In a plain cardboard field delivered to a Parisian flat is the ROG Xbox Ally X, a shiny black slab of gaming goodness that ASUS and Microsoft have been teasing for months. The supply label says September 30, 2025, 16 days earlier than the true October 16 launch date. For one Redditor, that is an early Christmas current.
Amazon France will get a lot of the blame right here. Pre-orders began simply 5 days earlier, on September 25, and offered out quick at main shops. The high-end Ally X, $999, has a beefed up model of ASUS’s authentic ROG Ally: an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Excessive processor, 24GB of RAM, 1TB SSD and an 80Wh battery that may final 3 hours of intense gaming with out working out of juice. The usual ROG Xbox Ally, $599, has a Z2 A processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Each have a 7-inch 1080p display that refreshes at 120Hz, curved grips like Xbox controllers and a full display interface for moveable use. Players purchased them up, imagining easy Sport Go integration on the go.
ASUS ROG Xbox Ally 7” 1080p 120Hz Gaming Handheld Touchscreen AMD Ryzen™ Z2 A 16GB RAM 512GB SSD…
- XBOX EXPERIENCE BROUGHT TO LIFE BY ROG The Xbox gaming legacy meets ROG’s many years of premium {hardware} design within the ROG Xbox Ally. Boot straight into…
- XBOX GAME BAR INTEGRATION Launch Sport Bar with a faucet of the Xbox button or play your favourite titles natively from platforms like Xbox Sport Go,…
- ALL YOUR GAMES, ALL YOUR PROGRESS Powered by Home windows 11, the ROG Xbox Ally provides you entry to your full library of PC video games from Xbox and different recreation…
Then got here the error, which might have occurred when warehouse employees in a French achievement centre misinterpret the dates or labels. The r/ROGAllyX subreddit was the primary to gentle up. Consumer Technical_Fun77 shared images of the unopened parcel, timestamped with a supply affirmation that screamed error. “ROG Xbox Ally X has already arrived at residence! “Because of Amazon for the early arrival nearly three weeks earlier than the official launch,” they wrote, earlier than going into a quick assessment that highlighted each the system’s promise and its flaws. The submit was taken down hours later, presumably as a result of ASUS or somebody received nervous, however screenshots and quotes unfold like digital contraband.
Technical_Fun77 used the system for a number of hours, taking part in Forza Horizon 5 and Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p on medium-to-high settings. When AMD’s FSR upscaling kicked in, body charges ranged between 70 and 80 fps, a minor enchancment – perhaps 5 to 10 frames – over the non-Xbox ROG Ally. Battery life was acceptable at 17 to 25 watts, permitting for greater than 3 hours of playtime in efficiency mode, with the followers whispering slightly than roaring. Weight was 715 grams and the burden distribution felt proper, with the grips becoming the palms like a well-worn controller. The joysticks had been clicky, like an Xbox One pad, and solved one of many largest issues with moveable gaming.
ROG Xbox ALLY X
Doom the Darkish Ages1080p upscaled (FSR 50% 540p base res)
Ray Tracing enabled
Customized low-medium settings
FSR Body-gen enabled.~70fps on this scene.
~26w whole (~18w TDP) however excellent news is we see the system self balancing energy.
My YouTube video tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/v6gh6uhpkh
— Cary Golomb (@carygolomb) August 22, 2025
Even the tester was impressed with the audio, which was twin speaker and had spatial audio. “It feels just like the sounds are throughout my head,” Technical_Fun77 mentioned. “I nearly didn’t want headphones.” The Armory Crate software program, which now has full display mode for Xbox, was lightning quick to navigate menus – no lag on button inputs and seamless transitions between libraries like Steam and Sport Go. Sleep and resume was higher than a easy Home windows handheld however not as easy because the Steam Deck.
The field solely included the hand-held, a 65W charger in some areas (however French prospects reported it was lacking), fast begin directions and guarantee papers. No stands or docks, simply the necessities in a bundle that may be taken overseas. On October 3, a French dev named Dervichter confirmed that the charger was lacking for European gadgets and labeled the ports – two USB-C slots, a headphone jack and microSD enlargement – for simple entry.
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