Fresh out of Gamescom Germany 2025, we finally had our chance to experience the upcoming ASUS ROG XBOX Ally and XBOX Ally X Gaming Handhelds at Tokyo Gameshow 2025. The ROG XBOX Ally is the most anticipated gaming handheld for the year as it’s Microsoft / XBOX’s first official gaming handheld. Their partnership with ASUS Republic of Gamers marks a significant milestone in the console and gaming handheld industry

ASUS ROG XBOX Ally

The ASUS ROG Ally X features a 7″ 1080p 120Hz screen with up to 500 nits brightness. The display also support Variable Refresh Rate for a smoother gaming experience even at lower framerates.

Powering the ROG XBOX Ally is the AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor. It’s the lowest end SKU on the entire Ryzen Z2 Series with only a 4c/8t Zen2 core setup and 8-core AMD RDNA 2 GPU. It’s paired with 16GBs of LPPDR5X-6400 memory and a 512GB M.2 2280 SSD. While the storage is arguably smaller than standard, the 2280 form factor this time around makes it easier to upgrade should you need more storage.

Where the Ryzen Z2 A excels is power consumption as it only has a rated cTDP of 6-20W compared to the 15-30W cDTP of its bigger brothers. Pair that with the XBOX Ally’s 60wHr battery and the XBOX Ally is expected to have an above average battery lfie especially when playing less graphics intensive titles.

The trademark of the ASUS ROG XBOX Ally is extended grip handle that reminds you of the typical XBOX series controllers. It’s also one of the most heated topics about the XBOX Ally X as it looks different from most gaming handhelds released in the market so far.

That said, the moment you take hold of the ROG XBOX Ally X , you’d agree with XBOX and ROG’s choice as it feels more ergonomic, especially on the XBOX Ally X which is 45grams heavier than the 670gram XBOX Ally. You might see a more tangible benefit on the grip handles on longer gaming sessions.

The ROG XBOX Ally uses hall effect analog triggers like its predecessors while the higher end XBOX Ally X uses Impulse triggers, a signature feature found on XBOX controllers

Connectivity wise, the ROG XBOX Ally has two USB 3.2 GEn 2 Type C with DIsplay Port 2.1 and PD 3.0 support, one UHS-II microSD card reader and one 3.5mm combo jack.

ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X

The main visual difference between the XBOX Ally X and XBOX Ally is the color. The white colorway is for the entry-level XBOX Ally while the black variant is for the XBOX Ally X, adopting the same difference as the previous-generation ROG Ally and ROG Ally X gaming handhelds. The 715g weight of the ROG XBOX Ally X over the XBOX Ally’s 670g weight can be felt especially when lifting the Ally X with only one hand.

More of the difference lies underneath, with the highlight being the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor paired with 24GBs of LPDDR5X-8000 memory and a 1TB M.2 2280 SSD.

The ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X has sports a similar port configuration with the XBOX Ally albeit instead one of the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C por is replaced with one USB 4 Type-C port. USB 4 opens up faster eGPU capabilities however there aren’t much USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4 eGPU docks available in the market.

Battery life contributes to the overall added weight of the ROG XBOX Ally X as it has a hefty 80Wh battery capacity, 20Wh larger than the XBOX Ally.