Asus no longer sells one handheld; it sells a family of them. The original ROG Ally, the more powerful ROG Ally X, and now the Microsoft co-branded ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X all compete for the same spot in your bag, at four different price points. GamesHarbour breaks down what separates them, how they actually perform, and whether either flagship model, the ROG Ally X or the ROG Xbox Ally X, is worth it over Valve’s Steam Deck OLED.
The ROG Ally Lineup, Explained
Before comparing specs, it helps to know exactly which device is which, since Asus now has four active models on the market.
| Model | Released | Chip | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROG Ally X | 2024 | Ryzen Z1 Extreme | ~$799 |
| ROG Xbox Ally | October 16, 2025 | Ryzen Z2 A | ~$599.99 |
| ROG Xbox Ally X | October 16, 2025 | Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme | $999.99 |
The ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X are Microsoft co-branded devices that run the Xbox Full Screen Experience layered over Windows 11. In contrast, the original ROG Ally X runs standard Windows 11 with Asus’s own Armoury Crate interface.
ROG Ally X Specs
The ROG Ally X remains a strong performer even as the newer Xbox-branded model has taken the flagship spotlight.
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme (Zen 4, 8-core/16-thread, up to 5.1GHz) |
| GPU | AMD RDNA 3, 12 compute units, up to 8.6 TFLOPS |
| Memory | 24GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 1TB NVMe SSD, M.2 2280 slot |
| Display | 7-inch IPS, 1080p, 120Hz |
| Battery | 80Wh |
| Weight | 678g |
| OS | Windows 11 |
Independent Notebookcheck benchmarks recorded a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 3,984 and a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 4,587 on the Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip, numbers that comfortably outpace the older Zen 2-based Steam Deck OLED chip in CPU-bound workloads.
ROG Xbox Ally X Specs
The ROG Xbox Ally X is Asus and Microsoft’s current flagship, built around AMD’s newest handheld silicon.
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme (Zen 5, 8-core/16-thread, up to 5.0GHz, 24MB cache) |
| GPU | AMD RDNA 3.5, 16 compute units at 2.7GHz, 5.53 TFLOPS |
| NPU | AMD XDNA, up to 50 TOPS |
| Memory | 24GB LPDDR5X-8000 |
| Storage | 1TB NVMe SSD |
| Display | 7-inch IPS, 1080p, 500 nits, 120Hz, FreeSync Premium |
| Battery | 80Wh |
| Weight | 715g |
| OS | Windows 11 with Xbox Full Screen Experience |
The Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme’s generational gain over the Z1 Extreme is smaller than the price difference implies. In matched Cyberpunk 2077 testing at 25W, the Z2 Extreme showed only a 12% improvement, widening to around 22% at a lower 17W power draw.
Game Benchmarks: Beyond Cyberpunk
Specs on paper only tell part of the story. Here’s how both models actually perform across a spread of genres, based on independent testing:
| Game | ROG Ally X (1080p) | ROG Xbox Ally X (1080p) |
|---|---|---|
| Elden Ring / Shadow of the Erdtree | 50-55 FPS (medium/high) | 30-45 FPS (30/35W optimized settings) |
| Forza Horizon 5 | Stable 60 FPS | Consistently better 1% lows than Ally X (Forza Motorsport tested) |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (RT off) | 38-45 FPS | ~12-22% faster than Ally X depending on power draw |
| Hades II | Up to 120 FPS | Not separately tested, expected similar or higher |
| Elden Ring Nightreign | Not tested | Consistently better than Ally X, though the margin is small |
The generational gain isn’t uniform across titles. Elden Ring Nightreign and lighter esports-style games show a real, if modest, edge for the Z2 Extreme chip, while GPU-bound ray tracing titles occasionally favor competitors with dedicated ray tracing strengths over either ROG model.
