After getting our hands on the new and improved ROG Ally X during COMPUTEX 2024, the company is finally launching their latest gaming handheld in the Philippines. While the top-end OG version of this device was highly regarded as one of the best in its class, it did have a few issues that have been addressed with this newest iteration, making a case that this could be the best of the bunch when it comes to gaming on-the-go.
Yes, It Comes in Black Now
One of the improvements the team at ROG made was to redesign the chassis. The OG Ally didn’t have the best ergonomics and didn’t quite feel comfortable to hold for long periods unless you purchased a case for it to give you a better grip.
That isn’t the case with the Ally X since it feels a lot closer to having an XBox or PS5 controller in your hands–albeit a little heftier–and a welcome change to its exterior.
Yes, it also comes in Black now, which was jokingly a talking point but makes a ton of sense as well. We did love the aesthetic that the White colorway brought but you can just imagine how that picks up dirt after gaming for an extended period of time and–for the lack of a better term (in English at least)–gamer sweat becomes an issue.
Asus has also moved the Analog Sticks and face buttons of the Ally X slightly lowered compared to its past release to lessen thumb travel and this is something that we didn’t really notice have an impact at first but felt like a good play after spending more time with this device.
Of course, the customizable buttons at the back have also been redesigned as well for less accidental presses but still in a good enough spot to be easily accessed. Asus has also removed the PCI-E port to be able to dock the Ally with their XG Mobile. While it wasn’t a big issue for us and we were kinda happy that we didn’t have to fumble around looking for the USB-C port anymore, we get that people who might have gone all-in with the setup might be left a little salty.
Same Processor, More RAM, Smoother Gameplay
For the most part, the ROG Ally X hasn’t changed much in terms of its internals.
You’re still getting the same 7-inch IPS display on this, which is a great balance to make it easy to bring around with us having to sacrifice too much space in our backpacks when we travel.
You’ve got the ever-reliable AMD Z1 Extreme processor, which is still the best processor for handheld gaming, but Asus has given the RAM a bit of a bump up from 16GB to 24GB and we could tell from the get go that games ran a little smoother on the Ally X or that we could bump up graphics a little bit higher without sacrificing too much FPS. You’re still not going to be able to max out settings for triple-A games but having a little bit more leeway to push the handheld was awesome.
If you’re curious about the actual numbers when it comes to thermals, our friends from Gadget Pilipinas have done a deep dive about CPU and GPU temps, but the gist of it is that it has improved.
Another thing they changed up with this refresh is the SSDs they’ve been using, going from the 2230 to the 2280 so that it’s easier for all of us to switch it up if we want to upgrade the storage ourselves. But, our review unit came with 1TB, which was more than enough for me since I play a handful of bigger titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 and a lot of indie, cozy games like Little Witch in the Woods. Don’t judge me.
So far, issues that plagued the SSD haven’t affected me and I haven’t had the unit long enough and sunk in long gaming sessions to see if the MicroSD card that I’ve inserted will get damaged by the heat but Asus has said that they have addressed this issue with the chassis redesign.
We Love that Extended Battery Life
One thing that we love about the ROG Ally X is the fact that they’ve doubled down on the battery since it now has an 80Whr Battery versus the 40Whr that we got on the original and I was easily able to comfortably game for 2 hours before needing to be tethered to a charger or powerbank.
To test it out, we ran 3DMark’s Stress Test on the ROG Ally X and the original. After the run with the TDP on both at 25W, the Ally X still had 88 percent left, while the original Ally was at 58%.
Our Biggest Hangup with the ROG Ally X
While we love using it and consider the ROG Ally X to be the best gaming handheld we’ve gotten to try, one thing that’s hard to wrap our heads around is the price. The ROG Ally X is priced at Php 56,995 in the Philippines, which is Php 12,000 more than the ROG Ally with the Z1 Extreme chip.
With all the improvements, we do think that a price increase is justified but the sticker price in the US for the Ally X comes to $799 or Php 45,000 as for writing this article. Yes, we have to factor in things like taxes and duties, but the difference is more than enough reason to have our collective eyebrows raised in shock when we heard the local SRP.
Around Php 50,000 would have been the sweet spot for us and would have stomached Php 52,000 but the price difference is really the main issue for the team.
Should You Upgrade if You Already Have the OG Ally?
While the improvements are impressive, should you upgrade to the ROG Ally X if you already own the original with the Z1 Extreme in the Philippines?
Our recommendation is to skip it if you can since you’ve most likely invested enough money to swap out the SSD, buy a JSAUX grip case for it, and maybe even a high-capacity power bank to extend gameplay while you’re out and about.
The improvements are impressive but we think that you should wait for something with better internals to come around unless you’ve got a stacked bank account or your original breaks down beyond repair.
