The Asus ROG Xbox Ally is supposed to be the Windows version of Valve's Steam Deck. It even features the AMD Ryzen Z2 A APU, which is near identical to the Steam Deck's custom Van Gogh processor. Microsoft also slimmed down Windows 11 for the Xbox Fullscreen Experience, available on both the Xbox Ally and its more powerful sibling, so the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X suffer less performance loss from all that extra Windows functionality.

Combined with a 7-inch, 1080p IPS display and ergonomic handgrips based on the beloved Xbox controller, the Xbox Ally is a joy to game on. In fact, with its similar APU, improved ergonomics, and streamlined Windows experience, the ROG Xbox Ally comes closer to matching the Steam Deck than any previous Windows handheld. However, it still falls just short of the OG handheld gaming PC for a few key reasons.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally pricing and availability

What does the entry-level Xbox handheld actually get you?

Because the ROG Xbox Ally is the entry-level Xbox handheld, it may seem a bit underpowered in terms of raw specs. The Xbox Ally is powered by the Ryzen Z2 A APU and features 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a 512GB NvME M2 SSD, and a 7-inch, 1920x1080, 120Hz IPS display. In keeping with its status as the entry-level handheld, the Xbox Ally costs $599 and is available through Asus directly, or at popular retailers like Best Buy and Walmart.

While Microsoft and Asus picked a relatively low price point for the Xbox Ally, it's worth noting that the Steam Deck costs significantly less for its base 256GB model ($399), and even the 512GB OLED upgrade is still cheaper than the Xbox handheld at $549. Sure, the Xbox Ally has a higher screen resolution, but the it's still optimized for 720p performance. And at that point, the Steam Deck OLED gets you both a better bargain and a better display.

The Xbox Ally redesign

The Xbox hand grips may look dorky, but they're a genius design

When redesigning the Asus ROG Ally for the Xbox collaboration, Asus mimicked the classic Xbox controller grips for the handheld gaming PC. While this looks strange from a design perspective, the functionality of those ergonomic grips is more than worth the slightly dorky design.

I often complain about the weight of handheld gaming PCs being too much for extended game sessions, or how the grips are too flat or sharp to be fully ergonomic. Having your fingertips fall asleep while holding up the original Asus ROG Ally or MSI Claw 7 is a pretty common experience, and it's one you get to avoid with the Xbox Ally. Unlike the Lenovo Legion Go 2, the Xbox Ally's hand grips have significantly better weight distribution, and the Xbox Ally is just under 1.4 pounds total, so using it for a few hours is beyond easy. I don't think any other handheld on the market currently feels as comfortable as the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X.

The Xbox Ally also has the classic Xbox controller buttons, complete with the coordinating colors for the A, B, X, and Y buttons. While it still looks recognizable as an Asus ROG product, the Xbox Ally also looks like it fits right in next to an Xbox Series S console. And when you think about it, the Xbox Ally is very much the Series S to the Xbox Ally X's Series X.

New Windows 11, same old problems

The Xbox Full Screen Experience makes a lot of promises

As one of two devices to pioneer the reworked version of Windows 11 in the Xbox Full Screen Experience, the Xbox Ally has the potential to benefit from the streamlined Xbox experience, assuming you only play games through the Xbox app.

While you can go back to the Xbox Fullscreen Experience from the desktop, you'll still have to contend with that extra Windows 11 overhead. So you need to reboot the system to get the full performance benefits of the streamlined OS. And even then, if your game is from a third-party launcher, it will probably require booting the game from the full Windows desktop, once again voiding the benefits of the streamlined operating system.

The only surefire way to get the full benefit of the Xbox Fullscreen Experience is to only play Xbox or Game Pass titles. If you're a big Xbox fan or new to the PC gaming world, that's not so much of a drawback. But if most of your games are owned through a third-party storefront like Steam, Epic Games Store, or GOG, then it's not worth getting either Xbox handheld for the benefits of the trimmed-down UI, since you'll almost never get to benefit.

