ASUS has updated their Windows-based handheld lineup with the new ROG Ally X. Its chipset might be the same as last generation, but it comes with plenty of new stuff to warrant an upgrade including a much-awaited black colorway, bigger battery, and plenty of storage options.
Instead of a white chassis, which is arguably terrible for a handheld, the ROG Ally X now has a newly redesigned shell with improved ergonomics with a black paintjob. Its cooling has also been overhauled its cooling with additional exhausts and fan blades becoming 50% thinner. ASUS says that this results into 24% more airflow being moved, the touch screen experiencing 6°C less heat, and directing heat away from the MicroSD slot.
Battery capacity has been doubled from 40Whr to 80Whr for longer gaming sessions. Though it sports the same Z1 Extreme chip as before, RAM is increased to 24GB LPDDR5-7500 for additional resources for games and the APU.
Its joysticks also receive an update with durability now being rated at around 5 million. The ROG Ally X will now sport two USB-C ports (USB 3.2 Gen2 and USB 4) to support external docks and GPUs. Storage will now be at 1TB by default with its M.2 slot now becoming a more standard 2280 formfactor for additional aftermarket options.
It will still be powered by Windows 11, but ROG will be releasing a new update for the Armoury Crate SE. There will be improved game integrations such as a customizable game library, control panel overlay, and import/export key mapping.
Price and Availability
The ASUS ROG Ally X is priced at USD 799 globally. It is now available to pre-order in select countries. No word yet about official pricing and release date in the Philippines. More details should be available soon. Stay tuned.
