ROG Xbox Ally is coming to Indonesia soon. The price, variants and specifications have been announced and pre-orders are already underway. But how does it feel to play games using this latest handheld gaming PC?
Also Read: ROG Xbox Ally Pre-Order is Officially Opened, Here's the Price!
The Play Eat Sleep team has just been given the opportunity by ASUS Indonesia to try out the latest handheld PC. We were invited to the hands-on exclusive before the official launch, namely ROG CHAMP10N Exhibition which will be held on October 20-26, 2025 at Central Park Mall held.
ROG Xbox Ally itself is the result of ASUS ROG's collaboration with Xbox to bring the best gaming experience on Xbox. handheld gaming PC. This device has improved on previous ROG Ally user feedback results in aspects such as a more ergonomic shape, a better user experience, and a more comfortable fit. software more intuitive, and many other new features. In addition, this device also received recognition TIME's The Best Inventions of 2025, for ROX Xbox Ally X as handheld gaming PC on the go Best.
Is ROG Xbox Ally comfortable to use?
The ROG Xbox Ally comes in two variants, the ROG Xbox Ally X (black color) and the ROG Xbox Ally (white color). Here's our experience when trying out the ROG:
- Shape: We can see that this device has a shape grip which is larger and ergonomic like a conventional game controller. The new shape provides a much better handheld position compared to the old ROG Ally iteration. Also, the screen position has a slight tilt which helps when playing the device in various postures.
- Dimensions: The device has dimensions of 290.8×121.5×50.7 mm, these dimensions are actually not much different than the previous iteration of the ROG Ally which was 28.0×11.1×2.12 ~ 3.24 cm. The significant difference is in the thickness of the device due to the ergo grip.
- Weight: The ROG Xbox Ally X variant weighs 715g, while the ROG Xbox Ally weighs 670g. The weight of these two devices is heavier than the ROG Ally (2023) iteration and the same as the ROG Ally X (2024), however both devices have a good weight distribution supported by the ergo grip so it doesn't feel heavy when played.
- Buttons and Joysticks: For the ABXY and D-Pad buttons, they still have the same size and feel as the previous iteration, these buttons still use the membrane. Joystick on ROG Xbox Ally has resistance which is slightly heavier and has a different shape and texture compared to the previous iteration. On this device, the menu and Armory Crate buttons are swapped positions, which will require some adjustment for those of you who own the previous iteration of the ROG Ally. In addition, both buttons macros on this device is also made smaller to avoid accidental pressure while playing.
What are the New Features of ROG Xbox Ally?
Apart from the body design, the ROG Xbox Ally also has various new features that enhance the experience when playing on this device. Let's talk about what the latest features are:
- "Special" Windows for handheld: As a device that uses the Windows operating system, this device uses a special version for the handheld where this version is more "simple" so it uses memory less. Through the use of memory with less, this device can breathe easier when playing games, especially AAA games.
- Xbox Fullscreen Experience: To provide a more intuitive experience, ASUS and Xbox have come up with a UI that's familiar to gamer like the look of an Xbox console but with the flexibility of Windows. Upon turning on the device, users will be greeted by the following Xbox Fullscreen Experience which makes it easy for users to access their games. Inside Interface users can access game library from various platform such as Steam, Epic Game Store, and Battle.net without exiting this mode.
- Armory Crate Special Edition: ASUS enhanced its control center for handheld gaming PC so that users can set up various things such as power profile, sensitivity joystick, and more instantly. Users can also access the Armory Crate by scroll continue to the right when opening the menu from the latest Xbox button. This provides an intuitive experience and seamless at the time of gaming.
- Port: Both devices have 2 port USB Type-C that supports DisplayPort and Power Delivery 3.0However, in the X variant one USB Type-C port has compatibility ThunderBolt 4. Both variants also have 3.5mm Audio Jack Combo and microSD UHS-II card reader.
- Storage: Unlike the previous iteration, these two devices use M.2 2280 SSD that makes it easy upgradability from the user side as this SSD format is more available in the market.
- Cooling: By using cooling technology "Zero Gravity thermal system"This latest cooling technology allows cooling to remain maximized at any orientation. When hands-on we didn't hear any significant fan noise while playing intensive games like DOOM: The Dark Ages.
How is the Gaming Performance?
At this hands-on event we had the opportunity to play two games on each variant of the ROG Xbox Ally device, here are our impressions when playing these games:
- ROG Xbox Ally X: First we tried to play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with custom settings. While playing this game we didn't feel stutter at all and movements that smooth, we get frame rates at 37-42 fps with temperature 56-59°C.
The second game we tried was Doom: The Dark Ages with custom settings. Unlike the previous one, we tried this game with the docking which shows the potential of this device as an alternative to a desktop PC at home. In this game we also got to experience smooth and responsive with graphics that are quite pleasing to the eye. The frame rate was at 42-45 fps with temperature 54-57°C.
We think that performance is already very good for a device handheld gaming PC. The ROG Xbox Ally X is also equipped with an 80Wh battery, which is claimed to last for 2-2.45 hours of intensive gaming. - ROG Xbox Ally: First we tried to play Forza Horizon 5 with custom settings. While playing this game we had an experience that smooth with frame rate at 42-44 fps and temperature 67-69°C.
While the second game we tried was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 with custom settings. This time we played through the TV and used two controller to experience local multiplayer. While playing we still get performance and a good experience with frame rates 42-44 fps and temperature 70-71°C.
Since this variant is more affordable and the SoC used is lower than the X variant, we do feel it's natural that the ROG Xbox Ally can't deliver the same gaming experience as the ROG Xbox Ally X at equivalent graphics settings. The ROG Xbox Ally also features a smaller capacity 60Wh battery, which is claimed to last 2-2.30 hours of intensive gaming.
ROG Xbox Ally Price and Promo
Here are the specs and prices of each ROG Xbox Ally variant in Indonesia:
- ROG Xbox Ally X (Rp 14,999,000) AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, the latest chip based on Zen 5 architecture with 8-core, 16-thread, and RDNA 3.5 GPU, has up to 50 TOPS NPU. 24GB LPDDR5X-8000MHz memory, 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD storage, and 80Wh battery.
- ROG Xbox Ally (Rp 9,999.00) AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, 16GB LPDDR5-6400MHz memory, 512GB M.2 2280 SSD storage, and 60Wh battery.
ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X will be officially launched at the ROG CHAMP10N Exhibition event which will be held at Central Park Mall on October 20-26, 2025. For those of you who already own a previous generation handheld gaming PC, there is a Trade-In program that you can take advantage of. This program is limited to Saturday and Sunday, October 25-26, starting at 10:30am.
During the exhibition, you can also get exclusive ROG merchandise every time you shop. You can check the complete information about this event on the official Instagram account @asusrog.id.
