Anticipated Portable Gaming PC "ROG Xbox ALLY" Review: How Has Usability Changed with Its Xbox-Inspired Grip and Full-Screen UI?

The ASUS ROG Xbox ALLY series will be released on October 16, 2025. Since its announcement on June 9, 2025 (related article), anticipation has been building for this product, which marks a significant upgrade in both hardware and software compared to the original “ROG ALLY” introduced in 2023.
We’ve had the opportunity to test both the standard model, ROG Xbox ALLY, and the higher-end variant, ROG Xbox ALLY X, ahead of launch, so we’ll evaluate their performance by comparing them with the original ROG ALLY.

ROG Xbox ALLY X (front), ROG Xbox ALLY (back) Thumbnail image No.001 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

The ROG Xbox ALLY series is a handheld gaming PC with gamepads on both sides of the display. Like its predecessor, the ROG ALLY, it was developed through collaboration among ASUS, Microsoft, and AMD. It runs a customized version of Windows 11 designed specifically for handheld gaming PCs.

Although the product name includes “Xbox,” this device cannot play Xbox Series X|S exclusive games directly. Instead, you can play:

• PC games purchased via Steam or Epic Games Store
• Games available through the subscription service Xbox Game Pass
• Games compatible with “Xbox Play Anywhere”
• Games streamed to PC via “Xbox Cloud Gaming”

In short, it functions much like a regular handheld gaming PC.

Improved Grip Inspired by Xbox Controllers

The ROG Xbox ALLY series features 7-inch displays with the same specifications as the original ROG ALLY: resolution of 1920×1080 pixels and maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. The glossy panel has a relatively high brightness of 500 cd/m², combined with ASUS’s anti-reflective coating technology “DXC,” making glare minimal. Both models support variable refresh rate (VRR) and AMD’s FreeSync Premium display synchronization.

The bright, low-glare display of the ROG Xbox ALLY series Thumbnail image No.002 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

What stands out most in the ROG Xbox ALLY series compared to its predecessor is the prominent grip extending from the side to the back. Designed with inspiration from the “Xbox Wireless Controller,” it features a non-slip textured surface. The body finish has also changed: while the original ROG ALLY had a coarse, matte texture, the ROG Xbox ALLY series feels smooth overall—except for the grip area.

Textured non-slip grip Thumbnail image No.005 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI? Thumbnail image No.003 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

I usually carry my handheld gaming PC in a bag. The large grip makes it harder to fit into slim bags, so the slimmer profile of the original ROG ALLY was more convenient for me. However, once I actually held the ROG Xbox ALLY, I realized that having a grip does make it much easier to hold. Previously, I used to press my hands from both sides like holding a smartphone gaming controller. With the ROG Xbox ALLY, though, simply wrapping the grip with your hand allows you to carry it comfortably without needing to apply force on either side.

While this difference may not matter for short periods, over longer durations, it becomes noticeable. This suggests that choosing between portability and ease of holding depends on individual priorities.

The official dimensions of the ROG Xbox ALLY series are 290 (W) × 121 (D) × 27.5–50.9 mm (H). The original ROG ALLY measures 280 (W) × 111.38 (D) × 21.22–32.43 mm (H), meaning both width and depth are about 10mm larger.

Size comparison between the ROG Xbox ALLY X (top) and ROG ALLY (bottom). The ROG Xbox ALLY X is slightly wider and deeper Thumbnail image No.004 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

Measured weight: ROG Xbox ALLY weighs approximately 673g, while the ROG Xbox ALLY X is about 719g—significantly heavier than the original ROG ALLY at around 608g. This increase stems not only from the larger chassis but also from a higher-capacity internal battery in the ROG Xbox ALLY series. The ROG Xbox ALLY X being even heavier likely results from its more advanced cooling system.

