Name: ASUS ROG Xbox Ally
Brand: ASUS

Our verdict

The ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X are handheld gaming PCs: they run Windows 11, so they can play games from Xbox, Steam and other PC stores, but start in an Xbox full-screen mode designed for controllers. Both have a 7-inch 1080p screen at 120Hz and grips shaped like an Xbox controller, which reviewers found very comfortable. The £499.99 Ally uses a Ryzen Z2 A chip that Windows Central found performs at about Steam Deck level. The Ally X uses the much faster Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, with 24GB of RAM, a 1TB drive and a bigger battery; Club386 measured roughly double the Steam Deck OLED’s frame rate in Cyberpunk 2077. We have not tested them ourselves: this review draws on ASUS specifications and reviews by Windows Central, T3, PC Gamer and Club386.

Buy it if

You play Xbox Game Pass or PC games and want to play away from the TV
Comfort in long sessions matters to you
You want the Ally X for demanding games, or the Ally for indie games and cloud streaming

Skip it if

You want the simplest experience, where the Steam Deck’s SteamOS is easier
You want to play the newest demanding games on the cheaper Ally
You want an OLED screen

Everyday use

Game Pass away from the TV

The Xbox full-screen mode opens straight into your games library, and cloud gaming lets the cheaper Ally stream games it could not run itself. Windows Central reached 86 frames a second streaming Cyberpunk through GeForce NOW.

Indie games on a long journey

In a low-power mode, Windows Central got over seven hours playing Celeste on the Ally.

Big releases on the Ally X

Club386 ran Forza Horizon 5 at over 100 frames a second at 720p on low settings, and Cyberpunk 2077 at around 60.

The details, in plain English

Which model to choose

The Ally has a Ryzen Z2 A chip with four cores, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB drive and a 60Wh battery, and weighs 670g. The Ally X has a Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme with eight cores and an NPU for AI features, 24GB of RAM, a 1TB drive, an 80Wh battery and a USB4 port for faster accessories, and weighs 715g. Both drives are a standard M.2 2280 size, so storage can be upgraded later.

Performance

Windows Central found the Ally performs “on the level of the Steam Deck”: Cyberpunk 2077 ran at about 31 frames a second at 1080p on low settings, and Forza Horizon 5 at 43 on medium. T3 got Forza near 60 on low. PC Gamer called the Ally X the fastest handheld it has tested, but only a few frames ahead of rivals. Club386 measured 61 frames a second in Cyberpunk at 720p on the Ally X, roughly double the Steam Deck OLED.

Battery life

Battery life depends heavily on the game and power mode. On the Ally, Windows Central measured 1 hour 48 minutes in Cyberpunk 2077 on the highest power setting, 7 hours 6 minutes in Celeste on the lowest, and over 13 hours of office work. T3 got over five hours with careful settings. PC Gamer found the Ally X among the longest-lasting handhelds, but Club386 did not see ASUS’s “up to 2x” battery claim in general use.

Comfort, screen and noise

Reviewers agree the grips are excellent: PC Gamer called the Ally X the most comfortable handheld it has used. Neither model has Hall-effect sticks, which resist drift. The 7-inch IPS screen is 1080p at 120Hz and 500 nits; Windows Central rated it highly, while PC Gamer found it “dull” next to OLED. On noise, Windows Central measured a quiet 36.5dB, but T3 found the fans “pretty loud” under moderate load.

Software

The Xbox full-screen experience boots quickly into your games, but reviewers found rough edges at launch: settings split between the Xbox interface and ASUS’s Armoury Crate app, a reboot to switch modes, and Windows that T3 said “feels terrible through a touchscreen”. Updates in March and April 2026 added display and resolution settings to the Xbox Guide, a unified game library, Bluetooth LE Audio and, on the Ally X only, Auto SR upscaling in preview.

Strengths and drawbacks

What it does well

Controller-style grips: Windows Central and PC Gamer called them the most comfortable on any handheld
Plays games from Xbox, Steam and other PC stores, plus cloud gaming
Ally X: Club386 measured about double the Steam Deck OLED’s frame rate in Cyberpunk 2077
Smooth 7-inch 1080p 120Hz screen with FreeSync Premium, which reduces stutter
Software updates in 2026 added display settings, a unified game library and Auto SR on the Ally X

What to watch out for

The £499.99 Ally struggles with demanding new games; T3 found Oblivion Remastered close to unplayable
Windows can still be awkward on a touchscreen, and some settings sit in two different apps
The IPS screen looks dull next to OLED handhelds
The Ally X is expensive at £799.99 RRP
Short battery life in demanding games: 1 hour 48 minutes in Cyberpunk on the Ally (Windows Central)

The Steam Deck OLED now costs £649 for 512GB after a 2026 UK price rise, so the base Ally is cheaper. Windows Central found the Ally performs at about Steam Deck level, while the Deck’s SteamOS is simpler than Windows. The Ally X is much faster than the Deck but costs more. The MSI Claw 8 AI+ and Lenovo Legion Go are other Windows handhelds. We have not tested these side by side.

Alternatives we have reviewed

Product	Our verdict	Price	Buy
ASUS ROG Xbox Ally (this one)	The most comfortable way to play Xbox and PC games on the go: the Ally suits lighter games and cloud gaming, and the Ally X is for players who want demanding games to run smoothly.	£499.99RRP (Ally) · £799.99 RRP (Ally X, RRP recorded 12 Oct 2026	Check price
Sony PlayStation 5 Digital Edition	A good fit if you are happy to buy games digitally and have a compatible 4K TV; choose a disc model if you buy secondhand games.	£519.99RRP · 825GB digital console, RRP recorded 12 Oct 2026	Check price
Sony PlayStation 5 Slim (Disc Edition)	The safest conventional console for most game-first households, especially if you want to buy, borrow or resell games on disc, though Sony says new games will be digital only from January 2028.	£569.99RRP · disc drive, RRP recorded 12 Oct 2026	Check price
Microsoft Xbox Series S 512GB	A low-cost way into current Xbox games if you are happy to buy digitally and add storage later, but not the one to pick if you want native 4K or discs.	£429.99RRP · 512GB digital console, RRP recorded 12 Oct 2026	Check price

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Where our findings come from

This review is based on ASUS UK specifications and store listings, and hands-on reviews by Windows Central (Rebecca Spear with Jez Corden, ROG Xbox Ally, 15 October 2025), T3 (Max Freeman-Mills, ROG Xbox Ally, about ten days of use, 15 October 2025), PC Gamer (Dave James, ROG Xbox Ally X, 84/100, 17 October 2025) and Club386 (Samuel Willetts, ROG Xbox Ally X, 15 October 2025), plus reports of 2026 software updates. These reviews were written at launch, and later updates may have fixed some software issues. Their findings are credited to them in the text, and where they disagree, as on fan noise and the screen, we say so. Prices were checked on 12 October 2026.

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally review