The Asus ROG Xbox Ally is a wonderful handheld however removed from excellent.
After gaming on it for shut to 2 weeks, I’ve walked away typically impressed with what the Ally can do. It’s gentle, snug to carry, and performs video games pretty nicely (with some important caveats I’ll dig into under).
Nonetheless, at $799 in Canada, the ROG Xbox Ally is in an ungainly spot. Functionally, it feels extra like a companion gadget to me, working greatest as an on-the-go counterpart to a extra highly effective, stationary gaming setup like a console or PC. However the Ally prices greater than most of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X consoles in Canada, the Nintendo Switch 2 bundle with Mario Kart World, and greater than most Steam Deck models. And that’s simply the Xbox Ally — the Ally X is much more at $1,299.
Whereas I haven’t completely examined the Ally X myself — MobileSyrup gaming editor Brad Shankar had that privilege — I’ve tried each handhelds. If in case you have the cash for both the Xbox Ally or Ally X, I don’t suppose you possibly can go fallacious with both choice. However those that would possibly solely be capable to afford one gaming gadget ought to skip the ROG Xbox handhelds for now as a result of, frankly, they’re not the most effective worth choice.
Specs
- Show: 7-inch FHD (1920×1080) IPS Gorilla Glass Victus 120Hz AMD FreeSync Premium contact show
- Processor: AMD Ryzen Z2 A
- Reminiscence: 16GB LPDDR5
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Dimensions: 29.0 x 12.1 x 2.75 ~ 5.09 cm
- Weight: 670g
- Working System: Home windows 11
- Battery: 60Wh
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
- Sensors: Fingerprint reader
- Ports: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, 1x UHS-II microSD card reader.
- Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics
Simple on the eyes, and wrists!

Be aware the dinky cardboard kickstand that got here within the field, useful in a pinch.
The {hardware} is likely one of the standout options of the Xbox Ally sequence, and apart from the software program enhancements I’ll discuss under, among the finest arguments for purchasing the Xbox Ally over the rest.
In comparison with the earlier Republic of Gamers (ROG) Ally devices and different handhelds I’ve tried, the ROG Xbox Ally is extraordinarily snug. I’ve most popular Xbox-style controllers for the reason that 360 days, and Asus did a wonderful job melding that consolation into the hand held. I haven’t spent sufficient time with a Steam Deck to essentially examine the texture, however I might say the Xbox Ally is leagues forward of the Change and Change 2, in addition to the 2024 Lenovo Legion Go.
Nevertheless it’s extra than simply the texture. The Xbox Ally is sort of gentle, weighing simply 670g. Coming from the Legion Go’s hefty 854g, the Xbox Ally is sort of a feather. I had no downside gaming on the Xbox Ally for hours at a time, whereas the Legion Go had my wrists cramping up in minutes. I used the Legion Go’s built-in kickstand always, however I barely missed it on the Xbox Ally. (I’ll say it’d be good to have a kickstand, particularly if you happen to plan to dock the Ally with a bigger display screen — Asus included a cardboard kickstand within the field, which works in a pinch, however isn’t nice. It’s also possible to get an actual dock from Asus, although it prices $150 in Canada.)
The inputs are additionally typically good, although there’s room for enchancment. The bumper and set off buttons are glorious and comfortable, whereas the sticks are well-positioned and clean. There are RGB gentle rings across the sticks, however these may be turned off. Sadly, I’ve already seen the left stick shedding flecks of black plastic, which is especially annoying on the white handheld and raises considerations over longevity and stick drift.
The Xbox Ally sports activities an assortment of buttons for simple entry to varied elements of the person interface (UI), like an Xbox button for the Xbox software program, a button for Asus’ Armoury Crate SE software program, and a useful devoted recreation library button. It sports activities additional buttons on the rear that may be remapped utilizing the aforementioned Armoury Crate software program, although I want these have been a bit nearer to the place my fingers relaxation. The face buttons now sport the traditional Xbox colors, however they really feel a bit sloppy and are fairly loud, which may be annoying for anybody round me whereas I recreation.
