Everything is an Xbox now, right? If that’s the case, why can’t we mod our smart fridge or smart toaster with screens to transform them into the rough approximation of an Xbox gaming machine? The hard truth is there is no unified sense of “Xbox” anymore. That’s epitomized by the $1,000 Asus ROG Xbox Ally X handheld. It’s the first piece of real gaming hardware with an Xbox name to roll out in five years. Despite the moniker, it’s far more of a PC than it is any flavor of Xbox console. And thanks to Microsoft’s efforts to fix Windows for a small screen, it’s one of the best handheld PCs yet.
The ROG Xbox Ally X can certainly compete with Valve’s Steam Deck, and it can do so without worrying about kernel anti-cheat compatibility. The one point it can’t compete on is price. At $1,000, the ROG Xbox Ally X will seem like an overindulgent splurge that won’t net you the ease or comforts of a true-blue console. And though it has better graphics potential than Valve’s handheld, maximizing its capabilities requires coaxing.
If this is what we can expect from “Xbox” going forward, then console gamers had better get used to their new PC playground—whether that means adjusting power and graphics settings or dealing with Windows’ penchant for bugs and missing settings. But it also means a cleaner, more gamer-focused experience than any other handheld Windows device released over the past several years can match.
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X It's the first step in a long road to reinventing the Xbox brand, but in the meantime its one of the best handheld PCs you can get, despite glaring power standby bugs. 4 Pros Controller-like grips are comfortable
Performance at lower power
Windows finally good on handhelds
Access to all your game launchers
Better than average battery life Cons So-so screen and speakers
Missing Windows settings in FSE
Battery standby bug
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