The ROG Ally X, the company's newest mobile gaming PC, was first unveiled early this month, and it has now officially debuted. This is a more costly version that addresses many of the original model's drawbacks rather than the replacement for last year's ROG Ally.

To begin with, the larger battery is the primary enhancement of the ROG Ally X. On the ROG Ally, ASUS went from 40Wh to 80Wh with this latest model. While ASUS has not disclosed any information regarding the Ally X's actual battery life, we wouldn't be shocked if it were to surpass the original model's lifespan by almost double.

The state of memory and storage has also been upgraded. Instead of the 512GB included in the original model, the ROG Ally X comes with 1TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. More importantly, updating the drive should be simpler and less expensive with the ROG Ally X since it uses the more widely used M.2 2280 size SSDs instead of the Ally's 2242 size drive.

The memory was updated to 24GB 7500MHz LPDDR5 from 16GB 6400MHz LPDDR5. As a result, you can now give the GPU extra memory without the OS and other applications on the machine competing for it.

Additionally, ASUS has modified the internal cooling system in several ways. The new fans used by the ROG Ally X are smaller but still provide a 10% boost in airflow. In addition to moving air toward the display, the new design keeps it cool during gaming. Additionally, the microSD card slot has been repositioned by the business. In the original model, this slot frequently malfunctioned because it was located close to the exhaust vent.

Although it may appear similar at first, the exterior has also been modified. The original body's harsh angles have given way to smoother curves. Deeper handgrips offer a more pleasant and secure grip. To facilitate transitions, the joystick and control positions have been changed. To give better feedback and last longer, the joysticks have also been upgraded. After redesigning, the D-pad is less sticky when moving in a circular motion. To facilitate finding, the fingerprint sensor at the top has now been recessed. Finally, to lessen unintentional presses, the back buttons have been lowered in size.

In terms of connection, the ROG Ally X replaces the dual USB-C ports—one for Thunderbolt 4 and the other for USB 3.2 Gen 2—with the combination USB-C + ROG XG Mobile Interface connector. Ultimately, the ROG Ally X weighs 678g, which is 68g more than the original due to all of these modifications.

Regarding the aspects that remain the same, the ROG Ally X is equipped with the same Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip as the original (the X does not come in a non-Extreme edition). The same 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS LCD with AMD FreeSync Premium is also included. Both the wireless connectivity and the speakers are the same. The bundle also includes an identical 65W charger. Although Windows 11 Home is still being used, the software has been updated with a newer version of ASUS Armoury Crate SE, which is also compatible with the original model.

Despite not being a replacement, the ROG Ally X appears to be a significant improvement over the previous model overall. Apart from all the big picture issues (battery, memory, storage), it was especially nice to see that many of the specific complaints mentioned in our review of the Ally—such as the display getting hot during gaming, the fingerprint sensor being harder to use, the shallow grips and the back button being too easy to press accidentally—were addressed in the new model.

Pre-orders for the ROG Ally X are currently being accepted. It costs $799, including a three-month Game Pass subscription, and is exclusively available in black.