I haven’t put down the Asus ROG Ally X in the past two days

digitaltrends.com:

Asus ROG Ally X MSRP $800.00 Score Details Pros

• Small performance boosts in some games
• Redesigned Armoury Crate software
• Much more comfortable
• Longer battery life

• MicroSD card concerns
• Windows quirks remain

The ROG Ally has been a staple among the best handheld gaming PCs since it launched. Even among a string of competition, Asus’ handheld has been the only true competitor to the space that’s been dominated by the Steam Deck. The ROG Ally X is Asus trying to take the crown. I’ve had the updated handheld — which Asus says sits somewhere between a refresh and a new generation — for a few days, and the improvements are already clear.

It may look the same, but the ROG Ally X is quite the update. It has better specs, better ergonomics, better battery life, and better controls. Asus knows it, too. It’s asking $800 for the ROG Ally X as opposed to the $700 it asked for the original model, despite both devices sporting the same chip. Thankfully, there’s enough here to justify the premium.

About this review

This is a review-in-progress. I’ve had the ROG Ally X for a total of two days at the time of writing, and although I’ve barely put the handheld down in that time, I haven’t been able to fully put it through its paces yet. I’ve scored this review based on my time with the device, and although I don’t expect that score to change, it’s possible.

For that reason, I’m withholding any sort of award that Digital Trends gives to products we recommend, but the ROG Ally X may get one once I revisit this review in a few days.

In addition, the original ROG Ally had a faulty microSD card slot that Asus says was fixed with a software update. You can read more about that in our Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme review. I haven’t been able to test the microSD card slot on the ROG Ally X yet.

Familiar but different

The ROG Ally X looks the same as the original model, short of its new black