The ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X puts an Xbox in your hands. Mitchell Whitfield spent weeks with the handheld and breaks down the controls, the 7-inch 120Hz display, real battery life, and whether the $599 base model is the smarter buy.

Both the ROG Xbox Ally and the Ally X run Windows 11 underneath, but ASUS layers its own software on top so you log in and see your games, not a desktop. Steam, EA, Activision and Xbox titles show up in one library regardless of where they came from. PC-based Xbox games install and play natively; the rest of your Xbox library streams through Xbox Play Anywhere, Remote Play or the cloud. Mitchell tested Call of Duty and Diablo 4 on a non-fiber home connection and reported no latency problems.

The hardware is the story. The grips and controls feel like an Xbox controller split in half with a screen between them, and Mitchell says that tactile match is what makes the device work. You also get programmable back buttons, assignable LEDs, an M.2 storage slot for easy upgrades, and a weight that feels solid rather than cheap.

On specs and price: the base Ally is around $599 with 16GB of RAM, a Z2 processor and 512GB of storage. The Ally X is $999 with 24GB of RAM, the Z2 Extreme, 1TB of storage and a larger battery. Expect roughly one and a half to two hours in top performance mode, or five to six hours in lower power modes. Mitchell's take: unless you play first-person shooters, the base model will serve you well, and ASUS deserves credit for holding launch pricing while competitors raised theirs.

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