ROG Xbox Ally Review: A Great Body Wrapped Around a Chip That Runs Out of Breath
At $599.99 the base ROG Xbox Ally is the cheapest Windows handheld with Xbox's full-screen mode. We looked at the Ryzen Z2 A, the games it handles, the ones it cannot, and whether it beats the Steam Deck OLED.
The verdict
The ROG Xbox Ally has a lovely 120Hz screen, a big 60Wh battery and a comfortable shell, but its Ryzen Z2 A chip performs like a Steam Deck, not like a modern handheld. At $599.99 it suits Game Pass, indie and older games. For demanding new releases, save for the Ally X or buy a Steam Deck.
Best forGame Pass and indie players who want Windows on the couch
What we liked
- Bright 7 inch 1080p screen with 120Hz and FreeSync Premium
- 60Wh battery and a comfortable, well balanced body
- Full Windows 11 with Xbox's full-screen experience and every PC store
- Three months of Game Pass Premium and five years of security updates
What we did not
- Ryzen Z2 A is Zen 2 based and trails the Steam Deck OLED in some tests
- Demanding AAA games need 720p and low settings to hit 40fps
- Roughly 670g, heavier than its spec sheet feel suggests
- $599.99 buys little extra performance over cheaper Deck-class hardware
The question we wanted to answer is simple: does dropping $400 from the Ally X price give you a handheld PC that is merely slower, or one that is no longer worth buying? The honest answer sits in between, and it depends on which games you actually play.
The cheap Ally has the same good shell
Everything you touch is shared with the pricier model. ASUS rates the thumbsticks for 5 million rotations, the D-pad and shoulders for 1 million presses and the face buttons for 10 million. The grips are contoured, and the weight sits low in the hands.
The screen is the real win at this price. It is a 7 inch 1080p panel running at 120Hz with FreeSync Premium, under Gorilla Glass. Handhelds at $600 often skimp on the display, and ASUS did not.
Battery is a 60Wh cell, against 50Wh in the Steam Deck OLED. Notebookcheck puts the Ally at 670g next to the Deck's 640g. It is a bit heavier, and a bit longer lived.
Where the Z2 A runs out of breath
The Ryzen Z2 A runs at 15W by default and up to 20W in Turbo. It is built on older Zen 2 technology, and that is the root of the problem. Notebookcheck's headline says it plainly: slower than the Steam Deck OLED. In its tests the Ally fell slightly behind Valve's three-year-old design.
For context, the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme in the Ally X is roughly 47 percent faster in demanding games, according to a comparison by Tech Insider. That gap is the price you pay for $400 less.
Which games push it too far
Newer big-budget releases are where it hurts. Reviewers found that Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite reach about 40 frames per second only at 720p and low settings. Tom's Guide ran Resident Evil Requiem at 60 fps in the 15W mode with 40 percent brightness, and the battery was at 45 percent after an hour and 17 minutes.
Specs
- Processor
- AMD Ryzen Z2 A, 15W default and up to 20W in Turbo
- Memory and storage
- 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, UHS-II microSD slot
- Display
- 7 inch 1080p IPS touchscreen, 120Hz, FreeSync Premium, Gorilla Glass
- Battery
- 60Wh
- Weight
- About 670g (Notebookcheck)
- Ports
- USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with DisplayPort, microSD
- Operating system
- Windows 11 with Xbox full-screen experience
- Bundled
- 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Premium
- Price
- $599.99