Interface components are located on the top side: power button with fingerprint sensor, volume control knob, 3.5mm mini-pin headset jack, and microSD card slot. The USB port configuration differs between models:

• ROG Xbox ALLY: USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ×2
• ROG Xbox ALLY X: USB4 ×1, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ×1

Top side of the ROG Xbox ALLY X. From left to right: power button, 3.5mm mini-pin headset jack, microSD card slot, volume control knob, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, and USB4 Thumbnail image No.006 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

Added Xbox Button on Gamepads

The gamepads on either side of the display use an Xbox-style layout, with left analog stick at the upper-left and right analog stick in front of the right hand. The original ROG ALLY had excellent feel for its analog sticks and buttons, a quality carried over to the ROG Xbox ALLY X series—but due to the larger chassis, the button travel on [A/B/X/Y] seems deeper.

Gamepad on the ROG Xbox ALLY X Thumbnail image No.007 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI? Thumbnail image No.008 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

The shoulder buttons and triggers now have a more natural size, closer to standard gamepads, greatly improving usability. On the original ROG ALLY, using these buttons felt cramped due to finger positioning; on the ROG Xbox ALLY series, there’s ample room for comfortable operation. Additionally, the trigger buttons feature “Impulse Triggers” with haptic feedback—another element borrowed from the Xbox Wireless Controller.

Xbox Button Thumbnail image No.010 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

A key feature of the ROG Xbox ALLY series gamepad is the inclusion of an Xbox button located to the right of the left analog stick. Pressing this button launches Windows’ gamer-focused tool, “Xbox Game Bar,” giving access to functions like volume and network settings, Xbox social features, and AI assistant “Gaming Copilot” (formerly: Copilot for Gaming).

Pressing the Xbox button launches the Xbox Game Bar Thumbnail image No.011 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

The ROG Xbox ALLY’s Xbox Game Bar integrates ASUS’s proprietary software, “Armoury Crate SE.” From the “Command Center” menu within Armoury Crate SE, users can change screen resolution and refresh rate or launch a virtual keyboard.

Integrating the Armoury Crate SE Command Center into the Xbox Game Bar Thumbnail image No.012 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

Additionally, the Xbox button can switch between the “Xbox Full-Screen Experience” and standard Windows desktop.

On the back, there are two macro buttons labeled [Macro 1/Macro 2], which can be assigned via Armoury Crate SE to keyboard or mouse functions. These can also be combined with gamepad buttons to set up features such as displaying a screen keyboard or capturing screenshots.

Functions assignable to buttons Thumbnail image No.013 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

Windows 11 Optimized for Handheld Gaming

Another major highlight of the ROG Xbox ALLY series is its installation of a specially optimized version of Windows 11 tailored for handheld gaming PCs.
Upon startup, instead of the usual desktop interface, the “Xbox” app appears in full-screen mode.

Button function assignment Thumbnail image No.014 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

This full-screen “Xbox” app uses a new user interface called the “Xbox Full-Screen Experience,” optimized for gamepad control. It allows immediate access to your purchased games, those available via Xbox Game Pass, and content on Xbox Cloud Gaming—plus it displays titles installed through Steam.

When you press the Xbox button, you can quickly switch from the Xbox Full-Screen Experience back to the standard Windows desktop. Conversely, returning from the Windows desktop to the Xbox Full-Screen Experience is possible—but users are prompted to restart their device.

Switching from Xbox Full-Screen Experience to regular Windows desktop triggers a message Thumbnail image No.015 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

According to ASUS and Microsoft, the Xbox Full-Screen Experience isn’t just a launcher app. When active, it runs only the essential parts of Windows needed for gaming—reducing memory usage by about 2GB compared to standard Windows.

However, you can’t launch Task Manager while using the Xbox Full-Screen Experience, so you can’t monitor which processes are running. Checking via Armoury Crate SE’s system statistics shows that during use of the Xbox Full-Screen Experience, main memory consumption stays around 6GB; switching back to the desktop increases it to about 6.5–7GB.

