The Asus ROG Ally X is a fantastic and powerful handheld, offering a portable gaming experience that seemed unimaginable a few short years ago. However, with a range of new handheld gaming contenders hitting the market since its release, it’s hard to know if it will continue to wear the crown as the best alternative to Valve’s Steam Deck OLED.
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In our Asus ROG Ally X review, we awarded the console an almost perfect 9/10, dubbing it the best Windows 11-based handheld of all time. That was before a jam-packed CES 2025, though, with this year’s event introducing countless new gaming handhelds with flashy giant screens, new processors, or more memory. So how will the Asus ROG Ally X still hold a top position in our guide to the best handheld consoles by the end of the year? Let’s get into it.
The original Asus ROG Ally was one of the first of its kind when it arrived in May 2023, with the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch as its only true competitors. More Steam Deck alternatives started cropping up shortly after, such as the Lenovo Legion Go and the Logitech G Cloud, and these days, the are plenty of options to pick from.
Given that our Asus ROG Ally review wasn’t exactly glowing, awarding the handheld a 7/10 score, it was clear the brand’s first attempt wasn’t perfect. A buggy operating system, poor battery life, and some design flaws meant that while the device may have been Asus’ handheld debut, it lacked what it needed to take on the Steam Deck. As more options flooded the market, Asus was already ahead of the curve, taking on community feedback and planning its second iteration.
The Asus ROG Ally X arrived in July 2024 as a successor to the original Asus ROG Ally. It was a shiny new device intended to repair all of the issues found with the first device, and it did just that. With an 80Whr battery, double the capacity of the previous version, as well as 24GB of RAM, the device was objectively better than the first attempt. There were also design adjustments, which made the handheld feel way more comfortable, particularly for lengthy gaming sessions.
While it was clear that the new device was catching the eye of the handheld community, the scene itself was (and still is) very fresh. Since the dawn of the Game Boy, handheld gaming has never really gone away, but there was a real lack of fresh hardware and interest outside of Nintendo’s offerings in the years before the release of the Steam Deck.
But as more gamers returned to the handheld form factor, more brands returned to offer a wealth of hardware options. As a result, CES 2025 saw the announcement of so many gaming handhelds that it was easy to lose count. The Lenovo Legion Go S, the MSI Claw 8 AI+, and the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 were just a few of the devices on display with tentative 2025 release date windows.
We didn’t just see new handhelds at CES 2025, though, but also some fresh processors to power the portable consoles of the future. AMD, whose Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip was a popular pick for many gaming handhelds, introduced the shiny Z2 family, including the regular Z2, the Z2 Extreme, and the Z2 Go. It felt as if the Asus ROG Ally X was firmly in the rearview mirror less than six months after its release.
However, as specifications for these new models emerged, it quickly became apparent that the Asus ROG Ally X was still in the ring. The MSI Claw 8 AI+ showcased its new larger battery, which the brand referred to as a ‘breakthrough’ and ‘best-in-class’ (via MSI). In reality, this ‘breakthrough’ only matched what Asus’s 80Whr battery had already offered for half a year. Other handhelds featured an even smaller battery capacity, such as the Lenovo Legion Go S and Acer Nitro Blaze 11, at just 55Whr.
Lenovo also unveiled a working prototype of its upcoming Lenovo Legion Go 2, which is yet to have a confirmed release date and is still subject to adjustments. Even this upcoming alternative only features a 74Whr battery, which still falls behind the Asus ROG Ally X. That is, unless Lenovo works some magic in the next few months to bump the battery size before the Go 2 launches.
While the Asus ROG Ally X still held the crown for the biggest battery, maintaining the lead in terms of performance was a more significant concern, with the AMD Ryzen Z2 chips now arriving. However, despite launching alongside the new CPUs, most gaming handhelds unveiled for release this year still use the original Z1 chip or at least have it as an option for consumers, keeping the Asus ROG Ally X on a level playing field. Then there are the Zotac Zone and Acer Nitro Blaze handhelds, boasting iterations of the AMD Ryzen 7 8840 chip. These processors provide a markedly similar output to the Z1 Extreme, keeping the Asus ROG Ally X in the race.
Memory was a point of contention for many early adopters of gaming handheld systems, which Asus remedied with 24GB of RAM in its second iteration. Other brands followed suit, offering consumers up to 32GB of memory in their gaming handhelds, which, of course, comes at an extra cost, with 16GB remaining the base level for most. While Asus doesn’t take the crown in the memory department, it certainly gets brownie points for providing 24GB as standard, and as our review notes, you can feel the memory jump in how quick load times are.
So really and truly, what are these new handhelds doing differently compared to the Asus ROG Ally X? Of course, some of them offer snazzy features like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ with Hall Effect joysticks or the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 with a giant 11-inch screen. But when you get down to the nitty-gritty, and by that I mean the hardware specs, it feels like Asus just got there first.
Still, given that Asus got there first, you would think that rivals would bring out similar models at a lower price point, right? Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case so far. The Asus ROG Ally X costs a pretty penny at $799. While it’s more expensive than alternatives such as the Steam Deck OLED or the Nintendo Switch, when comparing it to devices within its caliber, it somehow feels like one of the more affordable options.
The MSI Claw 8 AI+ will set you back $899, and while it provides more performance power thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, it’s still a notable price jump. Another alternative is the Lenovo Legion Go S, which costs $730. The Go S features the Z2 Go processor, providing you with significantly less power than the ROG Ally X’s Z1 Extreme, so we wouldn’t blame you for spending just a little extra on the Ally X.
Another contender is the Zotac Zone, but we have our doubts. With a much worse battery life and a similar processor, price matching the ROG Ally X’s $799 asking price just feels a bit misguided. So while Asus ROG Ally X might not be a clear winner in terms of price, with cheaper options certainly out there, it’s pretty much in the same field as the rest of the performance-matching options on the market.
Overall, it’s pretty clear that while there are a range of superb gaming handhelds on the market, with many more set to release throughout 2025, the Asus ROG Ally X is by no means out of the race and likely won’t be for a while. Opting for a range of hardware improvements rather than features that barely contribute to the player experience was a great swing from Asus. While the Zotac Zone’s fingerprint scanner sounds like a nice addition, it doesn’t feel like something that enhances the core gameplay experience.
As more gaming handhelds burst onto the scene, we’re confident the Asus ROG Ally X can still hold its ground. While it won’t be the top spot forever, thanks to the never-ending and seemingly lightspeed technological advancements in the gaming handheld space, the Asus ROG Ally X is likely to withstand the 2025 gaming handheld boom. Asus might even have to compete with itself, considering the recent reports pointing to the tech brand working with Microsoft on an upcoming Xbox-branded handheld. Still, we’ll have to see what the next few months bring us.
For more of the latest tech while you’re here, be sure to check out our picks for the best gaming phones and the best gaming tablets, with both of those guides including stellar picks from Asus. Or, if you’d prefer something to play your favorite retro games on, check out our list of the best retro handhelds.