Microsoft and Asus will be pushing updates to the Xbox Fullscreen Experience, so it's possible this could get better over time. While Microsoft has not announced that the Xbox Fullscreen Experience will be hitting other handheld gaming PCs, there are some other handheld optimizations made to the base Windows 11 operating system that I could easily see getting pushed to other Windows handheld gaming PCs. The one I found the most useful was the updated Windows 11 on-screen keyboard, which now functions with the built-in handheld buttons, operating like the on-screen keyboard in the existing Xbox OS. So you've got the same controller shortcuts like pressing down the left thumbstick for caps and hitting LT for a keyboard of numbers and symbols. It's a small change, but considering how often you have to log in to various storefronts and launchers when gaming on PC, it's an absolute time saver.

Xbox Ally performance

The Ryzen Z2 A feels like a poor choice for Windows

One of my biggest concerns with the ROG Xbox Ally was its underpowered, 4-core APU design. While the Steam Deck can get away with its 4-core APU by virtue of its low cost and the lower overhead of its custom Linux OS, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally doesn't have quite the same benefit. While the Xbox Ally is cheaper than other Windows-based handhelds, the base Asus ROG Ally is just $50 more expensive and gets you the more powerful Ryzen Z1 APU.

While Microsoft did a lot of work to make the streamlined Xbox Fullscreen Experience, the instant the handheld goes to the Windows 11 desktop, all those performance gains are lost as the full Windows 11 version boots up with all its extra features and background telemetry. So benchmarking the Xbox Ally meant dealing with the full Windows 11 overhead, leaving the Ally looking especially grim in comparison to more powerful Windows handhelds like the MSI Claw 8 AI+, Asus ROG Ally X, or Lenovo Legion Go 2.

All of my test games are owned through Steam and GOG, so even when benchmarking the Xbox Ally's gaming performance, I had to deal with that extra Windows 11 overhead. Though I restarted the handheld and launched the games from the Xbox Fullscreen Experience, I still had to go through Windows 11 to get them fully booted from Steam or GOG. All three games were benchmarked with the Xbox Ally at its full 24W TDP.

While utilizing AMD FSR upscaling and frame generation does get you smoother performance, the Xbox Ally's limited APU really does require medium or low settings to run smoothly at 720p, and you lose a lot of performance by upgrading to the handheld's max resolution.

Playing more indie titles, or ones designed for older hardware like Persona 4 Golden left me with a much better experience, so the Xbox Ally is really an indie or retro game machine. So if you plan to play more graphically intense games, opting for the more expensive Xbox Ally X is definitely worth the increased investment.

As far as battery life goes, the Xbox Ally lasted 2 hours and 25 minutes on the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, with the system's brightness set to 50% the handheld set to its 15W unplugged default power profile. I got much less time while running Final Fantasy XIV, as the Xbox Ally was drained nearly to 0% after just a few daily roulettes, but then again online games do tend to drain far more battery power than offline titles.

You can also get a decent bit more time with the handheld at the Silent (6W) profile, but that's ideal for indie titles like Hades II or Hollow Knight rather than Final Fantasy XIV.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Xbox Ally?

You should buy the Asus ROG Xbox Ally if:

• You don't own a gaming handheld
• You're looking for a smooth transition from the Xbox console to a handheld gaming PC
• Most of your games are purchased through Xbox or GamePass

You should NOT buy the Asus ROG Xbox Ally if:

• You already own a gaming handheld
• You want the best handheld gaming bargain
• Most of your games are owned through non-Xbox storefronts like Steam, Epic Games, GOG, etc

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally is a great transition devices for those looking to start dipping their toes into the PC gaming space, since the streamlined Xbox Fullscreen Experience works best with the Xbox and GamePass libraries, rather than outside launchers. It can be a great secondary console to break up arguments between families.

But more serious Xbox gamers and PC enthusiasts will want to save up a bit more for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X since it's more powerful, and can handle the latest AAA game titles better than its entry-level sibling. Meanwhile, those searching for the best bargain in handheld gaming will find no better deal than the Steam Deck. It has similar or better performance to the Xbox Ally, and is still cheaper even with the OLED display upgrade.