Despite all the controversies and quality control issues that have affected Asus ROG Ally owners, I've had a fantastic experience using the device through about half a year of ownership. For me, it's the best PC gaming handheld on the market. That's true even though it certainly has flaws, like a seemingly-defective microSD card reader and Windows-related annoyances. After a whirlwind of leaks and rumors over the last few weeks, Asus debuted the new ROG Ally X at Computex 2024. It's similar to the original ROG Ally for the most part, but it's different in all the right ways.

When I first heard about the ROG Ally X and started combing through the spec sheets, I was extremely tempted to place a pre-order. After all, it's better than the ROG Ally in many of the ways that matter. This gaming handheld looks familiar, but it has a refreshed chassis for better ergonomics, better controls, and considerably longer battery life. I'm envious of the new ROG Ally X, but I can't justify buying it. The ROG Ally X is still too similar to the ROG Ally on the inside to make it a good purchase for people who already own the first one, like me.

The ROG Ally X fixes everything I didn't like about the first one

It's like Asus actually listened to user feedback and made a fantastic handheld

Not all companies respond to user feedback, so it's always refreshing when one does. Asus might have other problems to worry about — we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the ongoing controversies surrounding the company's aftersales support — but it does deserve credit for the ROG Ally X announcement. Out of the eight items on my ROG Ally 2 wishlist, Asus nearly hit all of them on the ROG Ally X. The company even went as far as to remove its proprietary XG Mobile port in favor of another USB-C port, putting its pride aside to give users more versatility.

By far, the biggest improvement to the ROG Ally X seems to be the handheld's battery life. It's doubled in size compared to the original ROG Ally, and features an 80Wh capacity. Asus claims that this will last up to eight hours on a single charge, which would be an impressive feat if it's confirmed by testers. Considering a demanding game could bring the original ROG Ally's battery life down to an hour or two, the battery life and efficiency improvements on the ROG Ally X might be a reason enough to buy it. There are improved thermals, too, and this expands the handheld's TDP. It can use more power and pull better performance out of the hardware it has, even on battery.

The ROG Ally X also comes in a new sleek black colorway, and that's a bigger deal than you might think. The white color of the original ROG Ally looks great out of the box, but gets dirty really easily. Black will hold up better over time, and generally draws less attention. While we're on the chassis, it's thicker in the right places for better ergonomics. The joysticks are new, there's a better D pad, and the customizable buttons on the back aren't shaped in the ROG logo anymore. The grips aren't shaped in that way either, and this will be much appreciated by ROG Ally owners who found the shallow grips uncomfortable.

Lastly, there's the redesigned motherboard. It will now support full 2280 SSDs, making it easier for ROG Ally X owners to find a replacement SSD when they need one. However, with the improved specs, users won't need one as early or as often. A 1TB SSD comes as the default, as well as an increased 24GB of DDR5-7500 memory.

It's not a slam dunk upgrade

With a high price tag and the same chip, ROG Ally owners are left in the cold

You may have noticed that I didn't mention the ROG Ally X's processor upgrade, and that's because there isn't one. It uses the same Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip that powered the original ROG Ally, so there won't be a massive performance improvement with the Ally X version. It will play games marginally better due to the thermal improvements and expanded battery capacity, but in general, performance will be around the level of the first ROG Ally. At a price of $800, that isn't what current gaming handheld owners want to hear. Despite all the great things I said about the ROG Ally X, it doesn't offer enough above the ROG Ally I already own to make it worth the upgrade.

For new buyers, it's just about perfect. Very few people should go out and buy the first ROG Ally when the ROG Ally X exists, even if it is priced a bit higher. But for people who already bought the ROG Ally, the lack of a chip upgrade on the ROG Ally X makes it an extremely tough sell.

Remember, this isn't an ROG Ally 2

Ally owners like me aren't really supposed to upgrade

The good news is that this isn't an ROG Ally 2. The true successor to the ROG Ally won't come until there is a chip upgrade, and the eventual ROG Ally 2 will likely include all the improvements of the Ally X and then some. For people looking at buying a Windows gaming handheld, there really hasn't been a better time, now that the ROG Ally X exists. If you bought an ROG Ally in the last year, like I did, you're probably a bit frustrated by the timing. Despite all the ways the ROG Ally X is better than the original ROG Ally, I can't justify buying it — and other ROG Ally owners shouldn't, either.