Not much has changed since we reviewed the ROG Xbox Ally X in 2025. You could say the same for the ROG Xbox Ally X20, a refresh of Asus’ handheld gaming PC that doesn’t fiddle with the innards. If it ain’t broke, and all that. It has at least tacked on an OLED screen, in addition to a fresh look to celebrate Xbox’s 20th anniversary.
Still the same Xbox Ally you remember
It’s not the most intriguing redesign we’ve ever seen, but it’ll do something for somebody. It’s got a new chassis, featuring a translucent black shell with a smattering of gold accents to round it out. It looks better than the original plain black design, at any rate. It’s also slightly larger in hand, meant to accommodate the new display.
The biggest (and only) upgrade here is the arrival of a 7.4in Nebula HDR display. It’s marginally larger than the 7in display of the original Ally, but the switch from an IPS to OLED panel can’t be ignored. It’ll deliver a significantly more robust experience, with greater colour saturation and contrast. It’s also getting a brightness bump, going from the somewhat measly 500 nits to 600 nits, with peaks of up to 1,400 nits.
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Unfortunately, Asus hasn’t tweaked the internals. That means the same AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, 24GB of RAM, and 80Wh battery stick around. It’s probably for the best. Even a lick more RAM would send the price skyrocketing more than it has already. If you’ve more money than sense, a new bundle chucks in the ROG Xreal R1 Edition 20 Gaming AR Glasses, a Dbrand Killswitch shell, a 68W adapter, and a protective case.
All that to say, if you’re still rocking last year’s ROG Xbox Ally X, you may want to hold onto it a little while longer. We’re confident that the OLED upgrade is a worthy one, though not at the prices Asus and Xbox are punting. You’ll drop at least R20,700 ($1,300) before it finds its way to South Africa. To get the Xreal bundle, you’re looking at R39,800 ($2,500) for the privilege. Can that AI bubble get to poppin’, pretty please?
