The ASUS ROG Ally is the undisputed champion of Windows-powered gaming handhelds, offering a powerful and versatile alternative to the approachable Steam Deck and closed off Nintendo Switch. The brand-new ROG Ally X takes everything great about the original and makes it even better, but it does so at a big premium. Why should you spend so much on the latest version when the original ASUS ROG Ally gives you 90% of the same experience for just $399.99 at Best Buy?
That's literally half the price of the new ASUS ROG Ally X, which will charge you an astonishing $799.99 at Best Buy for a handful of upgrades. If you're in the market for a new, capable gaming handheld that doesn't break the bank, I know which one I'd choose.
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90% of the gaming handheld, 50% of the price
The ASUS ROG Ally helped usher in a new generation of capable, Windows-powered gaming handhelds riding on the mainstream wave created by the popular Steam Deck. Full Windows 11 support means these gaming handhelds are even more capable and can play significantly more games than the Steam Deck (at the cost of some convenience), and ASUS' debut ROG Ally absolutely sits at the top of the hill.
With a gorgeous, 120Hz IPS LCD display (with variable refresh rate), the powerful AMD Z1 mobile gaming processor, and ASUS' surprisingly competent (and constantly improving) ArmouryCrate software suite, the ASUS ROG Ally is well equipped to play all the best PC games wherever you happen to be. Sure, no gaming handheld is going to play all the latest and greatest titles with every setting turned up to 11, but the ROG Ally boasts more than enough power to offer a smooth gaming experience in the vast majority of games.
Because it's also a Windows PC in all the ways that matters, you can even hook up a keyboard and mouse, or external monitor, or portable storage, or any other number of the best ASUS ROG Ally accessories. It's honestly a really flexible gaming handheld with surprisingly great ergonomics and controls, luxuries like customizable RGB lighting and extra remappable buttons, and promise of years of support thanks to the combined might of Windows, AMD, and ASUS.
I personally love my ASUS ROG Ally, and keep it next to my bed for late night gaming sessions. It's also a wonderful companion when traveling, letting me work through my extensive backlog on the plane or in my hotel. What really makes the ASUS ROG Ally a slam dunk, though, especially over the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch, is the support for Xbox Game Pass.
You can immediately play hundreds of awesome games on the ROG Ally with Game Pass (that's certainly how I play most of the games on my handheld). In fact, ASUS actually includes three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with every ROG Ally to help you get started, making this a complete gaming setup with a huge games library right out of the box. And, to be honest, there's little reason for most people to consider the newer ASUS ROG Ally X over the original model.
Yes, the ROG Ally X is the better gaming handheld across the board, but it's also really tough to recommend to the average person when it's $799.99 at Best Buy and the excellent, tried-and-true ASUS ROG Ally is currently discounted to just $399.99 at Best Buy. For 50% of the cost, you're getting 90% of the gaming handheld. That's a deal I couldn't pass up. You can read our ASUS ROG Ally review for more information.
The ASUS ROG Ally X is the best for a premium
In our ASUS ROG Ally X review, my colleague Rebecca states that the latest handheld from ASUS truly is better than the original in almost every way, but asks if that's really enough to justify the asking price. If you're on the fence about whether this handheld is truly worth twice the price of the discounted ASUS ROG Ally, I'll go ahead and outline exactly how the new version is upgraded over the original.
The ASUS ROG Ally X is bigger and heavier than its predecessor, but with good reason. It boasts improved ergonomics with a more comfortable chassis design and larger controller grips, for one. However, the single biggest advantage with the new handheld is actually the battery, which is now twice the size of the original (and it does make a difference). Finally, you're also getting superior thermal performance and an extra USB Type-C port for added accessory support.
That's all great to have, and it goes hand-in-hand with the upgraded and increased RAM and SSD storage (24GB vs 16GB and 1TB vs 512GB, respectively) and the more powerful AMD Z1 Extreme processor being default (the discounted ROG Ally boasts the still-capable but not as beefy AMD Z1). That's... Basically it. The display is the same, the overall design is the same, the software experience is the same, the gaming performance is largely the same, the game support is the same... You get my point.
The ASUS ROG Ally is better than the original ROG Ally, but it's not twice as good; it's not so much better that paying $799.99 at Best Buy is immediately the recommended option for most people. For over 90% of people, getting over 90% of the handheld experience for 50% of the price is the way to go, and you can do that right now by picking up the first ASUS ROG Ally for just $399.99 at Best Buy.
Why should I buy from Best Buy?
Best Buy is one of our favorite retailers to recommend for any product because of the company's iron-clad reputation for trustworthy pricing, reliable customer support, and valuable perks for customers like standard 15-day return windows. Our in-depth My Best Buy membership FAQ also goes into why it's worth joining Best Buy's customer program, with tiers starting for free at Best Buy.
