ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Review: Gorgeous Hardware, Compromised Performance at a Premium Price

The reviewer's gaming time comes in stolen moments between work, chores and bedtime stories, and that is the yardstick applied to the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, a Windows handheld that went on sale October 16, 2025 for $799. After weeks of use, the verdict is mixed: a beautifully built device with an identity problem and a compromised gaming experience at a premium price.

The question hanging over it is a simple one. The Xbox Series S console costs $450 and the Series X $650. Why pay $799 for a lower-powered, runner-up handheld that carries the Xbox name? The reviewer says the name should demand something close to a console experience, on the go or even plugged in.

The hardware is where the Ally earns its praise. It weighs 670 grams (1.48 pounds) and is, in the reviewer's words, the most comfortable Windows handheld they have used, matching its bigger sibling, the Xbox Ally X. The 7-inch, 1080p, 120Hz display is described as stunning, with vibrant games and smooth motion. The review's pros list also credits the Xbox full screen interface, a faster fingerprint reader, quicker boot times and longer battery life at lower power settings.

The trouble is under the hood. The Ally runs an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, with four cores and eight threads, tuned for battery life and drawing a modest 5 to 15 watts when unplugged. It is a clear step up from the Steam Deck's older architecture in processing power and screen quality. But the reviewer notes the Nintendo Switch 2, at around $630, often matches it or runs smoother in demanding AAA games. The Ally is also well behind the flagship Xbox Ally X and the MSI Claw 8 AI+, both built for raw performance at nearly double the price. On battery life it sits mid-pack: the Steam Deck OLED, starting around $499, often lasts longer, and the Claw has a larger battery.

In practice, the reviewer calls it fundamentally an indie machine. Platformers, turn-based RPGs and other light titles from the Game Pass library run smoothly and enjoyably. Anything from the last few years is another matter. With AAA games, the reviewer describes constant mitigation: dropping from native 1080p to 720p, setting graphics to Low or at best Medium, and hoping the frame rate averages above 30. The reviewer's conclusion is blunt: $799 buys the portability to play games poorly, while an Xbox Series X costs over $100 less and runs the same games in 4K at high frame rates.

Software added to the frustration. Layering the Xbox Fullscreen experience over Windows produced visible struggles. Launching Battlefield 6 through Steam often looked like a freeze; swiping up on the touchscreen or long-pressing the Xbox button showed the game's splash screen had loaded but never came to the foreground. In No Man's Sky, a game seemed to crash, with sound stopping and play freezing while scrolling text and floating particles kept moving, until the reviewer switched to another window and back. In the Armoury Crate menu, input adjustment tools were sometimes cut off, hiding customization options. The cons list adds no centralized software update space and general UI issues. The reviewer says these signs suggest a rushed launch that turns premium buyers into unwilling beta testers.

The reviewer sees a narrow audience: people who insist on playing Windows and Xbox games on the go and don't need the latest titles at medium or high settings. The Ally asks more money for a demonstrably lesser experience, the review concludes. The reviewer will probably keep it anyway, letting their son play Lego Star Wars while they turn to a PS5 or the Xbox Ally X for more demanding games.

For shoppers, the comparison points are laid out in the review: the Steam Deck for less money, the Switch 2 for dedicated console play, and the pricier Ally X or MSI Claw 8 AI+ for real power.