’ button and provides quick and easy access to almost all important tools and functions.
Additionally, you can access new gestures by sliding the screen in different directions. Swiping from the left will show the Xbox Game Bar overlay even if you’re currently playing. Swiping right opens Windows notifications. But my favorite command is swipe up, which is a new way to switch between apps (or a cooler version of Alt+Tab, depending on how you look at it). From here, you can also cycle through all currently open programs by simply pressing the side buttons on Xbox Ally. If you want to use your handheld as a real PC, you can also activate the Windows desktop from there.
The redesigned Xbox experience is very lightweight and can handle 90-95% of traditional gaming features, but there are still times when some of Windows’ underlying clunkyness comes through. I found that this happens most often when exiting a game from a third-party store, where for example Xbox Ally takes you to your Steam library, where you often have to rely on touchscreen controls to navigate instead of joysticks or the mouse pointer in desktop mode. Compared to other Windows-based handhelds, this isn’t a huge problem, and while Microsoft has taken a big step forward with Xbox Ally, it still needs some work.
Battery life: a clear increase in battery life
One of the biggest advantages of ROG Xbox Ally Combined with the new chip’s improved power efficiency, you get a very stable battery life as long as you don’t max out the power settings.
I tried it while playing. Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33 in Full HD with medium settings and maximum brightness (pro tip: don’t do this at night if you want to sleep on time) and Xbox Ally That is 30 minutes longer than Legion Go 2, although this difference is not a huge surprise given the much larger screen (with the same 500 nits brightness). The biggest revelation is that the new device co-created by ASUS and Microsoft offers an hour longer battery life than the original Ally X, which can make a significant difference on a long trip.
Summary
While Microsoft’s first real foray into portable computing won’t change the status quo, and it’s too early to say whether this device will save the Xbox as a whole, it does make some notable strides. The new full-screen experience makes launching and playing games on Windows devices so much smoother, it’s almost crazy that it took this long to get to this point. Of course, there are still some edge cases where you need to tap the screen or switch between the Xbox app and ASUS Armory Create to change certain settings, but compared to most of its competitors, the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X represents a big improvement in overall usability.
The larger grips and familiar button layout will make seasoned Xbox fans feel right at home. And with the new chip and more processes and services running in the background while you play, you’ll experience industry-leading performance and battery life.
Boredom aside, the biggest problem with ROG Xbox Ally. However, replacement puts a much bigger burden on your wallet. Not too long ago, the list price for a high-end PDA was closer to $500, making it more affordable. After all, these devices aren’t really designed as a primary gaming device, like a laptop or desktop computer.
Ultimately, the biggest deciding factor in buying the ROG Xbox Ally X may be how much you’ve already invested in the Xbox ecosystem. If you’re a fan of other game stores, don’t have an Xbox Game Pass subscription, or have a lot of friends on the platform, you won’t be able to take full advantage of everything Microsoft has included in the new portable software. This is even more true for fans of Valve’s digital store and its Linux-based operating system, who don’t need maximum performance and can stick to the significantly cheaper Steam Deck or Legion Go S.
If you’re looking for a versatile portable device with a large OLED screen and detachable controls, the Legion Go 2 is also worth considering. Even though the model with the Z2 Extreme chip costs $1,300, it’s still more expensive than this new portable Xbox. But despite some minor reservations, Microsoft (with support from ASUS) finally focused on portable PC gaming and made some welcome improvements to the line that made the ROG Xbox Ally