ROG Ally X vs ROG Ally

The ROG Ally X and the top-end original ROG Ally use the same AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip, so raw performance between them is close — if you are expecting the Ally X to deliver dramatically more frames, it does not. What the Ally X changed is everything aroundthe chip: a much larger battery (roughly double the original's capacity), more RAM, more and more-upgradeable storage, revised ergonomics that fix the original's hand feel and its overheating microSD slot, and better ports including a standard USB4 connection. For almost anyone buying new, the Ally X is the one to get; the original Ally only makes sense if you find it substantially cheaper and can live with its shorter battery and rougher edges.

It is tempting to compare two handhelds on their spec-sheet performance and stop there. With these two that would miss the entire point, because the Ally X was not a performance refresh — it was a livability refresh. ASUS kept the silicon and rebuilt the experience. Here is what that means in each area that matters.

Performance: the same chip, so a near-tie

Both devices are built around AMD's Ryzen Z1 ExtremeAPU. The original Ally was sold in two versions — a Z1 Extreme model and a cheaper, slower plain-Z1 model — and the Ally X uses the same Z1 Extreme as that top original. So in raw graphics and CPU terms, an Ally X and a Z1 Extreme original Ally are effectively matched; you should not expect a meaningful frame-rate jump from one to the other. The Ally X's advantages that touch performance are indirect: more RAM (below) helps in memory-hungry situations, and a larger battery lets it sustain higher power draw for longer before you are tethered to a wall. If your comparison is specifically against a plain-Z1 original Ally, then yes, the Ally X is clearly faster — but that is the chip difference, not the Ally X being a new tier of performance.

Battery: the headline upgrade

This is the change owners feel most. The original Ally's battery was its most-criticised weakness — demanding games drained it quickly. The Ally X roughly doubled the battery capacity, which is the biggest single reason to prefer it. It does not make the Ally X sip power — a Windows handheld running a heavy game still works the battery hard — but it buys a great deal more time between charges at comparable settings, and it is the difference between a device you can take on a couch evening or a flight and one you are constantly hunting a socket for. For ASUS's exact watt-hour figures, see the official ROG specifications; the qualitative story is simply “much more battery, and you notice.”

RAM and storage: more of both, and easier to upgrade

The Ally X increases the RAMover the original — from the original's 16GB to 24GB of LPDDR5. That matters more on a handheld than on a desktop, because these devices share their system memory with the integrated graphics; more RAM means more can be allocated to the GPU as video memory, which helps in the most memory-hungry modern games and in multitasking with Windows in the background.

Storage improves in two ways. The Ally X ships with more capacity out of the box, and — the part enthusiasts care about — it uses a full-size M.2 2280 SSD, the standard desktop-and-laptop length, where the original Ally used the shorter, harder-to-find M.2 2230. That makes upgrading the Ally X far easier and cheaper: 2280 drives are common, come in large capacities, and cost less per gigabyte, whereas 2230 drives (the same short format the Steam Deck uses, as covered in our Steam Deck SSD guide) are a niche, pricier category. If you plan to swap in a bigger drive down the line, the Ally X is much friendlier to that. For the teardown specifics on either device, iFixit is the reference — see their repair guides.

Ergonomics and ports: the quiet fixes

The Ally X reworked the physical design in ways that do not show up on a spec sheet but define daily use. The grips are deeper and more contoured, so the device sits more comfortably in the hands over a long session; the controls and back buttons were revised; and — a specific, well-known fix — ASUS relocated the microSD card reader away from the exhaust vent. On the original Ally, the microSD slot sat next to the hot air exhaust, and there were widespread reports of cards overheating and failing there. Moving it is a real reliability improvement, not a cosmetic one.

Ports improved too. The Ally X adds a second USB-C port and includes a standard USB4connection, so it works cleanly with ordinary USB-C docks and Thunderbolt-class accessories, where the original Ally leaned on a single connector that combined standard USB-C with ASUS's proprietary XG Mobile external-GPU interface. In short: the Ally X is easier to plug into the rest of your gear. If you are shopping the accessories either handheld shares, our best ROG Ally accessories and best ROG Ally docks pages cover both models.

Weight and size: the one small step back

Not everything moved forward. The larger battery makes the Ally X slightly heavier than the original Ally, and you can feel the extra mass over a very long session — that weight is the physical price of the runtime. For most people the deeper, more contoured grips more than offset it, so the Ally X nets out feeling more comfortable to hold rather than less; but if you specifically value the lightest possible handheld above battery life, the original's lower weight is an honest point in its favour. The overall footprint is otherwise very close between the two, so cases and grips are broadly a wash — just confirm the exact model fit before buying, because a snug case cut for one may not close cleanly over the other.

It is also worth repeating one shared frustration plainly, because it survives the upgrade: both handhelds rely on Armoury Crate for their control and performance settings, and it remains the part of the experience owners complain about most. The Ally X did not fix that. If a fussy control layer would sour the device for you, that is a reason to weigh a Steam Deck against both, rather than a reason to pick one Ally over the other.

What stays the same

Plenty carries over unchanged, and it is worth knowing so you are not paying for differences that do not exist:

• The screen.Both use the same 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS display with variable refresh — a genuinely good panel, and identical between them.
• The chip. Same Z1 Extreme APU as the top original Ally, so the raw performance ceiling is the same.
• Windows.Both run Windows 11, with all that implies — full compatibility with Game Pass, every launcher and every anti-cheat, but also Windows' unreliable sleep and resume on a handheld, and the Armoury Crate control software that is the single most-complained-about part of owning either one.
• The platform trade-off.Against a Steam Deck, both Allys win on Windows compatibility and lose on the console-like polish of SteamOS — the same calculus we lay out in our Steam Deck vs ROG Ally comparison.

Who each one suits

For nearly everyone buying new, the Ally Xis the pick. It keeps everything good about the original and fixes the things that made it frustrating — short battery life, tight RAM, awkward grips, the vulnerable microSD slot, limited ports — while asking the same chip to do the same work. It is slightly heavier because of the bigger battery, and it costs more, but the money buys real, daily-felt improvements rather than a bigger benchmark number.

The original ROG Allymakes sense in one situation: you find a Z1 Extreme model substantially cheaper, and you are willing to trade battery life, RAM, storage upgradeability and the ergonomic fixes for the lower price. Avoid overpaying for the plain-Z1 original, which is slower as well as older. And whichever you consider, buy from ASUS or a trusted retailer rather than an inflated marketplace listing — handhelds are frequently resold well above the manufacturer price. If you are still deciding between a Windows handheld and a Steam Deck at all, start with our Steam Deck vs ROG Allyguide; if you are cross-shopping the Ally against Lenovo's handheld, our ROG Ally vs Legion Go guide covers that matchup.

What we could not verify:we have not run our own battery or frame-rate benchmarks on either device — we do not have a lab. The comparisons above rest on ASUS's published specifications and the consistent, documented consensus of outlets that do run benchmarks, and where an exact figure matters we point you to ASUS rather than dressing up a number as our own measurement.