I tested the Xbox Ally X for dozens of hours, and it’s almost everything you want in a handheld — future updates could make it the full package

The ASUS ROG Ally, and especially the higher-end ROG Ally X, were among the first Windows gaming handhelds to gain widespread popularity. They quickly became leaders in a market with few other options at the time.

Recently, many tech companies have started releasing handheld gaming PCs, with several announcing their first models or updated versions this year. ASUS ROG needed to differentiate itself from this increasing competition, and it successfully did so.

As a handheld gaming fan, I was really excited to hear about the new Xbox Ally and Ally X! It’s a smart move that the manufacturer teamed up with Microsoft – these devices use AMD Ryzen Z2 Series processors and are supposed to fix one of the biggest problems with handhelds: getting Windows to run smoothly. Honestly, who better to help with Windows optimization than the people *making* Windows? It just makes sense, at least on paper.

I’ve been a big fan of the ROG Ally X and use it all the time for gaming on the go, so I was really excited to learn about the new Xbox Ally X when it was announced.

I’ve been thoroughly testing the Xbox Ally X for the past few days, spending many hours playing games and running performance tests to see how well it works.

So, is playing games on this Windows handheld actually an improvement? And is it worth the price? The Xbox Ally X isn’t flawless, but it’s a great upgrade over the ROG Ally X – I find it hard to stop playing! Here’s a closer look at what makes it so good.

By the way, if you’d like, you can read my review of the original Xbox Ally. But now, let’s move on to the review of the Xbox Ally X.

We received a review sample for this evaluation from ASUS ROG and Microsoft. They didn’t have any influence on the review and hadn’t seen it before it was published.

Xbox Ally X review

The black Xbox Ally X is priced at $999.99 at Best Buy and features a powerful AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24GB of RAM, and a spacious 1TB solid state drive. It’s the higher-end model compared to the white Xbox Ally, which costs $599.99 and includes a Z2 Go processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

Although it’s definitely an expensive device, other Windows handheld gaming PCs cost even more. For example, the Legion Go 2, featuring detachable controllers and an OLED screen, starts at $1,099.99 at Best Buy. The MSI Claw 8 AI+, powered by Intel, is another option at $1,024.99 from Best Buy.

The Xbox Ally X is a powerful handheld gaming device, and while it’s expensive, you get good value for your money thanks to its strong hardware, smart design, and overall performance.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

Besides the handheld device, the package also includes a 65W charging adapter and a small cardboard stand.

DESIGN & UPGRADABILITY ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I instantly fell in love with the Xbox Ally X the moment I unboxed it. It’s a beautiful device, and the comfortable grips make it perfect for long gaming sessions.

These grips are designed with the same comfortable texture as the official Xbox controller. They make holding the handheld much easier, so you don’t have to grip it as tightly, which helps prevent hand cramps and wrist strain during longer gaming sessions.

Beyond being comfortable to hold, the Xbox Ally X has a stylish design with a touch of class. If you examine it closely, you’ll notice the words “ROG” and “Xbox” subtly repeated vertically across the front, creating a cool effect as light reflects off them. It’s a small detail that’s easy to overlook, but it adds a nice touch to the device’s exterior.

The handheld offers many options for connecting accessories. You can easily use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a headphone jack, a microSD card reader, or either of the two USB-C ports, as they’re all conveniently placed.

The Xbox Ally X has two USB-C ports: a USB4 Type-C (which works with Thunderbolt 4) and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port. This lets me charge the device with one port and connect a USB accessory to the other at the same time.

I appreciate having both ports located on the top of this handheld device. Other devices, like the Legion Go 2, place one port on top and another on the bottom, which can be awkward to reach.

Here’s a helpful tip: If you’re playing while charging or using a dock, connect to the USB4 port on the side – it’s faster and supports better video quality.

WHAT ABOUT UPGRADEABILITY?

Opening the Xbox Ally X is fairly straightforward. After removing the screws on the back, a plastic tool can be used to carefully separate the casing. Once inside, the SSD is easily accessible and can be swapped out without much difficulty. This was anticipated, as SanDisk had previously announced special WD_BLACK SSDs designed for the Ally, and it’s good to confirm that they are indeed easy to replace.

This means it should be relatively easy to upgrade the SSD on the Xbox Ally X, at least.

BUTTONS & JOYSTICKS ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

The Xbox Ally X keeps the same general button layout and design as the older ROG Ally X (excluding the Xbox Controller grips), but it includes some useful upgrades. Specifically, the bumpers and triggers are now larger and positioned higher, preventing them from bumping against the device’s casing when you press them.

