ROG Xbox Ally X First Impressions: Worth The Wait

Years from now, after countless rumors about an actual Xbox handheld, the ROG Xbox Ally X has finally placed Microsoft’s ecosystem in a portable form factor. This $999.99 machine, which is built with ASUS ROG hardware and powered by an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip, pledges console comfort, Windows flexibility, and Game Pass access all in one slab. After an extended hands-on, the question’s a simple one: does it make good on that long-held promise?

Design and build favor comfort over true portability

The Ally X is more like a performance handheld than anything you’d want to take on the go. At 1.58 pounds, it’s leaning more toward the bulk of a Steam Deck than to that of a Switch or Sony’s streaming-focused portal device. That heft pays off with confidence: its frame is sturdy, the grips are sculpted to resemble a full-size Xbox controller, and the balance feels good even during long sessions.

Controls are a highlight. Buttons click with confidence and are well spaced, the D-pad can track quarter-circle and diagonal inputs cleanly, and offset thumbsticks will feel comfortable to use straight away for Xbox players. A fingerprint reader brings fast, secure logins — a small gesture that counts when a handheld device moonlights as a PC.

Display and hardware deliver speed with useful I/O

The 1080p LED panel tops out at 120Hz, and the lift in perceived smoothness is palpable when playing fast shooters or twitchy platformers. Combined with 24GB of memory and a 1TB SSD, the Ally X is quick to load and sees to multitasking without fuss. There are also dual USB-C ports, a microSD slot, and a 3.5mm jack to cover practical concerns without the dongle-wrangling mess.

On paper, the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme is the showstopper. Despite the fact that early drivers are going to require time to mature on new silicon, it shows real-world gains in titles that can utilize modern AMD features and smarter power scaling. Do look for more nuanced results as firmware and GPU drivers iterate — both AMD and ASUS have a track record of performance increases in the first couple of months for any given device.

Windows 11 software is flexible but occasionally fussy

Boot the Ally X, and there’s no puzzle: this is a Windows 11 handheld. That brings with it the upside of wide-ranging compatibility — and the friction of desktop-first UI. The Xbox app is the star of the show here, and it mirrors the PC experience in nearly every way, which makes onboarding intuitive enough but not necessarily swift. The UI lagged or appeared to lock up at times during testing when jumping between the Microsoft Store, Game Pass, and the library — prototypical early-driver woes for Windows handhelds that will hopefully get better with updates from Microsoft (via Windows Update) as well as ASUS and AMD.

By contrast, Valve’s Steam Deck is credited by many analysts with its integrated, more hidden-complexity approach in SteamOS. The Ally X strikes the middle ground: it makes you put up with some of Microsoft Windows’s bullshit, but it offers a taste of that power in return.

Library and ecosystem lean on Game Pass and cloud

What the Ally X library strategy lives and dies on is three pillars: Xbox Game Pass downloads, your owned “Play Anywhere” titles, and cloud gaming. So long as you’re signed up for Game Pass Ultimate, you can pull down major first-party releases and a revolving “just got rotated into the library” catalog of third-party stuff. Play Anywhere is still a consumer-friendly benefit, meaning you buy it once and play on the Xbox One and Windows if supported.

There’s a catch: downloads are restricted to Game Pass and Play Anywhere.

And if you have a backlog built up on other storefronts, you can’t just bring that whole library with you the way Steam Deck owners can their Steam purchases. That makes cloud streaming a pressure valve — and, with a solid connection, it turns out to be more of one than you might expect.

Early performance shows promise with occasional stutter

Performance is all over the place on day one, session to session. Fast action titles that are well optimized for current AMD hardware feel great on the 120Hz panel — especially fast shooters, where quick controls and more refresh overhead is useful. Narrative adventures and cinematic action games are also reliably enjoyable.

Other releases exhibit frame pacing stutters and some occasional hitching, particularly in scenes with a lot of alpha effects or fast streaming. This is less about raw horsepower and more to do with the reality of Windows on a handheld: drivers, game-specific optimizations, power profiles — it all counts. Locking the display is pragmatic: capping frame rate and leaning on battery-friendly power modes can soothe spikes — all common best practices for a portable PC that reviewers and analysts have shared across the category.

Cloud gaming and connectivity fill gaps for downloads

Cloud play is the Ally X’s ace-in-the-hole.

Streaming is an attempt to fill in the few gaps for titles that aren’t on Game Pass or Play Anywhere. Latency-sensitive shooters still require local installs, but action RPGs, platformers, and looter shooters are contenders. Microsoft’s ongoing work with cloud infrastructure — and a push to make Game Pass a true anywhere service — make the Ally X into a great travel buddy when entire libraries aren’t living locally.

Early verdict: compelling for Xbox fans, with caveats

Was it worth the wait? If you’re already living inside the Xbox world and want a handheld that feels like an Xbox — to all intents and purposes attached to a capable PC — or if your favorite way of playing games is already on the couch regardless of PC vs. TV — then the answer tips toward yes, with reservations. The ergonomics are right, the 1080p/120Hz screen looks great, and AMD’s silicon looks promising. The trade-offs include the Windows-first interface and game-by-game tuning differences, as well as a high price that forces you to play along with what makes this device unique: Game Pass and Play Anywhere.

For players who value a curated, console-like experience and own most of their games on Steam, Valve’s system still has the easier route. For hardcore Xbox gamers who want their subscription and saves everywhere, ROG Xbox Ally X finally makes that dream a reality. With the proper driver updates and some UI spit-shine, it would be capable of shaping that early promise into a definitive Xbox handheld experience.