ASUS ROG Ally X Specs Leak Reveals Weighty Upgrades To The Gaming Handheld
ASUS recently teased a refresh of its ROG Ally console that will come with some key upgrades, including more memory, though it won't be an overhaul to such an extent that it will qualify as a second-generation ROG Ally 2. Instead, the ROG Ally X will focus on tweaks based on customer feedback. While we wait for a full unveil, a leaked slide appears to have spilled the beans.
As we previously noted, the "X" in the model name appears to stand for "extra," "extend," and "expand," the three buzzwords ASUS plopped onto its YouTube video discussing the ROG Ally X. If the leaked slide is accurate, part of the expansion (or extra, if you will) includes a bump to 24GB of LPDDR5-7500 RAM and 1TB of SSD storage in the standard M.2 2280 form factor.
The current ROG Ally (non-X) features 16GB of LDPPR5-6400 RAM and 512GB of SSD storage in a smaller M.2 2230 form factor. So we're looking at a 50% increase in the amount of RAM (8GB more), which is faster to boot, and twice the storage in the more accessible M.2 2280 form factor. That latter bit should make storage upgrades a little cheaper, as there are way more M.2 2280 options in the wild than there are M.2 2230 SSDs.
Source: Videocardz
Additionally, the leaked slide obtained by Videocardz suggests ASUS is doubling the battery capacity from 40Whr to 80Whr. That's a huge upgrade and it potentially addresses our main gripe with the current handheld—we managed 190 minutes of local gaming in our ROG Ally review while playing HoloCure, a lightweight 2D title, and just 49 minutes while playing Cyberpunk 2077.
According to the slide, the 7-inch 120Hz display remains unchanged, meaning no upgrade to OLED like some other refreshed handhelds have adopted (Steam Deck OLED and Nintendo Switch OLED). Same goes for the custom processor, which is listed as "up to AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme." The upside is that the battery upgrade should result in significantly longer runtime, since the SoC and display will be the same.
It appears as though the ROG Ally X will also ditch the ROG XG Mobile port for connecting an external GPU and replacing it with a USB4 port supporting DisplayPort 1.4 connectivity and Power Deliver 3.0. Other changes include 23% smaller and 50% thinner fans, a better D-pad, a slightly thicker chassis, and an overall heavier design checking in at 678 grams (versus 608 grams).
While not mentioned, we also anticipate the microSD card slot being relocated ostensibly to make everything fit with the redesigned motherboard, but really to address complaints of it overheating and killing expansion cards. Following a rash of complaints, ASUS issued a warranty extension to the SD card reader (from 12 to 24 months), with an offer to replace damaged cards. That shouldn't be an issue with the ROG Ally X, or at least we hope it won't be.
ASUS is expected to unveil the ROG Ally X at Computex in June, with pricing rumored to be $799.