This handheld gaming device doesn’t include a touchpad or Hall effect joysticks – the latter are great because they prevent joystick drift. However, all the other controls – the buttons, triggers, bumpers, D-pad, and joysticks – feel comfortable and react quickly, even during fast-paced gameplay.

From my perspective as a researcher, I think the dark red ABXY buttons would be more visually appealing with a different font – though this is really just a matter of personal preference. I continue to find the placement of the View button on the left and the Menu button on the right to be intuitive and user-friendly for navigating the game’s menus.

Above those two buttons, you’ll find the Command Center on the left. It opens a quick settings menu, and the Library button is on the right, which opens the Xbox app to your game collection. If you press and hold the Library button, you can access Copilot Gaming (currently in beta). You can also customize what these buttons do, and I’ll cover that in more detail later.

The most noticeable new feature is the large Xbox button on the left – a single tap brings up the Xbox Game Bar. This makes it easy to quickly switch between recently played games and apps, adjust microphone and speaker settings, access Xbox social features, record gameplay, and more.

The Xbox button has another useful function: if you hold it down, it brings up a view of all your open apps and windows, letting you quickly switch between them. I find this especially helpful for moving between programs.

Like with other Ally devices, this one uses the power button for fingerprint scanning, which I thought was really cool. I set it up right away, and most of the time it unlocks perfectly. But, I did run into a few instances where it didn’t recognize my print, and I had to fall back to entering my PIN. It wasn’t a huge deal, but something to note.

The Xbox Ally X has great, easily accessible controls that are fast and responsive. The fingerprint reader could be a little more reliable, however.

DISPLAY ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Xbox Ally X features a familiar 7-inch Full HD touchscreen, similar to those found on older ROG Ally models. While it’s not as vibrant as an OLED screen, it still delivers good color accuracy (covering 97% of the sRGB spectrum in our tests), solid contrast, a sharp 1080p resolution, and a brightness of up to 500 nits – all great for gaming on the go.

These screens also offer features like variable refresh rate (VRR), up to 120Hz refresh rates, and AMD FreeSync Premium (which is automatically turned on) to make games look incredibly smooth when played on the handheld device.

Even with the Xbox Ally X set to its highest performance level, I occasionally noticed some screen tearing and stuttering in visually intensive games. However, it still ran more smoothly than many other handheld gaming devices I’ve tested.

Of course, you’ll likely need to adjust the game settings depending on how well it runs with your device’s hardware and drivers. I was surprised to find that some games, like Final Fantasy 16, performed exceptionally well even with all settings maxed out. Conversely, other games I thought would run smoothly seemed a little less polished. We’ll cover overall performance in more detail shortly.

Although an OLED screen would have looked better, sticking with the reliable IPS panel helps lower the price, and it still provides a perfectly good experience for playing games on the go.

PERFORMANCE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

After playing many games on the Xbox Ally X for over forty hours, I found that it can handle demanding titles surprisingly well. To get the best performance, you need to use Turbo mode (25 watts when not plugged in, 30 watts when it is), have at least 8GB of VRAM, and adjust the game’s graphics settings appropriately.

Some games work better on handheld devices than others. To get the best performance from your Xbox Ally X, particularly with demanding games, make sure to turn on HYPR-RX and its game-enhancing features within the AMD Software.

When playing Cyberpunk 2077 on the Xbox Ally X, I saw around 45 frames per second using the Steam Deck settings, which made the game appear jerky. However, after turning on HYPR-RX with its standard features, the game became much smoother and ran at an average of 83 FPS. HYPR-RX also improved performance in other demanding games like Final Fantasy 16, Death Stranding, and the Silent Hill remakes, as well as other recent, high-end titles.

This machine handles 2D games with ease. Even modern, high-end games can be played smoothly, though you might need to adjust the settings to prioritize either sharper visuals or faster performance. Classic games like World of Warcraft, and those with older-style graphics, such as those from New Blood Interactive, will run perfectly.

The Xbox Ally X is a fantastic and powerful handheld device. It runs games very smoothly, particularly those designed for portable play.

Gaming benchmarks

I performed these tests with the Xbox Ally X configured as follows: 8GB of VRAM, a Turbo power limit of 35W (while connected via USB4), and the default HYPR-RX settings enabled in AMD software.

