Hands on with the new ASUS ROG Ally X, double the battery and an impressive physical redesign

ASUS has officially announced the ROG Ally X, an updated, refined, and more powerful version of its Windows PC gaming handheld that debuted last year. The big hardware revisions boost performance outside of the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, which remains unchanged. And it begins with double the battery capacity to an impressive 80 Wh.

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The ROG Ally X will ship with 24GB of LPDDR5X-7500 memory, which is not only larger in capacity but also faster. ASUS notes that as the Ryzen SoC with RDNA graphics shares the same pool of memory as the full system, the increased capacity and speed deliver better GPU performance when gaming.

Storage is also getting an upgrade, with 1TB of SSD available using the common M.2 2280 form factor found in gaming desktops. This offers an easy and more affordable upgrade path for gamers who need to install several Call of Duty-sized titles. The motherboard has been redesigned to accommodate the change in the storage form factor, a philosophy that applies to the entire handheld.

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Firstly, the new ROG Ally X is black and rounded to improve ergonomics. The buttons and stick placement have also been adjusted to support a more natural grip and finger placement. The joysticks are more durable, too, and are rated for 5 million cycles - a lifetime of Street Fighter fireballs. Going hands-on with the ROG Ally X at Computex 2024, it felt great to hold - and remarkably lightweight when you factor in the upgrades and 7-inch FHD 120 Hz (500 nits) display.

Compared to the original ROG Ally, the weight has only increased by around 11.5% to around 678 grams - which is impressive due to the 200% battery capacity, 200% storage capacity, and 150% RAM capacity. Upon picking it up, we noted how cool the handheld felt to hold, which ASUS explained was due to a redesign that includes 50% thinner fan blades and the addition of two new "air tunnels" to exhaust heat. Translation: you won't feel the ROG Ally X heat up in your hands - and it'll run 6 degrees cooler than the current model.

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The ROG Ally X is a premium and impressive revision of the popular Windows PC gaming handheld (the software side, which has been improved, will apply to all models) and will be available from July starting from $799 USD.