Highlights

  • Asus reveals the ROG Ally X, focusing on improvements like battery life, storage, RAM, and more.
  • Updated design and specs for the ROG Ally X include an 80Wh battery, 1TB storage, 24GB LPDDR5X RAM, and improved I/O ports.
  • Asus addresses customer feedback with Ally X, boasting a new SD card reader, a sleeker design, bigger battery capacity, and better controls.

Asus has officially revealed the ROG Ally X handheld gaming PC, which touts big improvements in key areas such as battery life, storage, RAM, and more. The latest model will serve as a mid-cycle refresh to the current Asus ROG Ally, rather than a full-fledged next-generation upgrade, and is available to pre-order now.

Launched in 2023, the ROG Ally was Asus' answer to Valve's extremely popular Steam Deck handheld gaming PC. Sporting the beefier AMD Ryzen Z1 lineup of chipsets, the ROG Ally's power advantage over the Steam Deck is undeniable, but the Asus machine struggles in other areas, most notably battery life, which has been a big sticking point among owners. The ROG Ally matches the LCD Steam Deck's 40Wh battery capacity, but the power-hungry Z1 APU and Windows 11 OS severely hamper its efficiency. The Steam Deck OLED's bigger battery widened this gap even further, and so, Asus went back to the drawing board.

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After teasing the ROG Ally X less than a month ago, Asus has finally revealed the refreshed handheld gaming PC in full at Computex 2024. The company previously clarified that the X is not an "Ally 2," and will instead incorporate user feedback to be a refined version of the current Ally. The Ally X's specs certainly show this, as the new model retains the AMD Z1 Extreme chip and the 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS display from its predecessor. However, everything else sees big changes, namely:

  • Doubled battery capacity (80Wh)
  • Doubled storage from 512GB to 1TB
  • Faster 24GB LPDDR5X RAM
  • New SD card reader
  • Improved I/O with additional Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C ports
  • All-new black colorway

Asus Has Tweaked Nearly Everything on the ROG Ally X

Validating the recent leak of the Asus ROG Ally X's specs, storage has also been doubled to a 1 TB SSD, and the Ally X will also support expansion via M.2 2280 drives. The chassis has been subtly redesigned to improve ergonomics, like the curvier grips, and the controls see a thorough uplift with larger triggers, an eight-way D-pad, and revised, modular joysticks. The Ally X also has an updated cooling system with smaller, quieter fans and more exhaust vents. The new model does weigh about 70g more than the base Ally, but it's a relatively minor trade-off compared to the comprehensive upgrades on offer. Pre-orders are open for the Ally X at $799, and launch is slated for July 22.

Most importantly, though, Asus claims that the Ally X has a new SD card reader, which was a point of controversy surrounding the previous Ally model. According to reports from several owners, the Ally's SD card reader fails at a very high rate. This has seemingly been rectified with the Ally X but is yet to be verified properly. Asus will also offer an increased two-year warranty for all Ally X devices in North America to mitigate complaints about customer support. Much like the Steam Deck OLED, the ROG Ally X is about incremental changes that add up to a huge upgrade, making it a potentially far more compelling gaming handheld.