A year ago, when I reviewed the ROG XBOX Ally X, I commented on how it was a very exciting handheld with a few little XBOX-related quirks that needed ironing out and that I wished it had an OLED display. ASUS has now dropped the ROG XBOX Ally X20, the software has come a long way in 12 months, and we finally have that OLED display.
The ROG XBOX Ally X20 has a translucent shell just like other items in the ROG 20th Anniversary range, along with a bunch of gold detailing on the front menu buttons and across the back. I’m a sucker for translucent tech, and it hugely delivers here in a way that feels premium, futuristic yet somehow nostalgic.
The XBOX button now glows green, which is a nice little touch, and the library button has now been changed to an action button, which is a solid improvement as it felt a touch confusing before. Otherwise, on a surface level, the X20 weighs a little bit more but in the hands feels very similar to that of the XBOX Ally X.
Obviously, the huge difference here is the new larger OLED display. It’s a 7.4-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED display (up from 7 inches on all of the other Ally handhelds), and it mainly fills in the top and sides of the screen to allow for a bigger display without increasing the footprint of the handheld. The OLED display is capable of 1,400 nits of peak HDR brightness (compared to 500 nits SDR on the X), and it has Dolby Vision HDR support too.
It’s not going to be surprising that the larger screen is welcome, and the OLED display is night and day different. It’s absolutely stunning when playing games such as Gears of War: E-Day and Forza Horizon 6, with the highlights absolutely popping, the colours being incredibly vibrant and the blacks being inky. It’s a gorgeous display, and whilst there are still some Windows-related HDR quirks (it’s come a long way), this is the display that we’ve been waiting for in a ROG Ally handheld since it was first released.
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The other thing worth mentioning with the display is that it’s quoted as being 60% more glare-resistant, and even before I knew this, I could tell that it had a matte-like quality to it, which in the sun will definitely take away a little bit of those inky blacks, but it definitely does help diffuse glare, which is great for a portable handheld.
Other improvements include TMR magnetic joysticks, which should mean that they are very unlikely to get stick drift and should offer improved precision, and there’s also a new D-pad which can go between 4-way and 8-way cleverly by lifting it slightly and rotating it to the left. It’s not personally something I was wanting, but for those who go between playing retro/fighting games and AAA games, it’s a nice addition to have. There are also minor improvements to the ergonomics of the triggers too, which are subtle but worth mentioning.
That’s really where the differences end. The ROG XBOX Ally X20 has the same AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24GB of memory and a 1TB SSD. It’s still a great-performing chipset, with Star Wars Galactic Racer, Gears of War: E-Day, Control Resonant and Forza Horizon 6 all running without me having to adjust any settings, and that 80Wh battery still meaning that you’ll get a few hours even on Turbo mode.
Obviously, the elephant in the room is that, through no fault of ASUS, the tech industry is going through unprecedented times right now, with the cost of everything being astronomical. So not only has the ROG XBOX Ally X gone up in price since it was released a year ago, but this also comes in at $2,499 AUD for just the handheld, or it also came in a special bundle (which I received for this review).
The price is absolutely the hardest pill to swallow, particularly for existing owners, given the chipset is the same. I’m hopeful that maybe next year we’ll get a chip increase and obviously keep that OLED display without the price going up too much, but if you’re new to the Windows handheld space or someone who uses your ROG every day, this might be a worthy upgrade as that OLED display is mighty tasty.
As mentioned, the Ally X20 was originally announced in a bundle (that has now sold out) for $4,499 AUD. This included the handheld, a special matching version of the XREAL R1 glasses complete with a translucent design (I’ll have thoughts on the standard version soon) and gold plating, an exclusive dbrand Killswitch case complete with that same gold trim, and a custom Pelican case that is designed to protect it all plus a controller.
Above all, the handheld design and the entire package ooze quality in a way that only ROG tech does. It’s just that extra level above any other tech brand in the PC space, and whether you were lucky enough to get the whole bundle or just the handheld, they are very nice pieces of tech to have in your collection and a great way to celebrate 20 years of ROG.
As for the ROG Ally X20 handheld, this feels like the final form of what ASUS set out to do with the ROG Ally, and similarly, it’s bringing XBOX’s PC ecosystem to fruition too, which has already come leaps and bounds in the last 12 months, so I’m excited to see where the product goes from here.