Thermals, Fan Noise, and Software Experience
Cooling and day-to-day software feel matter as much as raw specs for a device you’re holding for hours.
| Thermals | Fan noise | Software |
|---|---|---|
| Both the ROG Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally X run warm under sustained Turbo mode load, with CPU temperatures commonly reported in the high-80s to low-90s°C, close to the Ryzen chips’ 100°C throttle point but generally not triggering thermal throttling in independent testing. In lighter Performance mode (17W), temperatures typically stay in the 50-60°C range. | Reviewers consistently describe both devices as quiet in Silent and Performance modes, with fan noise becoming noticeable only in Turbo mode, described by one reviewer as reaching “small leaf-blower levels” under heavy load, though still not loud enough to interrupt play through headphones. | The ROG Ally X runs Asus’s Armoury Crate SE interface, a fully customizable hub for switching power profiles, fan curves, and thermal parameters. The ROG Xbox Ally X layers the Xbox Full Screen Experience on top of the same underlying Windows 11 and Armoury Crate systems, and while this makes the console-like navigation smoother, some reviewers reported noticeable lag when switching between the Xbox interface and the Windows desktop mode. |
Ports and Connectivity
Both current-generation models share largely the same physical connectivity:
- ◆2x USB-C ports: one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps, DisplayPort 2.1, Power Delivery 3.0) and one USB4 (40Gbps, DisplayPort 2.1, Power Delivery 3.0)
- ◆microSD card reader: UHS-II, supporting SD, SDXC, and SDHC
- ◆3.5mm audio jack
- ◆Wi-Fi 6E (Wi-Fi 7 is not yet supported on either current model)
- ◆Bluetooth 5.4
The internal M.2 2280 SSD slot remains user-accessible on both models, which is a genuine rarity in this category and makes storage upgrades straightforward without voiding the warranty in most regions.
ROG Ally X Price and ROG Xbox Ally X Price
Here’s where each model actually lands after real-world pricing shifts through 2026:
- ◆ROG Ally X: originally $799, still commonly listed between $799 and $899 depending on retailer
- ◆ROG Xbox Ally: launched around $599.99, but has frequently dropped to $499.99 at major retailers through 2026
- ◆ROG Xbox Ally X: $999.99 at launch and still the price as of testing, listed as high as $839.99-$999.99 across retailers depending on bundle
ROG Ally X Battery Life
The 80Wh battery is the single biggest hardware improvement the ROG Ally X made over the original ROG Ally’s 40Wh cell, and the same 80Wh cell carries over to the ROG Xbox Ally X.
- ◆At 25W (heavy gaming): roughly 2-3 hours of AAA play, double what the original 40Wh ROG Ally delivered
- ◆At 15W (balanced mode): 4-6 hours is achievable for lighter titles
- ◆The base ROG Xbox Ally ships with a smaller 60Wh battery rather than the full 80Wh cell
ROG Ally X Review: Is It Still Worth Buying in 2026?
Even with a newer flagship on the market, the ROG Ally X remains a genuinely strong option, and often the better value pick.
| What Holds Up | What Doesn’t |
|---|---|
| Ryzen Z1 Extreme performance is still extremely competitive against everything except the newest Z2 Extreme chip | Heat under maximum load can exceed 90°C |
| The 120Hz display is smooth with low touch latency | At $799-899, it’s still a premium purchase against a cheaper Steam Deck OLED |
| Premium textured plastic construction with excellent tactile feedback | |
| An accessible internal M.2 slot for SSD upgrades, rare in this category |
ROG Xbox Ally X Review: Critical Reception
Reception for the ROG Xbox Ally X has been more positive than the cheaper base model, though not without real criticism.
Trusted Reviews called it “the definitive Windows handheld to buy right now,” praising the Xbox Full Screen Experience UI as making Windows 11 “bearable” on a handheld for the first time. However, other outlets were harsher on the base ROG Xbox Ally specifically: The Verge scored it 40/100, noting that “even the two-year-old, $549 Steam Deck OLED is beating Microsoft’s brand-new handheld by an average of 13 percent.” Notebookcheck’s aggregate score across 11 reviews landed at 72.64%, praising ergonomics and build quality (95% and 87% respectively) while marking performance as the weakest category at 62%.
Most of the harshest criticism targets the cheaper base ROG Xbox Ally, which uses the older, weaker Ryzen Z2 A chip, not the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme found in the X model reviewed in this guide.
