Asus ROG Ally X Hands-on Impressions: Upgrades That Matter
When the Asus ROG Ally made its debut last year, it came with certain caveats. Yes, the gaming performance was solid, but the same didn't apply to its battery life. And while the design and build quality held up to the competition, the thermal management did not. Asus' handheld was surely a positive entry in the segment, but it came with crucial limitations that held it back from truly challenging the heavyweights. The ROG Ally could be an alternative to the Steam Deck, but never a replacement.
Fast forward a year, and Asus is back with another gaming handheld. The Asus ROG Ally X made its debut on June 2, just ahead of Computex Taipei. The portable gaming PC attempts to address the apparent flaws of the ROG Ally with tweaks and improvements across the board. The upgrades are small, but meaningful — the handheld's battery capacity (80Whr) significantly improves on the original's (40Whr), it packs more memory and more storage, and is said to have better cooling than the ROG Ally. There are other changes, as well, that make for a better handheld altogether.
Two days after its launch, the Asus ROG Ally X was present at the company's booth on the Computex floor, where Gadgets 360 got the chance to try it out for an extended period of time. It's hard to tell how the spec bump translates into real-world performance improvements from an early and brief hands-on experience, but first impressions can go a long way. The first thing that strikes you is the new colourway that makes the ROG Ally X — well, ironically — less striking. Now in jet black, the handheld gaming PC blends with the competition (the Steam Deck, MSI Claw A1M, Lenovo Legion Go — all come in black). The original Ally's white colourway, while more prone to dirt and grime from your hands, did convey a distinct aesthetic.
The black colourway makes the ROG Ally X less striking
The ROG Ally X retains the design of its predecessor and there's little that's changed on the front. It offers the same 7-inch full-HD
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