Lastly, I’ve to notice that the Xbox Ally energy button doubles as a fingerprint scanner, which is a far better high quality of life enchancment than I anticipated. On the Legion Go, I had tons of points unlocking the hand held due to the buggy Home windows lockscreen. Whereas Microsoft has improved the lockscreen expertise for handhelds, the Xbox Ally’s fingerprint scanner permits you to bypass the lockscreen with a faucet of your finger, getting you to your video games sooner. Now, if solely Microsoft may repair the buggy sleep state in order that the Ally would keep asleep after I hit the facility button…
Cool and succesful

In the correct gentle, you possibly can see an ‘ROG XBOX’ sample on the gadget.
Additionally of observe is the temperature. Even after prolonged gaming classes pushing the {hardware} to its absolute restrict and the CPU temps hitting 70 to 80 levels, I used to be stunned that the Xbox Ally by no means felt scorching. At worst, it obtained a tad heat, however I may solely really feel the heat on the show or across the air vents on the highest fringe of the hand held. This can be a fairly stark distinction from the Legion Go, which obtained so scorching it was uncomfortable to the touch, particularly when enjoying extra demanding titles.
There are just a few elements right here. I feel Asus did a improbable job with the cooling system on the Xbox Ally. However the brand new chip can be an enchancment. The Xbox Ally sports activities AMD’s Ryzen Z2 A chip, which is much less highly effective than the Z2 Excessive featured within the Xbox Ally X however is a little bit forward of the Z1 Excessive used within the Legion Go and last year’s ROG Ally X. Asus says the Xbox Ally X in silent mode (which reduces energy draw to decrease cooling) will get comparable efficiency to the unique Ally X in efficiency mode. Whereas the corporate didn’t provide an identical comparability for the Xbox Ally and authentic Ally, in my testing, the efficiency appears to be about par to the Z1 Excessive in my Lenovo Legion Go.
The largest think about efficiency is how demanding the sport is. The most recent triple-A titles will possible battle, however indie video games and older titles will in all probability run fairly nicely. Nonetheless, your requirements as a gamer will largely decide what’s “playable” on the Xbox Ally. Coming from my desktop gaming PC, the place I’ve performed at 1440p with 120fps for years, typically with graphics settings cranked to the utmost, the Xbox Ally’s 1080p display screen and graphical limitations definitely really feel like a step down.
That stated, on the 7-inch display screen dimension, 1080p nonetheless seems actually good. Hell, even 720p seems tremendous if it’s good to drop the decision to make some video games run a bit higher (and you’ll, relying on what you play). Framerates, nevertheless, are extra of a toss-up. You may positively get pleasure from as much as 120fps in some titles, however I additionally discovered myself having to rock 60fps and even 30fps in some video games.
With much less demanding titles, like Sworn, Hades, and Stardew Valley, 1080p labored nice. Stardew runs nice on mainly every part, although, and hardly requires excessive framerates to be fulfilling — I have a tendency to simply cap it at 60 for clean gameplay that gained’t kill my battery life. Hades, then again, ran at rock stable 1080p/120fps whereas on battery energy — an vital distinction, as you possibly can squeeze a little bit additional efficiency out of the Xbox Ally whereas it’s plugged in. (I haven’t tried Hades II as a result of I solely simply obtained round to enjoying Hades on the Xbox Ally, however Brad Shankar notes it additionally ran nice on the Change 2, which is clearly much less highly effective than the Ally X.)
Sworn required a little bit extra oomph. I used to be capable of get pretty constant 1080p/60fps gameplay whereas on battery, and plugging in boosted my frames barely to round 70 on common. If I dialled it right down to 720p, I used to be capable of get nearer to 80fps.
Canadian-made Warframe ran fairly nicely at 1080p, averaging round 120fps for tremendous clean gameplay. That stated, I needed to set the graphics to low to realize this — if I bumped as much as medium, framerates tanked to the mid-30s and the sport was extraordinarily stuttery. Even at low settings, the sport seemed nice on the Xbox Ally.
Nonetheless, that’s about the place the nice efficiency ended. I attempted Oblivion Remastered and the Xbox Ally struggled to hit a constant 30fps even at 720p on the bottom settings and with turbo mode turned on. The truth is, the sport would crash on the loading display screen if I attempted to launch it with something greater than low settings. This was one of many solely video games the place the Xbox Ally carried out worse than the Legion Go — that handheld was capable of keep a extra constant 30fps in Oblivion on low settings. Frustratingly, the Xbox app says that Oblivion could have some compatibility points however in any other case ought to “carry out nice” on the Xbox Ally.
Doom: The Darkish Ages managed a constant 30fps at low settings and 720p on the Xbox Ally, however 1080p dropped it to the mid-20s. However for a fast-paced, first-person shooter like this, I’d argue 30fps isn’t playable. Once more, the Xbox app signifies the sport will run nice on the Xbox Ally.
Lastly, I attempted my present favorite recreation, Path of Exile 2. This was an fascinating check as a result of I don’t have the sport on a launcher like Steam and as an alternative wanted to put in the sport’s personal launcher (additionally it is accessible on Steam, I simply don’t have that model). As soon as put in, the Xbox app didn’t detect the sport and add it to my library, and I haven’t discovered a technique to manually add it, which meant I needed to swap to desktop mode to entry the title. I did finally discover a manner so as to add PoE2 to the Armoury Crate launcher, which I can entry with out swapping to the desktop mode, nevertheless it’s nonetheless an additional course of.
Launcher points apart, I managed to get the sport operating at a reasonably constant 30fps as soon as I turned down all of the settings as little as they may go. I additionally needed to make use of AMD’s FSR upscaling tech — that is the one recreation the place I used it, and likewise the one recreation the place I discovered it didn’t look terrible whereas in use. PoE2 was playable at each 1080p and 720p, although 1080 was a little bit stuttery. Sadly, PoE2‘s endgame is extra demanding as a result of the monster density will increase considerably, so I discovered the Xbox Ally was solely actually viable in the course of the marketing campaign. Given PoE2 is in early entry and has some important optimization points even on beefy gaming PCs, I’m glad that it ran as easily because it did on the Ally — I simply want it ran higher, as a result of I actually loved having the ability to play the sport on the go.
Battery life is sort of variable on the Xbox Ally, and it in the end comes right down to how demanding the title is and the way laborious you need to push the system. For instance, I used to be capable of get six to seven hours of playtime in Sworn at 720p/60fps, whereas extra intense video games like PoE2 at 720/30fps killed the battery in half that point.
About that Xbox expertise…
The opposite standout characteristic of the Xbox Ally and Ally X is the Xbox software program expertise, which goals to ship a console-like pick-up-and-play expertise on a handheld powered by Home windows 11. It’s a significant improve and a major step towards making Home windows-powered gaming handhelds higher, but additionally wants much more work.
Nonetheless, I have to observe that almost all of my testing concerned pre-release software program, comparable to preview variations of the Home windows Xbox app. It’s attainable a few of my complaints shall be addressed on day one or with future software program patches. Furthermore, whereas the expertise was typically good, it was additionally fairly buggy at occasions. I gained’t be too vital of bugs — once more, pre-release software program — however hopefully these points gained’t be current for many shoppers.
So with that in thoughts, let’s get into it. The excellent news is that the Xbox expertise is a significant step up over the earlier software program expertise, which was mainly simply utilizing Home windows 11 with no keyboard or mouse and on a display screen far smaller than what Home windows was designed to work on. On the Xbox Ally, you possibly can principally keep away from utilizing Home windows 11, although not completely. After the preliminary Home windows 11 setup course of (which has been up to date to work with gamepads now), if you boot up the hand held, it’ll launch straight into the Xbox full-screen expertise, which is basically simply the Xbox app however, nicely, full-screen.
There’s a little bit extra occurring right here, although — for one, you possibly can navigate the Xbox app with a gamepad (besides when it bugs out), and the UI is pretty just like what you’d get on a console. Furthermore, there’s some under-the-hood stuff occurring that reduces non-essential background duties when utilizing the full-screen expertise. You may simply swap to a typical Home windows desktop expertise if (or when) it’s good to, although the hand held warns there may be some efficiency degradation. For what it’s value, I haven’t seen any points whereas enjoying video games this manner, nevertheless it’s value holding in thoughts.
The dangerous information is that Home windows 11 isn’t completely avoidable. It’s laborious to say how a lot you’ll have to work together with it although. Once more, as a result of I needed to take care of pre-release software program, I needed to carry out a litany of updates and software program tweaks on the gadget simply to get the Xbox expertise working. Asus claims this gained’t be the expertise for many shoppers, and I hope that’s the case. Past getting all of the software program up to date, I additionally often needed to bounce into Home windows 11 to entry sure video games and software program that I couldn’t use through the Xbox expertise.