• Ashes of the Singularity — 78.8~ FPS (Normal preset, 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, V-sync enabled) | 54.0~ FPS (Heavy preset, 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, V-sync enabled)
• Cyberpunk 2077 — 93.25~ FPS (Low preset, Path Tracing and Ray Reconstruction disabled, 1080p resolution, 120Hz, V-sync disabled, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.1 set to “Auto,” frame generation disabled) | 83.61~ FPS (Steam Deck preset, Path Tracing and Ray Reconstruction disabled, 1080p resolution, 120Hz, V-sync disabled, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.1 set to “Auto,” frame generation disabled)
• Forza Horizon 5 — 42~ FPS (Extreme preset, 1080p resolution, AMD FSR 2.2/Frame Generation/Reflex Low Latency disabled) |  60~ FPS (Medium preset, 1080p resolution, AMD FSR 2.2/Frame Generation/Reflex Low Latency disabled)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider — 43~ FPS(High preset, 1080p resolution, V-sync enabled) |38~ FPS (Highest preset, 1080p resolution, V-sync enabled)

PC benchmarks

Like most AMD-powered devices, the Xbox Ally X performed slightly better when connected to power. For the best experience, plug it into the USB4 port located closest to the device’s bumper.

The Xbox Ally X performed exceptionally well in our tests, achieving some of the highest scores of any handheld gaming device we’ve evaluated.

Lenovo’s handheld gaming devices still have an edge over ASUS ROG Ally in terms of how quickly they can read and write data to the storage drive. However, the ROG Ally X performed well, achieving read speeds of 4,944 MB/s and write speeds of 4,167 MB/s. While there’s room for improvement, the performance isn’t bad.

The Xbox Ally X makes it pretty simple to replace the internal storage drive (SSD), letting you upgrade performance if desired.

And it looks like overall Xbox Ally X performance will only get better from here, too.

Microsoft has announced upcoming improvements for the Xbox Series X that will enhance gaming experiences next year. These features, including Auto Super Resolution and improved shader technology, are designed to make certain games start up to ten times faster, run more smoothly, and conserve battery life when first launched.

The white Xbox Ally won’t get AI features because it lacks the necessary processor to support them.

THERMALS & FAN NOISE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Xbox Ally X was generally very quiet, topping out around 49.8dB even when playing demanding games. However, once after waking it up from sleep, the fans briefly ran very loudly at 60.4dB. This hasn’t happened since.

The device stays cool thanks to its Zero Gravity cooling system, which uses two fans. This prevents performance slowdowns and keeps the surface comfortable to touch, even during long gaming sessions.

I used a thermal camera to check temperatures after running the device at full power for 20 minutes. As expected, the vents got the hottest, reaching 125°F (52°C). Fortunately, the handles stayed relatively cool, topping out at 75°F (24°C).

SOFTWARE & USER EXPERIENCE ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Okay, so I’ve been following the Xbox handhelds closely, and while the Ally X and the original Ally have seen some really great improvements, they’ve been held back by the operating system. It just wasn’t built for a device like this! But honestly, things are changing quickly and it’s getting better all the time.

The biggest new feature is the “Xbox Full Screen Experience.” It makes the Xbox app the first thing you see when your Windows PC starts up, skipping the usual desktop. A new Xbox button helps you quickly switch between apps and other things you want to do – that’s the idea, anyway.

As an analyst, I’ve been looking into the Xbox Full Screen Experience, and while it does effectively reduce RAM usage on your desktop, I haven’t seen evidence that it significantly boosts in-game performance. It’s a nice optimization, but don’t expect a major leap in how your games run.

Switching between games, the Xbox app, and Steam is now much smoother. However, you still can’t pin apps like Discord or the Microsoft Store directly to the Xbox guide, which surprisingly means you have to go back to the Windows desktop to access them.

To return to the best full-screen view, you’ll also need to restart your device. While the Xbox app has an ‘apps’ section, you can’t download new apps directly from it – you have to switch to the full desktop mode, and even then, some apps like Discord aren’t listed.

Microsoft says this is only the first step, with more improvements and features planned for the future. They’ve shared a roadmap, indicating features like Xbox Cloud Save indicators will be added early next year.

Even with the significant and promising improvements, the experience on day one isn’t quite polished yet. It still doesn’t feel as smooth or complete as established gaming platforms like the Xbox Series X|S, Steam Deck, or PlayStation 5.

One problem with the Xbox is its Microsoft Store. It doesn’t have nearly as many games as Steam, and it’s hard to find what you’re looking for. The selection isn’t well organized, and browsing feels slow and frustrating.

Steam makes it immediately clear what kind of game you’re looking at, but on the Xbox Microsoft Store, finding basic information like the genre, screenshots, or trailers can be surprisingly difficult.

