Asus ROG Ally X
The ROG Ally X is an updated version of the much less-expensive ROG Ally (it starts at 9), usually considered one of the best of an uneven lot of Windows-based handheld gaming consoles. Its rivals include high-profile models like the Lenovo Legion Go or MSI Claw as well as a host of options available mostly in other regions. The Ally X is relatively expensive at 0, though, which may justifiably give you pause, despite a host of design tweaks and better performance.
Pros
- Supports a wider library of games than non-Windows devices
- Good performance for its components
- Paddles for macro combos and some basic Windows navigation
- Bumpers feel clicky and responsive
Cons
- Expensive
- Display doesn’t support HDR and only has sRGB gamut
- Pressing the ABXY buttons only registers in the center
- No trigger stops
In a category where the operating system more or less defines what games you can play, Windows is a mixed blessing. On one hand, it provides the infrastructure to let you play any game available for PC — using any Windows-based launcher such as the Epic Games Store, Xbox Game Pass, Steam and more — which means you have access to the largest library of games possible. The Nintendo Switch can only play Switch games, by comparison. The Steam Deck can only play Steam games (although you can mod it to expand support), the PlayStation Portal is tethered to the PS5 and PS games, the Logitech G Cloud can only play cloud or Android games and so on.
Streamlined design
Let’s get some of the personal preferences out of the way. Asus has added texture to the grips, but they’re still plastic: I like them with more of a rubbery feel. The company also tweaked the controls, changing the D-pad to eight-way and making the ABXY buttons “more tactile.” But they all still feel kind of mushy to me.
More annoying, the ABXY buttons don’t seem to register unless I strike them in the middle, which was initially a problem for my Dash+Attack (A+X); on the Steam Deck, I can hit them closer to the edges without issue. It’s not a huge problem, but did take an adjustment of my hand placement. And like most triggers, the Ally X’s have a relatively deep pull: I like trigger stops so I can set one to a quick, shallow pull.
