Embark on a Gaming Odyssey: The ASUS ROG Ally X

The world of handheld gaming has seen a significant surge in popularity over the past few years, thanks in part to the release of Valve’s Steam Deck. While consoles like the Nintendo Switch have been incredibly successful, their closed ecosystems have limited the availability of certain titles. ASUS entered the fray with its original ROG Ally, a handheld reminiscent of the Steam Deck. Now, the company is set to refresh its handheld with the ASUS ROG Ally X iteration, but at a potentially higher price point of $799.

The evolution of handheld gaming

The ROG Ally X will face stiff competition from the Steam Deck, which has performed well despite lacking significant hardware updates. The Steam Deck has received numerous software updates, breathing new life into the device. Additionally, it has seen an OLED screen update and a limited edition offering. Battery life improvements have also been made to the latest Steam Deck, addressing a common complaint from the first version.

So, is the ROG Ally X worth the potential price of $799 based on what we currently know? The device does not appear to be getting an OLED display, a feature often high on the wish list for new handhelds. The original ROG Ally came in varied hardware configurations, but the ROG Ally X seems to be available only in one flavor.

The ROG Ally X packs a 7-inch 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate and comes with the higher-end AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme. It also features a 1TB SSD, making it a robust configuration out-of-the-box. While a cheaper version may be released later, it may also remain as the only version if it doesn’t prove popular.

The original ROG Ally had a white finish, but the ROG Ally X may come in only a black finish as a contrast.

The ROG Ally X supposedly includes a larger battery and more RAM, which may explain the $100 price premium over its predecessor. However, these improvements seem relatively tame for the asking price, and may place the device in an unfavorable position. The risk of positioning it at $799 is that it may not have enough high-end updates to appeal to the enthusiast crowd, while more casual gamers may find it’s priced too high (especially if they already own the current ROG Ally).

The ASUS ROG Ally X: A worthy upgrade?

Gamers typically get excited about more tangible upgrades, such as screen improvements and GPU horsepower. We’ll have to wait and see if the ROG Ally X can deliver.

As someone who’s spent countless hours gaming on the go, I’m eager to see how the ROG Ally X stacks up against its competitors. Will it be worth the investment, or will it fall short of expectations?