ROG Ally X – specs and price finally revealed – will it be the best PC handheld gaming device so far?

After covering the pre-announcement of the ROG Ally X a few weeks back, we’ll admit we were a bit confused. A little disappointedA year after the original ROG Ally was announced we were getting the promise of a machine that probably should have launched for more money than it originally cost, leaving current ROG Ally users feeling like they should have just waited.

You don’t need buyer’s remorse a year later and this rapid iteration of hardware is annoying. You can’t expect all the people who supported your initial venture to spend a few hundred dollars more on a machine with a better battery and some other changes – even if they really deserved those upgrades for supporting you in the first place – there would be no iterative leap without them.

Valve did something similar with the Steam Deck, although they were in more uncharted territory with the original release, 3D printer companies do this, even Apple does this and we, as customers continue to enable the behavior. The last thing I’m going to say on this matter is that if better batteries and more USB ports are possible a year after launch they were only possible at launch. Now some owners will feel like they have a second-rate device compared to the device they want. Why buy the ROG Ally X if the ROG Ally 2 can take months to arrive?

Well, enough of the fantasies. Let’s see what’s new ROG Ally X Packing will be done.

ROG Ellie X Specifications

Rather than just give you a list of specs, let’s talk about some of the key points here and compare them to what we already have available.

Asus has done a great job of keeping the weight of the machine down despite the hefty battery. It uses different, lighter plastic for the shell, adds smaller but more powerful fans, and saves more space on the PCB inside.

The joysticks have been improved dramatically to make them more in line with what you’d expect with an Xbox or PlayStation controller and the speakers have been upgraded for better sound. The D pad has been enlarged but we still don’t get Hall effect sensors on the controls. I wonder if they will come as a selling point for the ROG Ally 2? Hmm.

Storage has been revamped, with the Ally X getting a much-needed boost to 1TB – double the original size – and your internal upgrade options look like they might be more viable for putting something a lot bigger in there, but that would be hacky and DIY, and not for everyone.

ASUS believes that the increase in speed as well as the doubled memory will provide a 15% bonus in performance, which would certainly be welcome.

So would the Rog Ally X be worth buying? If I’ve sounded harsh so far it’s mainly because I loved the original ROG Ally. While some people may not like that it comes with Windows rather than a proprietary OS like Steam Deck, I found that the ease of installing Game Pass, Epic Games Store, Ubi Connect etc. without any hassle made it much easier to play my gaming library, which is spread out all over the place.

My problem here is that if you already own one, $800 pre-purchase is asking a lot from existing owners who supported the original.

If you’re new to the emerging world of PC gaming handhelds you have a choice – do you want to spend that much money on a pocket gaming device? The Switch costs a few hundred dollars. I know it’s not the same, but if you only play “a little” games on the go you have a choice.

The Steam Deck, with its beautiful OLED screen, is also an inexpensive option.

Only time will tell if the ROG Ally X’s price hike over the original model will be worth it. The extra storage is nice, and the improved performance is great, but I had a lot of fun with the original Ally and while all of these little extra features are nice, if I had the original model I would hesitate to spend such an amount of money on an iterative upgrade.

When will ROG ALLY X be released?

You can pre-order the Xlly X right now and the release date is currently set for July 22, 2024. There’s no reason we can anticipate that will change, so you should be able to get your hands on it within six weeks of going to press.

Like the original ROG Ally, you’ll also get three months of free credit with Game Pass Ultimate, with which you can either open an account or add it to your existing account.

How much does the ROG Ally X cost?

The Ally X costs $799 which is $100-150 more than the original model, depending on when you buy it.

Can you replace your existing ROG Ally with the new model?

We looked at Best Buy’s trade-in program that is offered at the time of pre-purchase and you can actually trade-in an existing Ally for the cost of purchase. Having said that, if you have one in good condition and with all the power supply and cables it will still only set you back $180, you can sell it for a higher price elsewhere or even sell it on eBay to raise more money.
This means that if you bought the current Ally for around $640 and then pre-ordered the Ally X for $799 and swapped it for $180, you’re still at a loss of around $1250 over the past year for a gaming handheld.

That’s no problem if the Ally X is your first model, though $799 still isn’t super cheap.