A Month Later, The ROG Xbox Ally X Has Totally Changed My Gaming Habits 6

In a few days' time, it will have been exactly a month since we published our review of the ROG Xbox Ally X handheld here at Pure Xbox, and it's actually been about six weeks since I first started using it as my main gaming device.

And I'll be honest, I've barely turned on my Xbox Series X over the past month. It's not that I think the ROG Xbox Ally X is better than Microsoft's most powerful console, but it's certainly more versatile, and I feel it offers a lot of promise for the future and this supposed console/PC hybrid format that we'll see in the next generation.

I mentioned in our original review how I'd been playing games like DOOM: The Dark Ages, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and various other things on the Ally X, but I've kind of switched it up a bit in recent weeks - Football Manager 26 is currently my obsession on there, and I've also dabbled with ARC Raiders, The Finals, some of my Steam backlog and a few other titles.

The big takeaway for me is that it's still a really capable system with most games I throw at it, and I very rarely even use the most powerful "Turbo" mode - instead I find that "Performance" (17w) is the sweet spot when it comes to battery life, heat generation, and of course, getting that ideal balance between graphics and frame rate.

I will admit that I think the screen is a bit too small though. A month ago, I noted how I felt it was "perfectly adequate" but could understand why some people would wish for something bigger, and I'm actually a little bit in that camp now. It's not really a problem when you're playing modern console-focused titles like DOOM or Indiana Jones, but text-heavy PC games like Football Manager 26 can feel a bit cramped on such a small screen.

A Month Later, The ROG Xbox Ally X Has Totally Changed My Gaming Habits 5

The main thing that's different between last month and this month is how the ROG Xbox Ally X has changed my overall gaming habits. I highlighted before how I've somewhat avoided my Xbox Series X, and now I'm also actively looking at titles on the Xbox Store to see if they have Xbox Play Anywhere support - with a purchase now being less likely if I can't swap between console and PC. With the ROG Xbox Ally X, it kind of feels like having a Nintendo Switch where the Series X acts as "docked" mode and the Xbox Ally is my "handheld" version, but I'm leaning much more towards the "handheld" side as things stand.

Speaking of the Switch, I'm finding it a little hard to go back to playing my Switch OLED after using this system. The ergonomics of the ROG Xbox Ally X are really impressive, and the Switch 1 always struggled in that area anyway, but wrapping my hands around it still isn't as satisfying as it once was. I actually went on holiday for a few days in October and took my Switch instead, and found myself very much missing the ROG Xbox Ally X - despite how amazing the Switch's library continues to prove!

There's particularly an element of surprise that I'd rather pick up the Ally X than play those same games on my Xbox Series X right now though. Perhaps it's just the honeymoon period, but I'm willing to trade 4K graphics and super high-quality visuals for a handheld experience that still looks good and feels great to snuggle up with on the sofa. I played 75% of Keeper on the Ally X for our Pure Xbox review and it definitely didn't look as good or feel as stable as the Series X version, but I generally preferred it on the Ally.

And of course, I'm now starting to look at games like Dispatch — highly-popular titles that are topping the charts on Steam but don't have Xbox versions yet — and knowing that I can finally play them on my "Xbox" device. Having access to Steam is so freeing on a system that calls itself an "Xbox", and it opens up a world of new possibilities that I really hope we'll see on the next Xbox console as well. That goes for all the other storefronts too of course, along with older PC games, tons of PC-only mods, and everything to do with emulation that I haven't really delved into yet.

Hopefully I've portrayed that I'm really enjoying the ROG Xbox Ally X and it's changed how I've played games over the past month, then, but I do have some criticisms for sure.

I think the Xbox Ally X is at its best when you're just keeping it simple - booting into the Xbox full-screen experience, picking an ideally well-optimised game like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 or whatever else, and then just sitting back and enjoying the ride. It's when I start trying to be a bit more advanced, like playing older games on Steam that weren't built for modern systems, or games that require a lot of intricate mouse movements or excessive keyboard inputs, that I sometimes find myself just wanting to boot them up on a traditional PC instead.

And there are elements of frustration with the Ally X that you don't get with the Series X. For the average gamer, I'd argue it's not as consistent as a console - as efficient as the Xbox full-screen experience generally is, you'll still run into situations where you're asked to accept Windows prompts, deal with error messages, applications that'll take over your screen when you don't ask them to, and everything else that comes with a Windows-based device. It doesn't happen often, but it can have an effect on my day-to-day opinion of the Ally X.

I've only tinkered a little bit with trying to dock the system as well, and it hasn't been all that smooth so far. Microsoft is working on improving this apparently, and I need to spend more time figuring it all out anyway, but it's certainly not an immediately intuitive experience. It works, but it could be be better.

A Month Later, The ROG Xbox Ally X Has Totally Changed My Gaming Habits 4

It's still very early days for the handheld right now though, and it's expected to keep evolving over the coming years as we progress towards the next Xbox console. It feels like the ROG Xbox Ally is a bit of a testing ground for the future of Xbox hardware, and aside from a few PC-focused grumbles now and again, there's a lot to be excited about.

In particular, I think the whole idea of opening up access to Steam, the Epic Games Store and so many other storefronts is a game-changer for an "Xbox" system, and if the next Xbox console can pull it off, it's going to change everyone's gaming habits moving forward. For now, it's going to be fascinating to see how the ROG Xbox Ally develops and informs what's to come in 2026, 2027 and beyond, and although it's a very expensive device that I certainly wouldn't recommend to everyone, I'm personally enjoying the time I've spent with the Ally X so far.

Did you end up getting a ROG Xbox Ally X? What do you think of yours? Tell us in the comments below.