Oct 24, 2025
3 min read
When the PlayStation Portable (PSP) hit the market in 2005, it became clear that the future of gaming had to be portable.It didn't make sense at the time.
When the PlayStation Portable (PSP) hit the market in 2005, it was clear that the future of gaming had to be portable.At that point, it made no sense that the same thing you could play on TV couldn't be played on a screen you could take anywhere.But here we are, twenty years later, analyzing whether we have finally found a console powerful and affordable enough to end that debate once and for all.
The first thing you'll notice when testing the ROG Xbox Ally X is that it's not an Xbox console per se—it's actually a pocket PC.It has nothing to do with Nintendo Switch 2 or Steam Deck experiences, which rely 100% on creating a playable ecosystem where everything is optimized for video games.And this has its pros and cons.
The positive is clear.Rogue Xbox Aly X wants to democratize video games;Creating a tiered mobile experience without sacrificing steam, epic, gog or combat.Therefore, if you are one of those gamers who see their catalog everywhere and just want to enjoy the same interface, this is the perfect option.
But its negative side is no less.Microsoft promised the Xbox full screen experience so we could play "without thinking about Windows".The truth is that the system climbs directly into that interface, showing a unified library of Game Pass, Steam, Epic or GOG.But the reality is different: the console depends 100% on the Windows ecosystem, which means that the bureaucracy of its system fills everything.
When you turn on the ROG Xbox Ally X, the first thing you will find is a menu from which you must personally install the various catalogs.After everything is finished, the games will be added to a single library.But it will be hours before that moment comes where you can forget about the gaming experience straight from your Xbox.
ROG Xbox Ally X wants to democratize video games;generate a portable level experience without leaving Steam, Epic, GOG or Battle.net
Also, Windows appears when you have everything ready.Constant compass, outward-focused skin, updates you don't expect... although I can only test a concert of these two issues.And if they can be solved in the future with the adoption, it does not matter that this income is not intact to offer.
Graphically, yes, it's an enviable experience.While it doesn't hit 4K, its 7-inch Full HD (1920×1080 pixels) screen offers exceptional clarity and fluidity for a laptop.Its FreeSync Premium technology generally makes games look smooth and jitter-free.However, the problem arises when you use the console in the background to perform other operations, such as downloading pending titles...
As for the laptop experience, it's not bad.It reaches up to 500 Lumens of light, allowing you to play without problems in bright environments, and it is protected by a grill coating, which helps reduce resistance.
And, where that may be, it is at the ergonomic level.When you have it in your hands, it's sturdy, beautiful and comfortable to hold.It's thicker and heavier than tables (715 grams vs 669), but its xbobox control features make it more comfortable than its competitors.It includes a 7-inch screen.
The performance is the best in the market.It has the AMD Ryzen Ai Z2 chip with 16 Cores and 16 threads that include graphics processing for graphics processing.Which means that it can move games like Cyberpununk 2077 or drug line 5 and 6 and 60 although in fact this is not the case.
Still, it's worth asking, "What do we look for most when we play on a laptop?", and the answer is obvious ... playing on a laptop.Autonomy is the Rogue Xbox One's biggest Achilles heel in Cyberpunk 2077, the battery dying before completing a long mission.In Forza Horizon 5, it barely exceeds 3 hours.If you reduce the graphics intensity or if you limit yourself to indie titles, you can reach 4-5 hours, but they can be cheaper.
Because we could forgive all of the above if it weren't for the 899.99 euro machine.Come on, almost 1000 euros for a console: it's more expensive than Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck and even PS5 and Xbox Series X.So, the cost is almost not justified.
It is not clear what kind of gamer the rogue xbox ally is and most of the gamers will see that, although everything is promising, it is not perfect (at least for now) and it comes up very short of that kind of fluodity.
It all depends on the price.If it were a cheaper console, it would certainly be able to compete in a market that, although somewhat unstable, is beginning to define what the consoles of the future will be.However, spending almost 1000 euros for a console (and a laptop) seems unacceptable to most.And that means, unfortunately, it can be condemned to oblivion.Because the future is in portable consoles... but not the ROG Xbox Ally X.
