ROG Xbox Ally X: A Game-Changing Handheld with AI-Powered Performance

I was skeptical about the ROG Xbox Ally, but this one feature has me excited

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally could be a true game-changer for gaming handhelds I wasn't impressed when the Asus ROG Xbox Ally was originally unveiled. While the promised performance gains that the AMD Z2 Extreme chip could offer over the Z1 Extreme-powered Asus ROG Ally X sounded appealing, this new handheld seemed like little more than the latter with Xbox branding and some reworked controller grips. The fact that it would be a Windows 11-based handheld was also a turn-off, especially since Valve allows SteamOS on other platforms. Now that both the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X have been fully unveiled during Gamescom 2025, my skepticism is waning. In fact, you could say I'm optimistic about the upcoming handheld. I like that Xbox is working with its game studio partners to test and optimize the best PC games for handheld compatibility, and that the Z2 Extreme model will utilize AI upscaling to deliver sharper graphics and smoother performance. And if rumors are true, the $599 starting price isn't as high as it could have been. Everything I mentioned above is reason enough to be excited about the ROG Xbox Ally. However, there's one aspect that my colleague Jason England discussed in his Asus ROG Xbox Ally hands-on preview that has me truly hyped for this system -- and it's something I've wanted from Windows handhelds for years. What is that? A simplified Windows 11 that boots into an easy-to-use UI. If this feature makes the ROG Xbox Ally as user-friendly as a Steam Deck, it could be one of the best handheld gaming consoles. This is something we've said for years, but Windows 11 sucks for gaming handhelds. Since Windows 11 isn't designed for controller inputs, you're forced to use touch controls to do anything outside of a device's game launcher, which isn't exactly easy on a small screen. You can use the right analog stick to move the mouse cursor, but it's a clunky exercise. Also, I don't want to be offered a free subscription to Office 365 when setting up a gaming device! Windows 11 also impacts battery life and performance since the operating system is running tasks in the background, most of which have nothing to do with whatever game you're playing. When Jason turned his ROG Ally X into a Steam Deck by replacing Windows 11 with SteamOS, he noticed a significant difference in performance and battery life, with both improving by an average of 25%. Windows 11 has been the proverbial albatross around the neck of handhelds utilizing Microsoft's operating system. Yes, Windows 11 offers greater game compatibility and customization than SteamOS, but if you want a handheld you can pick up and play, Windows 11 machines don't provide a seamless experience. Thankfully, it appears the ROG Xbox Ally will have a gaming handheld-centric version of Windows 11. As Jason explains in his preview, the Xbox Ally boots directly into an Xbox UI. It's not only a simpler front end, but it also dumps all of those aforementioned unnecessary background processes. This leaves more headroom for the processor and RAM to focus on gaming, which results in higher frame rates. This also allows for a more controller-friendly interface, with quick settings available with the press of a button and a multitasking viewer. Asus' Armoury Crate launcher is still here, and you can use it for further fine-tuning power profiles and more. This sounds like a complete departure from what we're used to from Windows handhelds, and I'm absolutely here for it. This is something we've yet to see, but I'd like to know if we'll still have to set up Windows 11 when we power the ROG Xbox Ally for the first time. That would be annoying, but if I don't ever have to see the Windows 11 desktop after the initial install, then I can accept that -- even if I'd still have to decline the free Office 365 subscription. It's possible that this simplified Windows on the ROG Xbox Ally isn't exactly simple, but if it works the way I hope, handhelds with SteamOS might have serious competition. A handheld UI and launcher with the elegance of SteamOS and the game compatibility of Windows could truly be something special. With the ROG Xbox Ally arriving in less than two months, it won't be long until we can see for ourselves if its UI can match SteamOS and if the machine can deliver enhanced performance and battery life. Color me excited!

ROG Xbox Ally X runs DOOM: The Dark Ages at 1080p 70 FPS with ray-tracing

TL;DR: The ROG Xbox Ally X, launching in October, is a Windows 11 gaming handheld powered by AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and Radeon Graphics, featuring a 120Hz 1080p display and 24GB LPDDR5X memory. It delivers impressive performance with advanced upscaling and AI frame generation for efficient, high-quality AAA gaming on the go. The ROG Xbox Ally X is coming in October, with this collaboration between ASUS and Microsoft serving as the first taste of the company's next-gen plans for Xbox hardware. It's a Windows 11 gaming PC; however, with an optimized version of the OS, the first Xbox-branded PC gaming handheld is set to present a more intuitive Steam Deck-like experience than we've seen to date. DOOM: The Dark Ages performance on the ROG Xbox Ally X hits an impressive 70 FPS at 1080p. Powered by the new AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor with integrated Radeon Graphics and an XDNA NPU that offers up to 50 TOPS of performance, the flagship ROG Xbox Ally X also sports a vibrant 120 Hz 1080p display and 24GB of LPDDR5X memory. Impressive stuff, and with a price tag of around $900 (the non-X model is set to be cheaper), you might be wondering what sort of performance it delivers, natively, when playing a modern AAA title. Well, according to @carygolomb on X, who went hands-on with the ROG Ally X at Gamescom 2025, playing DOOM: The Dark Ages, the premium PC gaming handheld hit an impressive 70 FPS at 1080p with ray-tracing enabled. And that's with the unit drawing 28W of total system power. However, this jaw-dropping performance for a PC gaming handheld comes with a long list of caveats. Firstly, ray-tracing is enabled because DOOM: The Dark Ages is an RT-only experience that leverages the advanced lighting effect technology for global illumination and hit-detection on all versions of the game. On the ROG Ally X, the game was being run with a mixture of low and medium settings with FSR (AMD's upscaling solution) enabled using the Performance preset. This means that the internal resolution was 540p, with FSR upscaling this to 1080p. And on top of this, AMD's FSR Frame Generation was also enabled, so the native frame rate was closer to 35 FPS than the 70 FPS we see in the video. FSR at a 50% render resolution setting and Frame Generation turned on might set off alarm bells; however, these are the sorts of technologies tailor-made for handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally X. Upscaling and frame generation open the door to efficiency and a longer-lasting battery, however, as this is FSR 3 and not FSR 4, image fidelity and latency suffer. The good news is that Microsoft has confirmed that it's going to use the NPU inside the ROG Xbox Ally X for its own Super Resolution upscaling and other rendering technologies that could include AI-powered Frame Generation. Two technologies that could dramatically improve image quality and motion clarity when gaming on the handheld.