ROG Xbox Ally X Review: Windows Handheld Finally Behaves, but $999.99 Is a Lot
ASUS and Xbox built a full-screen mode to hide the Windows desktop on a 7-inch handheld with 24GB of RAM and an 80Wh battery. We weigh how well it works against a Steam Deck that costs far less.
The verdict
The most capable Windows handheld you can buy, and the Xbox full screen experience makes it nicer to live with than any earlier Ally. It still hits Windows rough edges, third-party launchers are fiddly, and the $999.99 price is hard to defend. Buy it if you want PC and Game Pass games in one device. Otherwise the Steam Deck OLED does more for much less.
Best forPlayers who want Game Pass and every PC launcher in one handheld
What we liked
- Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme with 24GB of LPDDR5X and a 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
- 80Wh battery, ASUS rates it up to 9.9 hours in light games
- 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS screen with FreeSync Premium
- Hall effect sticks and impulse-style trigger rumble feel nicely made
- USB4 port plus a UHS-II microSD slot and a user-upgradeable SSD
What we did not
- $999.99 costs close to twice a Steam Deck OLED
- Third-party launchers often ignore the sticks and buttons
- Windows updates can break Armoury Crate, as Windows Central reported
- IPS panel looks flatter than the Steam Deck OLED's HDR screen
Windows is a bad handheld operating system. That is not controversial anymore. It was built for a keyboard and a mouse, and every earlier Windows handheld spent its life asking you to tap tiny buttons on a 7-inch touchscreen.
The ROG Xbox Ally X is ASUS and Microsoft's attempt to fix that without leaving Windows. It runs a new "full screen experience" that replaces the desktop with a console-style shell. The question is whether that is good enough to justify $999.99.
What the Xbox shell actually does
ASUS describes it as a controller-optimised full-screen mode with an Xbox button for the Game Bar and system settings. Practically, it boots straight into a library view, keeps the desktop and its background clutter out of the way, and pulls your Steam, Epic, GOG and other launcher games into one place.
Reviewers split on how well it works. PC Gamer's review page leads with the Xbox full screen experience, and Notebookcheck's verdict says the Xbox Ally X is "faster, more comfortable and easier to operate" than the older Ally.
Others were harsher. Some said the shell is not ready for general consumers, and pointed out how many annoyances remind you how far SteamOS has come on the Steam Deck. Third-party launchers are the sore spot: several do not recognise the sticks or buttons at all, so you end up reaching for the touchscreen again.
The hardware is the strong part
This is the best-specified Windows handheld we have seen on paper. The AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme sits next to 24GB of LPDDR5X and a 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD that you can swap, in a standard 2280 size. The 7-inch screen is 1080p at 120Hz with FreeSync Premium.
The 80Wh battery is the other headline. ASUS rates it up to 9.9 hours in light games and 2.7 hours in heavy AAA ones, and the console-like shape comes with Hall effect sticks rated for 5 million rotations and trigger rumble. Ports include USB4, a second USB-C and a UHS-II microSD slot.
Three power modes sit behind a button: Silent at 13W, Performance at 17W, and Turbo at 35W when plugged in. That Turbo number matters. It is where the chip pulls ahead of cheaper handhelds, and it only happens on the wall charger.
Specs
- Processor
- AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme
- Memory
- 24GB LPDDR5X
- Storage
- 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, 2280 size
- Display
- 7-inch 1920x1080 IPS, 120Hz, FreeSync Premium
- Battery
- 80Wh, up to 9.9 hours light, 2.7 hours heavy (ASUS)
- Power modes
- Silent 13W, Performance 17W, Turbo 35W plugged in
- Ports
- USB4, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, UHS-II microSD, 3.5mm
- Software
- Windows 11 with Xbox full screen experience
- Price
- $999.99
