ASUS launches the ROG Ally X for $799

ASUS has finally launched the ROG Ally X, the company's newest handheld gaming PC, which was initially revealed early last month. This is not the successor to last year's ROG Ally but rather a more expensive variant that improves upon many of the shortcomings of the original model.

For starters, the biggest improvement on the ROG Ally X is the bigger battery. ASUS has gone from 40Wh on the ROG Ally to 80Wh on the new model. ASUS is not making any claims of actual battery life for the Ally X but we wouldn't be surprised if you got close to double the life of the original model.

Also improved is the storage and memory situation. The ROG Ally X comes with 1TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage from 512GB of the original model. More importantly, the ROG Ally X uses the more common M.2 2280 size drives compared to the 2230 size drive on the Ally, which should make upgrading the drive cheaper and easier.

As for the memory, it has been upgraded from 16GB 6400MHz LPDDR5 to 24GB 7500MHz LPDDR5. This means you can now assign more memory to the GPU without having to fight for it with the OS and the rest of the apps on the system.

ASUS has also made several changes to the internal cooling system. The ROG Ally X uses new fans, which are slimmer but still offer 10% increase in airflow. The new design moves air towards the display as well, which keeps it cool while gaming. The company has also moved the microSD card slot, which tended to malfunction on the original model due to its proximity to the exhaust vent.

The exterior has also been redesigned even though it might look similar at first. The body now has gentler curves compared to the sharper angles of the original. The handgrips are deeper to provide a more secure and comfortable grip. The position of the joysticks and controls has been adjusted for easier transition. The joysticks also have been improved to provide better feedback and have a longer lifespan. The D-pad has been redesigned and now has less stickiness when performing circular movements. The fingerprint sensor at the top is now caved-in to make it easier to locate. And finally, the back buttons have been made smaller to reduce accidental presses.

In terms of connectivity, the ROG Ally X swaps out the combination USB-C + ROG XG Mobile Interface connector for dual USB-C ports, one of which is Thunderbolt 4 and the other USB 3.2 Gen 2. Finally, as the cost of all of these changes, the ROG Ally X weighs 678g, 68g more than the original.

As for things that haven't changed, the ROG Ally X has the same Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip as the original (there is no non-Extreme variant for the X). It also comes with the same 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS LCD with AMD FreeSync Premium. The speakers are the same as is the wireless connectivity. You also get the same 65W charger in the box. The software has been updated with a newer version of ASUS Armoury Crate SE (also coming to original model) but it's still running on Windows 11 Home.

Overall, the ROG Ally X seems like a big step forward compared to the original model despite not being a successor. It was especially cool to see many of the specific complaints raised in our review of the Ally (display getting hot during gaming, fingerprint sensor being harder to use, grips being shallow, back button being too easy to press accidentally) being addressed in the new model aside from all the big picture stuff (battery, memory, storage).

The ROG Ally X is now available for pre-order. It comes only in black and priced at $799 with a 3-month Game Pass subscription.

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