Main memory usage with Xbox Full-Screen Experience [Thumbnail image No.023 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?]

Memory usage increases by about 1GB after switching to Windows desktop [Thumbnail image No.024 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?]

Additionally, Microsoft introduced a compatibility verification program called the “Handheld Compatibility Program” alongside the ROG Xbox ALLY’s release. This evaluates whether game titles are optimized for handheld gaming PCs—checking support for gamepad and on-screen keyboard input, as well as readability of UI elements and text on small screens.

Based on these tests, games in the Xbox Store are labeled accordingly: “Optimized for Handheld,” “Mostly Compatible,” or “Not Compatible.” When attempting to install a game marked “Mostly Compatible” or “Not Compatible,” users receive a list highlighting which features have been optimized—and what needs adjustment—serving as helpful guidance when choosing games.

“Forza Horizon 5” is labeled “Optimized for Handheld” Thumbnail image No.026 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

“DOOM: The Dark Ages” is labeled “Mostly Compatible” Thumbnail image No.027 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

While the game is optimized for handheld use, some settings adjustments may still be needed for optimal gameplay Thumbnail image No.028 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

“VALORANT” is labeled “Not Compatible” Thumbnail image No.029 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

VALORANT is optimized for keyboard-and-mouse controls, making it difficult to play with a gamepad—hence the “Not Compatible” label Thumbnail image No.028 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

Performance Test: Benchmarking the ROG Xbox ALLY Series

Next, let’s review the basic specs of both models. The two devices differ in their System-on-a-Chip (SoC). The standard model, ROG Xbox ALLY, uses AMD’s “Ryzen Z2A”—an APU combining a 4-core/8-thread CPU based on Zen2 architecture with an RDNA 2-generation GPU. According to AMD, this is a power-efficient processor.

The higher-end model, ROG Xbox ALLY X, features the “Ryzen Z2 AI Extreme,” which integrates an 8-core/16-thread CPU and a next-gen RDNA 3.5 GPU. Its CPU combines three high-performance Zen5 cores with five energy-efficient Zen5c cores to balance performance and battery life. It also includes a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) capable of 50 TOPS of AI processing, meeting Microsoft’s requirements for “Copilot+ PC” devices.

Other differences include: the ROG Xbox ALLY X has 24GB of main memory versus 16GB in the standard model; internal storage is 1TB vs. 512GB; and battery capacity is 80Wh vs. 60Wh.

Now let’s compare performance using benchmark tests against the existing ROG ALLY, which features the “Ryzen Z1 Extreme” SoC.

Both ROG Xbox ALLY series models offer five operating modes via Armoury Crate SE: four preset options—Windows, Silent, Performance, and Turbo—and a customizable manual mode. We tested three settings: standard “Performance,” highest-performance “Turbo,” and lowest-noise “Silent.” Graph labels are as follows:

• XALLYX (t): ROG Xbox ALLY X in Turbo mode
• XALLYX (p): ROG Xbox ALLY X in Performance mode
• XALLYX (s): ROG Xbox ALLY X in Silent mode
• XALLY (t): ROG Xbox ALLY in Turbo mode
• XALLY (p): ROG Xbox ALLY in Performance mode
• XALLY (s): ROG Xbox ALLY in Silent mode
• ALLY (t): ROG ALLY in Turbo mode
• ALLY (p): ROG ALLY in Performance mode
• ALLY (s): ROG ALLY in Silent mode

First, let’s look at the results from “3DMark,” a standard graphics benchmark. The overall score for DirectX 11 test “Fire Strike” is shown in Graph 1.

Thumbnail image No.016 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

The ROG Xbox ALLY X, equipped with the Ryzen Z2 AI Extreme, performs significantly better. Even in Silent mode, it matches or nearly equals the Turbo setting of the ROG ALLY—a surprising result. Additionally, its performance remains more stable under Silent mode compared to other models.

