This Is How You Top All Handhelds: Why the ASUS ROG Ally X Should Be Your Next Gaming Pick

There’s a new king of the hill in the space of handheld gaming PCs. The Asus ROG Ally X has the space to make that claim, especially after the ROG Ally’s initial announcement laid the foundation. But the device, announced in mid-May and now available at Best Buy for $799, is not an iterative version of last year’s pioneering system. Instead, it stands apart from its predecessor as a fine-tuning of the tradeoffs that prospective handheld gamers will need to consider. Here’s why the Asus ROG Ally X is the handheld gaming PC to beat.

Significant Upgrades That Matter

Power and Performance

And first things first: specs. The ROG Ally X stays with the 7-inch 1080p display and the core combo of the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor and AMD Radeon GPU. But where Asus boosts the ROG Ally X is in the memory and storage departments, shipping the console with beefy gains over the ROG Ally’s configuration setups: 24GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. These aren’t just bigger, shiny numbers: they mean better performance, longer load times and more storage space to take your game library with you.

Connectivity and Expansion

Asus also responded to criticism about connectivity: users can now find an additional USB-C port and a completely reworked motherboard with a M.2 2280 slot, enabling gamers to quickly and easily expand the amount of storage on their laptops. As is now the norm on many laptops and tablets, the ROG Flow X13 also features a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting headphones, as well as a MicroSD card reader.

Durability and Design

But that was not the only tweaks that Asus made inside the ROG Ally X, which also sports a black colourway that’s more immersive than the original model’s white finish, as well as an ergonomic layout that makes for more comfortable marathon gaming sessions. While the analog stick durability has been improved to 5 million cycles (up from 3 million on the first-gen model), the back buttons on the back of the handheld have also been subtly repositioned from being too close to the case edges, thereby minimising accidental presses.

A Leap in Battery Life

The most important upgrade of all is the battery. Doubling the capacity to an 80Wh monster, the ROG Ally X will give you game for longer on the road. Now you no longer have to worry your device might die while you’re busy laying waste to the competition.

Hands-on Impressions: A True Game-Changer?

The one thing that sticks with me about my few minutes with the ROG Ally X is how ergonomically considered it feels: how good it is in the hand, balancing weight and grip in a way that seems deliberately thought through for the real world. On a San Francisco afternoon, hooked up to a power base, the 2020 Battletoads I tested on it ran smoothly at well over 60 FPS and looked incredible on the device’s screen.

But what really shows the promise of the ROG Ally X as a whole is that it’s thinking about hard- and software adjustments to improve the gaming experience – whether that’s a tweak to the hardware for better performance, a user-friendly design adjustment for better ergonomics, or a major battery tweak that delivers more playtime.

Why the ASUS ROG Ally X Should Be Your Next Handheld Gaming PC

Available for $100 more than its predecessor, the ROG Ally X isn’t about minor refinements. It signifies Asus’s determination to perfect the form of the handheld gaming PC. Armed with faster specs, clever refinements of the design and a simple-to-use operating system (Windows 11 straight on the box), it’s a compelling portmanteau of power, comfort and future-proofing.

The Edge Over Competitors

I can’t help but bring up the ROG Ally X’s biggest advantage over other competitors, especially the Steam Deck. With Windows 11, Asus granted gamers immediate access to a huge game ecosystem that doesn’t require hacking or workarounds. On top of that, the robust specs and tuning made the ROG Ally X a handheld gaming machine that could take the top spot.

A Considerate Upgrade

What Asus’s ROG Ally X strategy suggests is that, just as much as it’s about the big reveal of the new device, it’s about iterating upon the device in relation to community feedback and in advance of, or alongside, technological shifts. Even though it does not have a 2nd-gen branding, the reimagined version of the ROG Ally X represents an evolution of exactly what the ROG Ally wanted to be – a thoughtfully refined platform.

ABOUT ASUS

Asus has always been a premier brand for gaming hardware, and the company’s commitment to honing craftmanship, pushing the edge of performance and innovation continues with the ROG Ally X. Asus has dedicated itself to providing top-tier equipment for hardworking gamers across the globe. From sturdy laptops to blazing fast desktops to handheld devices that push gaming hardware to new heights, Asus is helping gamers find the perfect hardware to help them reach their peak potential.