Asus ROG Xbox Ally vs Xbox Ally X: The handhelds compared

As the long-awaited Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X have finally officially launched, we’re keen to see what the differences between the handhelds really are.

Although at the surface, both the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X appear pretty similar, there are a few important differences that separate the two and will likely impact your decision.

As we’re yet to review the Xbox Ally X, we’ve compared its specs to our four-star review of the Xbox Ally and highlighted the key differences, alongside any noteworthy similarities, between the two.

Once you’re finished here, make sure you visit our list of the best game consoles too.

Specs

Pricing and availability

After Xbox and Asus initially teased the Ally series earlier this year, both handheld gaming consoles are now available to order. However, at the time of writing the Xbox Ally X is sold out, so you may need to be patient.

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally is the cheapest of the two, with a starting RRP of £499.99/$599.99. On the other hand, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X starts at £799.99/$999.99.

The ROG Xbox Ally X is heavier

Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering it has a larger battery, the ROG Xbox Ally X is much heavier than the ROG Xbox Ally at 715g compared to 670g, which makes the Ally a more appealing option for frequent travellers.

Even so, both devices have the same dimensions of 29 x 12.1 x 2.75 cm with a depth of 5.09cm. Plus, both essentially sport an Xbox controller cut down the middle on either side of their respective screens, with a full-size diagonally opposing thumbsticks, ABXY buttons, a D-Pad and RGB lighting.

The ROG Ally Xbox X also features Microsoft’s ‘impulse triggers’, which is the clever rumble felt in the triggers in first-party Xbox controllers in supported games.

Xbox Ally X runs on AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme Processor

One of the biggest differences between the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and Ally is that the former runs on the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, whereas the latter runs on the older AMD Ryzen Z2A APU.

We found that Ryzen Z2A resulted in pretty meagre benchmarking scores, which highlights the age of the chip compared to newer models. Although load times into Windows 11 and games were decent enough, we found you’re going to mostly look at playing titles at 720p which is the same as the 2022 Steam Deck. 

Having said that, as long as you dial back resolution and graphical settings, you can eke out 60fps gaming, however you should still mostly expect to play at 720p or, at a push, 1080p.

While we’re yet to review the Xbox Ally X, its AI Z2 Extreme chip benefits from AMD’s latest processing architecture, with eight Zen 5 cores and 16 threads alongside 16 RDNA 3.5 GPU cores. In comparison, the Ryzen Z2 A chip has just four Zen 2 cores and eight threads with eight RDNA 2 GPU cores.

The ROG Xbox Ally X has a larger battery

Despite both the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X offering the same seven-inch display and similar dimensions, which we’ll dive into later, the Ally X benefits from a considerably larger 80Wh cell. In comparison, the Ally is fitted with just a 60Wh cell.

The ROG Xbox Ally lasted around two hours and twenty minutes before needing a recharge, just 25 minutes less than the MSI Claw A8 which sports the same-sized 80Wh cell as the Xbox Ally X. We’ll have to wait and see how its 80Wh battery performs in real-world use.

Fortunately, both the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X come equipped with a 65W charger too.

The ROG Xbox Ally X has a more powerful USB-C port

The ROG Xbox Ally X is equipped with a more powerful port selection, including a USB4-capable Type-C that supports DisplayPort 2.1, Power Delivery 3.0, and Thunderbolt 4. There’s also a USB 3.2 Type-C port that supports DisplayPort 2.1 and Power Delivery 3.0. To round off the selection, the Xbox Ally X is equipped with a microSD card reader and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

On the other hand, the ROG Xbox Ally has two USB-C ports that support DisplayPort 2.1 and Power Delivery 3.0, alongside a microSD reader and 3.5mm audio jack.

The ROG Xbox Ally X is heavier

Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering it has a larger battery, the Xbox Ally X is heavier than the Xbox Ally at 715g compared to 670g, which makes the Ally a more appealing option for frequent travellers.

Even so, both devices have the same dimensions of 29 x 12.1 x 2.75 cm with a depth of 5.09cm. Plus, both essentially sport an Xbox controller cut down the middle on either side of their respective screens, with a full-size diagonally opposing thumbsticks, ABXY buttons, a D-Pad and RGB lighting. 

Both have a seven-inch FHD display

One of the key similarities between the Xbox Ally and -X model is that they both share a seven-inch FHD display, which is actually unchanged from the original Ally model.

Sure the lack of an OLED might seem a shame, but there’s still plenty to praise about the screens here, including the 120Hz refresh rate and 96% sRGB coverage. However, we did note that with the Xbox Ally that its 74% DCI-P3 and 73% Adobe RGB are lacking for specialist use cases, which is worth keeping in mind.

Early Verdict

As we’re yet to review the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, we’ll refrain from giving a conclusive verdict. However, considering the handheld runs on the more powerful AI Z2 Extreme chip, has a larger battery and a stronger selection of ports, it appears to be a more appealing option for gamers. 

Even so, we concluded that the ROG Xbox Ally to be a “lovely piece of kit” despite its ageing processor. Essentially, if you’re looking for a more affordable Windows 11 gaming device that offers the Xbox FSE interface then the ROG Xbox Ally is a solid choice. However, we would assume that the beefier Xbox Ally X will offer stronger performance.

We’ll be sure to update this versus once we’ve reviewed the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X.