Before PAX in 2023, I had the opportunity to review the ASUS ROG Ally Gaming Handheld; a small and powerful gaming computer that isn’t much bigger than some other handheld gaming systems. You can read about that here, and what I said there still stands. I was thoroughly impressed, so you can only imagine my surprise when we strolled into the ASUS display at PAX in 2024 to see the new ROG Ally X.

They’ve taken feedback from handheld enthusiasts around the world, looking to improve on the overall performance and comfort when developing the ROG Ally X. Some of the loudest feedback was regarding the battery life. I can’t say I experienced any concerns with that, I don’t spend as much time with handheld devices as others. The original 40Wh battery has been ramped up to 80Wh, almost doubling the game time available, and it’s now capable of taking charge speeds of up to 100W, although it is still supplied with a 65W charger.

I say it’s almost doubled its game time because there are several other tweaks the powerful little beast has gone through. It still uses the 8-Core AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU, with 16 threads and the ability to squeeze out up to 5.10GHz of performance, and AMD Radeon Graphics with AMD RDNA 3 still drive the 7-inch 16:9 FHD touch-screen display. These were already capable components, particularly considering what the ASUS ROG Ally could do.

Storage has doubled, with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe 2280 SSD, and RAM has been bumped from 16GB LPDDR5-6400 to 24GB LPDDR5X-7500, so you’re getting more storage and more memory, and the memory is faster again.

Speakers have also been given a bit of a boost, belting out the audio considering the size of the product. If it wasn’t for the only time, I’d use this being when I was on a flight or a train somewhere, I feel like I didn’t need headphones because the audio quality was nice for its size.

Comfort also played a huge part in the update, with the ASUS ROG Ally X Gaming Handheld receiving updates to the side grips. They feel a little thinner than the previous model, and while I didn’t have any issues with the older one, I can certainly appreciate the smaller form. Thumbsticks have been improved, offering up to five million cycles over the previous two million, and they feel more responsive and springier – most likely because they’ve added tighter springs. Funny how that works.

The D-Pad now features 8-way indicators, making it feel more like you’re using a controller from other gaming consoles, and the buttons have all been updated in one way or another. The four front-facing buttons are now more tactile, feeling nice and firm to the press with a satisfying “click” when you press them. The two macro buttons on the rear have had their size reduced, lessening the chances of accidental button presses during intense firefights, though I do have to say that I prefer the larger ones.

The original ROG Ally got quite warm during longer gaming sessions, which was a little bit of a concern, so ASUS ROG has amped up the cooling systems for the ROG Ally X. A larger part of the rear panel has been used for ventilation, and the original Zero Gravity Cooling system has had the dual 47-blade fans replace with 77-blade fans, producing quite a bit more airflow, but also being substantially quieter while running.

The original white shell was a design choice. It helped the device to stand out, but it’s not the best colour for keeping your device looking clean and pristine, so this time around, ASUS ROG has gone with black instead, which I feel makes the small RGB rings circling the thumbsticks pop. It also seems to help me focus more on the screen and gameplay, but that could just be me.

Finally, being the equivalent of a small, handheld PC, a new USB4 Type-C port has been added to the top, alongside the already existing 3.5mm combo audio jack, the original USB-C (10Gbps)/charger port, and the Micro-SD card slot.

In terms of the game performance, I can’t say there was much improvement. The extra memory aided with reducing load times, and the additional storage meant I could fill it with more games, videos, or music. Honestly, I don’t think it needs a performance update anyway. It’s a 7-inch handheld computer capable of playing most modern video games and being Windows-based, you’re not limited to one platform. Steam. Xbox. Battle.Net. It doesn’t care – it’s a PC.

Gamers gave their opinions, and ASUS ROG listened. They’ve taken what was probably the best hand-held gaming device and improved it based on your feedback. It’s more comfortable, and the buttons and sticks feel more responsive. Battery life has been boosted, storage has been doubled, memory has been increased and sped up, and better fans keep it nice and cool. You asked for it, and ASUS delivered the ROG Ally X.

Written by: Mathew Lindner