ROG Ally X vs Steam Deck OLED
The price gap that used to make this comparison lopsided has narrowed considerably. Valve raised Steam Deck OLED pricing on May 27, 2026, bringing the 512GB model to $789, just $210.99 below the ROG Xbox Ally X’s $999.99, and only $50.99 below the 1TB Steam Deck OLED at $949.
| Category | ROG Ally X / Xbox Ally X | Steam Deck OLED |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $799 / $999.99 | $789 (512GB) |
| Display | 1080p IPS, 120Hz | 800p OLED, 90Hz |
| Battery | 80Wh | ~50Wh |
| OS | Windows 11 | SteamOS (Linux) |
| CPU generation | Zen 4 / Zen 5 | Older Zen 2-based APU |
The Steam Deck OLED’s OLED panel and SteamOS’s console-like suspend-and-resume experience remain genuine advantages, and reviewer consensus puts Cyberpunk 2077 performance on Steam Deck OLED in the 30-40 FPS range at native resolution with FSR upscaling, on a battery footprint far smaller than either ROG model needs to hit similar numbers. But on raw CPU and GPU power, both ROG Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally X pull ahead clearly, at the cost of a bigger, heavier device and a smaller battery-life margin per watt.
How the ROG Ally X Line Stacks Up Against Legion Go 2 and MSI Claw
The ROG Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally X aren’t just competing with Steam Deck OLED. Two other 2026 flagships sit above them on price and, in some cases, performance:
| Device | Price | Chip | Display | Battery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROG Xbox Ally X | $999.99 | Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme | 7″ 1080p IPS, 120Hz | 80Wh |
| Lenovo Legion Go 2 | ~$1,199-1,999 depending on config | Ryzen Z2 Extreme (Zen 5/5c hybrid) | 8.8″ PureSight OLED, 144Hz | 74Wh |
| MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | ~$1,799 | Intel Arc G3 Extreme | 8″ IPS | 80Wh |
For most buyers, the ROG Xbox Ally X remains the better overall value: it costs roughly $200-800 less than either competitor, packs the larger battery of the group tied with the Claw, and handles current-generation titles without bottlenecking. The Legion Go 2’s OLED display, bigger screen, and detachable controllers are real advantages if those specific features matter to you, but its price has climbed significantly since launch. The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ posts the strongest raw benchmark numbers in the group, with independent testing showing it around 40% faster than the Ryzen Z2 Extreme in matched 35W workloads, but it also costs nearly double the ROG Xbox Ally X.
The Verdict
Pulling together the sourced critic scores referenced throughout this review:
- ◆ROG Ally (original): Eneba scored it 8.4/10, calling it the “top spot” for Windows handhelds at $749, praising native access to Steam, Xbox Game Pass, Epic, and GOG without workarounds
- ◆Base ROG Xbox Ally: Notebookcheck’s aggregate across 11 reviews landed at 72.64%, with performance marked as the weakest category; The Verge scored it 40/100, writing that “fixing the bugs won’t be enough to save the $599 Xbox Ally”
- ◆ROG Xbox Ally X: reception has been notably more positive than the base model, with Trusted Reviews calling it “the definitive Windows handheld to buy right now,” though Metacritic’s roundup also notes harsher takes, including Dexerto’s 100/100 at one end and GamesRadar+’s more measured 90 alongside criticism from outlets flagging software bugs at launch
- ◆Steam Deck OLED: consistently cited across sources as the value and efficiency leader, without a directly comparable aggregate score pulled for this review
This is a review of what critics and independent testing found, not a GamesHarbour-assigned numeric score.
Final Thought: Which ROG Ally Should You Actually Get?
Asus’s handheld lineup has gotten more confusing, not less, in 2026, but the actual buying decision is simpler than it looks. The ROG Ally X is the value pick among the powerful models, the ROG Xbox Ally X is the outright performance leader if you can absorb the $999.99 price tag, and the base ROG Xbox Ally is the one model in the lineup reviewers consistently steer buyers away from. Steam Deck OLED remains the strongest alternative for anyone prioritizing battery life and display quality over raw power.
For more hardware and game breakdowns like this one, check out our full reviews section.
