After months of launch hype, announcements, and promising reviews, the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X are finally available to buy.
In our own Asus ROG Xbox Ally X review, we loved its comfortable controller grips and balanced weight, as well as the new Xbox Full Screen Experience. Improved performance at 720p and the Xbox button are a bonus, but there are also some drawbacks. It's more expensive than the previous ROG Ally X, lacks some visual punch versus OLED-based competitors, and doesn't come with a carrying case. There are also some promised features that we have to reserve judgment on. But overall, it did well enough to score four out of five stars and earn a spot on our Best PC Gaming Handhelds list.
Where to buy the ROG Xbox Ally
Where to buy the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X
What's the difference between the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X?
As you can see, there's a not-insignificant price gap between the two new Xbox Ally models, so what does $400 extra get you?
Both handhelds come with the Windows 11 Home operating system and the aforementioned Xbox Full Screen experience. They also have the same controls and the same display. The $599 Ally features a Z2 A Processor, whereas the Ally X features the more potent Z2 Extreme Processor, which will boost gaming performance. It also features a larger 1TB M.2 drive, as opposed to the 512GB size of the Ally.
There's more RAM — 24GB versus 16GB — and the Ally X comes with a USB4 port. For the extra beef, the Ally X is slightly heavier, but also has a larger battery. You can see the full breakdown below.
Specifications | ROG Xbox Ally | ROG Xbox Ally X |
|---|---|---|
Display | 7-inch (1080p) IPS, 500 nits, 16:9 120Hz refresh rate FreeSync Premium Corning Gorilla Glass Victus + DXC Anti-Reflection | 7-inch (1080p) IPS, 500 nits, 16:9 120Hz refresh rate FreeSync Premium Corning Gorilla Glass Victus + DXC Anti-Reflection |
CPU | AMD Ryzen Z2 A | AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme |
Memory | 16GB LPDDR5X-6400 | 24GB LPDDR5X-8000 |
Storage | 512GB M.2 2280 SSD | 1TB M.2 2280 SSD |
I/O | -2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with DisplayPort 2.1 / Power Delivery 3.0 | -1x USB4 Type-C with DisplayPort 2.1 / Power Delivery 3.0, Thunderbolt 4 compatible -1x UHS-II microSD card reader -1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack |
Wireless connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E (2 x 2) + Bluetooth 5.4 | Wi-Fi 6E (2 x 2) + Bluetooth 5.4 |
Battery | 60Wh | 80Wh |
Operating system | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home |
Weight | 670g | 715g |
As noted, both the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X are now available to buy from all of the above retail sections. There's no telling how popular either will, or how much stock various retailers have, so if you want to get your hands on one, it's worth moving quickly.
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