The ROG Ally X is what the first Asus handheld should have been

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The new PC handheld brings promising innovations – we summarize what has changed compared to the first ROG Ally

Asus officially unveiled the ROG Ally X yesterday. The new PC handheld is supposed to address all the major points of criticism: Buttons, joysticks, battery and hardware.

These are the new features

Price and availability:The new handheld is significantly more expensive than its predecessor: you’ll have to put 900 euros on the table for it. It will be released on July 22. You can currently pre-order itfrom Asus

Case and buttons:The new ROG Ally X has a black case that looks very similar to the first version

  • The grips are a little rounder and the trigger buttons a little wider.
  • The directional pad has been revised.
  • The power button with fingerprint sensor is now slightly recessed.
  • The buttons on the back are smaller and can be pressed anywhere
  • Although the ROG Ally X has a larger battery and a new cooling system, at 678 grams it is only 70 grams heavier
(Although the case is very similar to that of the first device, the differences are large enough that cases for the first device are not compatible with the new one. (Image: Asus))
(Although the case is very similar to that of the first device, the differences are large enough that cases for the first device are not compatible with the new one. (Image: Asus))

Joysticks:Asus uses Hall-effect joysticks in the new handheld, which have better resistance to stick drift

Battery:In contrast to its predecessorthe new ROG Ally X will have an impressive battery capacity of 80 Wh.

  • Asus does not provide any specific information on the runtime, but it should be about twice as long because the ROG Ally only offered 40 Wh.
  • The battery can now be charged with a charging capacity of 100 watts. However, the scope of delivery still only includes a 65 watt power supply unit;
  • No PC handheld has ever offered such a large battery
  • The Ayaneo KUN comes close with a capacity of 75 Wh – but is significantly more expensive.

RAM:There are small upgrades to the RAM that promise a slight improvement in performance.

  • The RAM increases from 16 GByte LPDDR5 to 24 GByte LPDDR5.
  • The RAM speed increases from 6,400 MT/s to 7,500 MT/s.
  • You can thus provide the GPU with more RAM than video memory.

Memory:Not only has the internal memory grown, but also the physical form of the SSD.

  • The storage capacity of the NVME SSD is now 1 TByte.
  • An M.2 2280 SSD is used, which is much more widespread than the small M2. 2242 SSDs that are installed in previous handheld PCs.
  • The SSD is easily accessible after opening the device

Cooling:The ROG Ally X uses a new cooling system with thinner fans, which also have more fan blades. The heat sinks are slightly smaller than on the predecessor. Nevertheless, the cooling of the device is said to have been improved by around 10 percent.

(The buttons on the back have become significantly smaller. The handles are slightly rounder. (Image: Asus))
(The buttons on the back have become significantly smaller. The handles are slightly rounder. (Image: Asus))

Thunderbolt 4 instead of XG Mobile interface:The proprietary port for ROG XG Mobile eGPUs has been removed and a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4 has been installed instead

  • This allows the connection of conventional housings for external graphics cards.
  • Unfortunately, this also means that owners of an ROG XG Mobile eGPU can no longer connect it to the ROG Ally X.
  • This means that the new handheld has two USB-C ports (one with Tunderbolt 4 and one with USB 3.2 Gen2).

The SD card slot is now at the bottom:Some models of the predecessor had problems with defective microSD cards. Asus has redesigned the slot and moved it to the underside. We assume that this is a preventive measure for similar problems.

This remains unchanged

The Asus ROG Ally X has adopted many of its predecessor’s technical specifications. These include the following:

  • 7-inch IPS display with 120 Hz, 16:9 aspect ratio and Full HD resolution
  • Same Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor
  • Windows 11 Home operating system
  • Two front-facing speakers

What do you think of the Asus ROG Ally X? Let us know your thoughts on the new handheld in the comments!