The relatively poor scores from the ROG Xbox ALLY using the older-generation GPU suggest that the hardware is limiting overall graphics capability.

Next, let’s examine results for “Time Spy,” a DirectX 12 test (Graph 2).

Thumbnail image No.017 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

The trend is consistent: ROG Xbox ALLY X in Silent mode performs nearly as well as the ROG ALLY in Turbo mode. Also noteworthy is that there’s little difference between the ROG Xbox ALLY’s Turbo and Performance settings.

Now, looking at “Steel Nomad,” a newer DirectX 12 test (Graph 3):

Thumbnail image No.018 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

Here, ROG Xbox ALLY X’s Silent mode outperforms the ROG ALLY’s Turbo setting—by about 7% in Steel Nomad Light and roughly 15% in standard Steel Nomad. However, the higher-resolution Steel Nomad test at 3840×2160 shows severe frame drops across all devices—indicating that this workload is simply too demanding for handheld gaming PCs.

The results from “Port Royal,” which evaluates real-time ray tracing performance, are shown in Graph 4:

Thumbnail image No.019 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

Again, ROG Xbox ALLY X leads by a wide margin. Notably, the difference between Turbo and Performance modes on the ROG ALLY is more pronounced here than in Fire Strike or Time Spy.

To evaluate non-graphical performance, we ran “PCMark 10” tests as well. Graph 5 shows scores from “PCMark 10 Extended,” excluding gaming-related benchmarks—since custom runs don’t yield a total score.

Thumbnail image No.020 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

In Essentials—testing app launch, web browsing, and video conferencing—differences weren’t as stark as in 3DMark. UL Benchmarks recommends a score of at least 4100 for essentials to indicate performance suitable for everyday computing; all tested devices exceed this benchmark.

For Productivity tasks like document editing or spreadsheet use, the ROG Xbox ALLY’s scores drop significantly. Unlike in 3DMark, its Silent mode also shows a notable decline. For Digital Content Creation (photo and video editing), results resemble those from 3DMark: ROG Xbox ALLY X’s Silent mode and ROG ALLY’s Turbo setting are closely matched.

Finally, we measured battery life using “PCMark 10 Battery Life benchmark,” simulating continuous gameplay under the “Gaming” profile. The results are summarized in Graph 6:

Thumbnail image No.021 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

The ROG Xbox ALLY’s Silent mode stands out, achieving approximately 5 hours 38 minutes of battery life—about 1.47 times longer than the ROG Xbox ALLY X in Silent mode and nearly 2.4 times that of the original ROG ALLY. Even under heavy gaming load, over five hours of runtime suggests significantly longer durations for web browsing or video watching.

While the ROG Xbox ALLY lags behind higher-end models in raw performance, it holds a major advantage in battery life—making it especially appealing for lighter games or cloud-based gaming where long play sessions are desired.

A Dramatically Improved ROG Xbox ALLY Series

Thumbnail image No.025 / Test report on the anticipated handheld gaming PC “ROG Xbox ALLY”. How has usability changed with Xbox-inspired grips and full-screen UI?

The ROG Xbox ALLY series represents a major evolution in both hardware and software compared to the original ROG ALLY. Most notably, the “Xbox Full-Screen Experience” makes gaming far more intuitive than traditional Windows—especially for handheld devices. This marks meaningful progress toward addressing instances where standard Windows has historically been a hindrance for gamers.

However, if you plan to use the ROG Xbox ALLY series not just for games but also for general productivity tasks, it may feel similar in user experience to existing handheld gaming PCs. For better performance with demanding workloads, models with higher memory and storage capacity would likely provide a smoother experience.

The positioning between standard and high-end models is clear: if you’re playing more graphically intensive titles, go for the ROG Xbox ALLY X. But if you want long battery life for lighter games or cloud gaming, the ROG Xbox ALLY offers strong appeal.

ASUS ROG Xbox ALLY Series Product Information Page