ASUS Announces the ROG Ally X: Improved Performance, Ergonomics, and Battery Life

ASUS today announced the ROG Ally X, its ambitious new handheld game console that’s a step up from the ROG Ally that the company launched last year. The ROG Ally X is powered by the same AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor as the ROG Ally, but with 50% more unified memory—now up to 24 GB of LPDDR5X-7500, which runs at an 18% higher speed than the 16 GB LPDDR5-6400 of the original. The designers also implemented an M.2-2280 NVMe SSD slot, which opens the console up to the widest possible selection of NVMe SSDs. The console includes a 1 TB drive, which is double that of the 500 GB that the ROG Ally comes with. The company has also significantly upgraded the thermal solution of the console with a larger fan, and better thermal venting, which offers 6°C lower gaming temperatures.

Perhaps the biggest feature upgrade is the battery, which is 80 Wh, a 100% increase from the 40 Wh of the original ROG Ally. This may not be a linear 100% increase in battery life from the ROG Ally (due to the various hardware upgrades), but should still pose significant improvements to it. Other hardware updates include USB4, which includes DisplayPort passthrough from the iGPU; besides a separate USB 3.2 Gen 2 type-C. The console supports USB-PD with 140 W fast-charging, and is paired with a first-party GaN-based 140 W fast-charger. Dimensions are similar to those of the ROG Ally, except for 4 mm added thickness, and 70 g added weight (608 g vs. 678 g). Available from July, the ROG Ally X is priced at $799, and includes a 3-month Xbox Game Pass. We went hands on with the console at ASUS’s pre-Computex event. Stay tuned for several more announcements form the company in the coming days.