Handheld gaming has officially levelled up, and this time it’s Asus who’s setting the tone for the next big thing in portable gaming. They have launched the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Ally X portable gaming handhelds. Both devices promise the kind of performance you’d normally expect from a full-fledged Xbox gaming console, or a Windows gaming PC, but, this time, packed neatly into a body that fits right in your hands.
Asus’ ROG XBox Ally series isn’t just another attempt at portable gaming. It has the distinction of being the world’s first Windows-based handheld designed that delivers a genuine Xbox-like console gaming experience. And because it's made by Asus, you also get a full-fledged PC in your palms.
What this means is that apart from all the features and gaming services that you get from an Xbox console, you can also stream games from Xbox Cloud Gaming, play from platforms like Steam and Epic Games. And if you want a proper, all-out gaming experience with insanely high refresh rates at an insanely high resolution you can even hook it up to an external GPU for desktop-level power. Basically, this is a proper gaming computer that’s smaller than a laptop, which you can carry anywhere.
The design is where Asus clearly had some fun. The contoured hand grip instantly gives off Xbox vibes, and are slightly angled for a more natural and comfortable position for long gaming sessions.
The micro ROG patterns and Xbox-inspired detailing on the handles look stylish, but they also help with grip.
The ROG Ally X adds an extra layer of realism thanks to those impulse triggers that come with built-in vibration motors. This basically means that every shot, crash, or explosion can literally be felt in your hands. It’s a level of feedback that makes gaming far more engaging, especially in racing or shooting titles.
Both, the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X come with a pretty solid 7-inch Full HD display which supports 120Hz refresh rate. The Display delivers some pretty sharp and stunning images. And because the panels have a pretty quick response time of 7ms, you are in for a world of joy when gaming on this thing.
Whether you’re playing something like Forza Horizon 5 or Baldur’s Gate 3, the experience feels surprisingly close to gaming on a console or a powerful laptop.
For audio front, both get a dual-speaker system with Smart Amp technology. They also support Dolby Atmos. Now, they might not get as loud as a laptop, but for a handheld, they do get pretty loud, which makes things like explosions, gunshots, and background music seem more immersive than you’d expect from something this small.
The hardware powering both the handheld consoles is actually pretty impressive. The ROG Xbox Ally is powered by AMD’s Ryzen Z2 A processor, while the Ally X gets a beefier Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip.
For RAM and storage, the Xbox Ally X offers up to 24GB LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB PCIe Gen 4 storage, whereas the non-X variant tops out at 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB PCIe Gen 4 storage. You can, of course, expand these with your own SSDs.
Keeping things cool is a redesigned vapour chamber cooling system that keeps temperatures under control, even during extended gaming sessions. What’s more is that Asus claims that the vapour chamber works well no matter how you hold the handheld, even upside-down.
From the limited time we spent with the devices, both models handled some pretty demanding titles effortlessly; smooth frame rates, no visible lag, and zero heating issues. Asus seems to have nailed the performance balance here, and that too, in such a small footprint.
Most handheld gaming devices are not exactly known to have great battery lives. The ROG ROG Xbox Ally and the Ally X, though, do a pretty solid job here, at least in terms of capacity.
The regular ROG Xbox Ally comes with a 60Wh battery, which is respectable. But the ROG Xbox Ally X turns things up to 11 and gets an 80Wh battery. This should promise much longer gaming sessions without having to constantly reach for a charger.
The ROG Xbox Ally is priced at ₹69,900, while the ROG Ally X comes in at ₹1,14,900. Just in case you’re confused between the two, here’s how you pick one. The standard model is great for people new to handheld gaming. It’s pretty affordable, powerful, and easy to get into.
The Ally X, however, is purely for those who want nothing but the best in gaming experience, top-notch performance and a longer battery life.
Asus have pulled off something remarkable. The ROG Xbox Ally series brings the power of PC gaming, the convenience of a console, and the portability of a handheld together, all in one pretty neat and portable package. Handheld gaming might just have found its new gold standard.