This issue impacts the standard Xbox Ally more significantly than the Ally X, as the base model needs to prioritize performance more carefully. While Microsoft is launching a compatibility program to address this, it wasn’t ready during our testing. A lot more development is still needed to resolve these problems.

We’re increasingly able to enjoy gaming on these devices without even needing the traditional Windows desktop environment. The Xbox Game Bar is becoming very similar to the guide found on the Xbox Series X|S consoles, and it would be even better with more options for managing and uploading gameplay clips.

The Xbox Ally X is also a Microsoft Copilot+ PC, meaning it has a dedicated AI processor (NPU). While this isn’t being used to improve games until 2026, it does unlock some features you wouldn’t otherwise have. Thankfully, you can easily remove potentially intrusive features like Windows Recall. We also tested the new Gaming Copilot, which you can activate by holding down the library button.

Right now, this feature doesn’t seem to serve a useful purpose. It appears to be an attempt by Xbox to demonstrate its relevance to Microsoft’s broader artificial intelligence initiatives and convince CEO Satya Nadella of its contributions.

I tested it with lots of questions across different games, but it mostly just described what was happening on screen without giving any useful advice. For example, when I asked for help with puzzles in Silent Hill F and Silent Hill 2, it would respond with basic instructions like “press the A button,” completely missing the bigger picture and what I actually needed to know.

Gaming Copilot might be helpful for accessibility down the line, but as it stands now, most gamers won’t find a need for it.

The ASUS Armory Crate SE software has gotten noticeably better. Now, you can quickly access its key settings directly through the Xbox Game Bar, instead of needing to open a separate application. This makes it much faster and easier to adjust things like power settings on the fly, a significant improvement over the previous ASUS ROG system that required loading a whole app first.

How often Microsoft updates the Xbox handhelds (and the more powerful Xbox Ally X) will be key to making them better in the future. Features like automatic super resolution, AI-created highlight reels, and clear game save syncing should have been included from the start, but will be important improvements when they arrive.

This feels like a first-generation product. It has the core features you’d expect, and it’s a solid starting point. However, it’s uncertain whether Microsoft will continue developing it, or if it might be discontinued like some of their other projects.

BATTERY LIFE ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Because the Xbox Ally X uses the same 80Wh battery as the older ROG Ally X, its battery life is comparable.

The battery lasted about two hours while playing demanding games. However, it can last longer with less intensive games, especially if you lower the graphics settings and screen brightness.

Because the Xbox Ally X includes a Windows (17W) TDP performance setting, I also checked how long the battery lasts when used for everyday office work.

Surprisingly, the Legion Go 2’s battery lasted a bit longer when playing demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Celeste, but didn’t perform as well during typical office use.

• 1 hr 53 mins — Cyberpunk 2077 (Steam Deck preset) on Performance mode (25W) with screen at 60% brightness (around 200 nits) and RGB lighting off.
• 5 hrs 6 mins— Celeste on Silent mode (13W) with screen at 25% brightness (77 nits).
• 14 hrs 24 mins — Running basic office tasks (like website browsing, running programs, and writing documents) on Windows mode (17W) with screen at 60% brightness (around 200 nits).

Battery life remains a key issue for new handheld gaming devices like the Xbox Ally X. It’s good that it lasts about as long as the older model, but that really highlights the current limitations of battery technology in these handhelds.

Xbox Ally X: Should you get it?

✅ You should buy this if …

• You tend to play more intensive AAA games and want a handheld that can keep up
• You want a handheld with comfortable grips
• You’re looking for a portable device that can run various games from different services

❌ You should not buy this if …

• You tend to play less graphically demanding titles and don’t need something this powerful
• You’d prefer a handheld with Hall effect joysticks and an OLED panel

Even with a lot of other handheld gaming devices available, ASUS ROG has designed one that’s both powerful and easy to carry, and it’s noticeably more comfortable to hold than many of its competitors.

If you often play demanding, high-end games, the Xbox Ally X is a top-tier handheld choice. Its powerful processor and AMD technology consistently deliver smooth, fast-paced gaming, making it a leader in handheld performance. And, compared to other high-end Windows handhelds, it’s relatively affordable.

Microsoft’s latest updates to Windows are making it more user-friendly for handheld devices, but there’s still room for improvement – it could benefit from feeling more like a gaming console. Adding joysticks that use Hall effect technology and increasing the battery size would be great, although better battery life is a challenge for all tech devices.

The Xbox Ally X is a simple recommendation: it’s a handheld gaming PC running Windows that lets you play games from lots of different services with impressive performance – some of the best we’ve seen in a handheld device.

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2025-10-15 16:20