The Xbox app, naturally, provides you entry to all of your Xbox video games and Recreation Cross, nevertheless it has additionally been up to date to hook up with numerous different recreation shops like Steam, Epic Video games, and extra. When you’ve put in and signed in to your recreation shops, any video games you obtain will seem within the Xbox app’s recreation library for fast entry. For individuals like me who’ve constructed up an enormous library of video games throughout a number of shops, that is a tremendous enchancment over the earlier handheld expertise.
Nonetheless, it’s not excellent. On the time of writing, there’s no straightforward technique to handle updates, each for video games and for the hand held as an entire. For video games, I often have to hop right into a title’s respective launcher — e.g., for the video games I’ve on Steam, I have to launch Steam to put in updates. The Xbox Ally depends on numerous software program items to carry the entire expertise collectively, a lot of that are up to date from completely different elements of the OS; Home windows Replace for Home windows, the Microsoft Retailer for Xbox and different apps, Armoury Crate for drivers and different software program. It’s all a bit convoluted. Right here’s hoping Microsoft and Asus can work out a greater replace resolution down the road.
Extra importantly, it’s value remembering that you simply don’t want to purchase an Xbox Ally or Ally X to get this particular software program expertise. Elements of it, like the flexibility to drag video games from different launchers into the Xbox app, are already accessible on Windows. And for the reason that Xbox full-screen expertise is simply a part of the Xbox app that ships on all Home windows PCs and handhelds. In different phrases, you’ll possible quickly be capable to entry it on different handhelds, which suggests it’s not likely a promoting level for the Xbox Ally.
Must you purchase it?
General, I actually just like the Xbox Ally. The {hardware} is superb, it’s extraordinarily snug even in longer enjoying classes, and the battery life is respectable (relying on what video games you play). Nonetheless, a few of what makes the Xbox Ally particular gained’t be unique without end. Different handhelds will possible ship with AMD’s stable Ryzen Z2 A chip, and the Xbox software program expertise ought to finally come to all handhelds and PCs.
The final word query, after all, is whether or not you can purchase the Xbox Ally. At $799, it’s a steep worth, particularly for a product that frankly doesn’t do something distinctive. There are a ton of options for moveable gaming, together with different handhelds that value much less (the Steam Deck and, laughably, the additionally very costly Change 2). The Xbox Ally and Ally X are simply the present greatest Home windows-powered handhelds.
For those who’ve obtained a smartphone, there are tons of free apps that assist you to stream video games operating on a PC or console so you possibly can play them in your cellphone, on the go. Granted, that is depending on having a good web connection, however in my expertise, it really works nicely sufficient more often than not. Plus, shopping for a controller to make use of along with your cellphone is loads cheaper than an Xbox Ally. And that’s not even moving into the cloud streaming choices.
The principle good thing about handhelds just like the Xbox Ally is that they run video games domestically, which suggests you possibly can successfully play wherever, no matter web connection. That’s a giant plus, nevertheless it comes with some downsides — operating video games domestically requires loads of energy, particularly for demanding titles, and the Xbox Ally can’t all the time sustain. The Xbox Ally X is healthier on this regard, nevertheless it’s much more costly.

The carrying case has a detachable storage pouch.
So, right here’s my advice breakdown for the Xbox Ally. It’s a worthwhile buy for anybody who:
- Doesn’t already personal one other handheld.
- Has an enormous library of PC and/or Xbox titles.
- Needs to make use of Recreation Cross (which is just accessible on Home windows handhelds).
- Enjoys enjoying video games that aren’t demanding and/or doesn’t thoughts enjoying at 720p/30fps.
- Continuously travels and is commonly with out dependable web (e.g. on planes or in lodges).
If many of the above apply to you, I feel you’ll actually benefit from the Xbox Ally. And if you happen to’re somebody who needs higher efficiency and also you’ve obtained the cash for it, making the bounce to the Xbox Ally X will assist. That stated, at $1,300 for the Ally X, you’re verging into gaming laptop computer territory. At that time, it would make extra sense to purchase a gaming laptop computer and commerce among the portability of the hand held type issue for a major increase in efficiency.
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally is now accessible for pre-order forward of an October 16 launch. In Canada, it’s accessible from the next retailers:
Moreover, read our full Xbox Ally X review for extra particulars on Asus’ different new handheld.
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