ASUS has just revamped its portable console, the new ROG Ally X is a reality and arrives to put the Steam Deck OLED in its place. The Taiwanese company has employed the same philosophy as the American company, the ASUS ROG Ally X does not represent a generational leap within its portable consoles. Instead, we’re looking at a device that enhances and improves several sections of the ROG Ally.
This minimal jump isn’t new, the Steam Deck OLED is the closest example; but the Nintendo Switch OLED could be considered as the forerunner of this movement among handheld consoles in recent years. With that in mind, is a launch like the ASUS ROG Ally X logical? The truth is, yes, let’s take a look.
ASUS ROG Ally X: This is the new ASUS handheld console that wants to steal the spotlight from the Steam Deck OLED
As we’ve indicated, ASUS doesn’t pitch the ROG Ally X as a new generation of handheld consoles. What it has done in this launch is to focus on improving a series of basic features or pillars that directly affect the gaming experience, although it must be made clear that both the processor and the graphics are the same as in the last generation.
Where are the improvements? The first, and almost most important, directly affects the battery. The ASUS ROG Ally X has 80 WHrs, which is twice as much battery as the ROG Ally with its 40 WHrs. ASUS has also improved the ergonomics of the console, now the grips offer a larger surface area, which will allow you to offer a better grip.
The rest of the changes are less representative because the console will have to be tested to see how it affects the experience. It now has 24GB of LPDDR5 RAM split into two 12GB modules. The audio features Smart Amp Technology to improve its clarity when played by both speakers and headphones.
In addition, two connection ports have been integrated: Thunderbolt 4 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, in both cases you can charge the console through these ports as well as send video and audio signal thanks to the support of DisplayPort output. All these are the technical changes compared to the previous generation, now it’s time to see what this new portable console is like.
On a general level we find a portable console with similar dimensions, changing the weight to 678 grams on the ROG Ally X instead of the 608 grams of the ROG Ally. On the front, the display maintains the same specifications as the version released in 2023: 7-inch IPS with Full HD resolution, 120 Hz, 500 nits, FreeSync Premium and 7 ms response time.
The interior, as we have indicated, is almost intact. The processor used is the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme with 8 cores, 16 threads, 24 MB cache and up to 5.10 GHz. The graphics card is the AMD RDNA 3 with 12 CUs with up to 2.7 GHz and that is capable of reaching up to 8.6 Teraflops. The power of this configuration ranges from 9 to 30 W.
Storage is signed by a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive, there is no other option. The interesting thing about this jump compared to the 512 GB of the previous generation is that ASUS has decided to reorganize the interior of the portable console, the Asian firm has changed the interior design while retaining, as we have seen, almost the same components.
This effort has been made to make it easier for users to change or replace components, in fact, it will now be extremely easy to expand storage. In addition, thanks to this reorganization, it has been possible to integrate the new connections mentioned, a few lines above and without compromising the classic ports such as the 3.5 mm jack or the microSD card reader.
Price and availability of the new ASUS ROG Ally X
The ASUS ROG Ally X will hit the market on July 22, 2024. The official ASUS website has opened the available pre-orders for this new handheld console, as well as indicating that all pre-ordered consoles will be shipped on July 21. Of course, its announcement has caused the first units to sell out in a matter of minutes.
Having seen the release date, now it’s time to talk about the important thing: the price. The ASUS ROG Ally X goes on sale for $800, which is a high label and sits above the Steam Deck OLED; although it is justified by its superior power to that of Valve’s handheld console.
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