Xbox Ally X 20 vs. Xbox Ally X: The Very Bright OLED Screen and Cool Air Make a Very Appealing Upgrade for the ASUS Handheld

All That Glitters May Actually Be Gold.

So, you've seen the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 in all its black and gold glory and wondered if it's worth paying $300 more for? Well, the answer is "it really depends on what kind of device you're looking for" and "how much is a new OLED screen worth to you?"

Unlike the rest of Asus' ROG 20th Yearly gear, the X20 isn't about extras (unless you opt for the bundle with the XR glasses). You don't get an extra plaque or sticker here. You get an OLED screen, TMR thumbstick, improved thermals and MicroSD Express compatibility.

You also get Impulse triggers, meaning they can make noise independently, and the D-Pad can be rotated around to make corners more or less defined.

The display is perhaps the biggest selling point here, with a 1400 HDR display that reaches a maximum brightness of 1400 nits. As I noted in my review, it's so bright in spots that I looked at the sun in Cyberpunk 2077 one night while lying in bed and was actually confused. Check out the full differences below.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: Performance

in a handful of games and productivity apps (35W plugged in)

3DMark Time Spy 3DMark Storage FFXIV Shadowbringers Black Myth Wukong (1080p Medium) Black Myth Wukong | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Medium) Cyberpunk 2077 | Upscaling (1080p Medium) F1 24 (1080p Medium) F1 24 | Upscale (1080p Medium) Horizon Zero Dawn (1080p Original) Horizon Zero Dawn Upscale (1080p Original) Metro Exodus Enhanced (1080p High) 7 Zip Cinebench R24

With both devices having the same chip and memory, you can expect more or less the same performance. In my testing, I had slower Metro performance, with as little as 1% in F1 25, but better performance in Horizon Zero Dawn, Cyberpunk 2077, and 3DMark, so overall framerate differences are roughly balanced. I also noticed that the X20 never went above 49 watts, which meant I felt more comfortable with increasing the wattage. It helps that its heat is greatly improved.

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Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: Thermals

Recorded in HW Info while running game benchmarks (35W plugged in)

The X20 comes with a new and refined thermal cooling system and is more than just a marketing term. I recorded temperatures up to 17°C cooler than the previous model, and even during long gaming sessions, I couldn't get the system temperature above 80°C with the available wattage modes (between 17W and 35W). Importantly, I never felt any heat on my fingers while playing it, making it a relatively cool gaming machine.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: Battery life

Recorded using PCMark 10 gaming battery life test (25W)

In the gaming stress test benchmarks, the X20 managed 2 hours and 9 minutes in 25W gaming mode and almost 3 hours in 17W mode. Importantly, in my experience, it can get up to 9 hours of standalone gameplay on the go. The standard X model has the exact same battery, so you can expect similar battery life, although our testing found it slightly underperformed on the X20.

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Although you get similar performance figures, in daily use the Ally X20 is superior in my experience. The screen is gorgeous and super bright, all the buttons feel great under the fingers, it's super quiet (unless you want it to be loud), and it looks great.

On top of all that, those freezing temperatures mean you can crank up the wattage if you want, or just have plenty of headroom to avoid gassing in the future. I'm really struggling to spend more than $1000 on any handheld game right now, but if I do spend the cash, I'd mostly be tempted to put the X20 in my basket.

Should you upgrade to the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20?

If you already have an Xbox Ally X, I wouldn't recommend spending another $1,300 for a better screen, better heatsinks, and TMR bars (plus some extras). However, if you're deciding between the two, I'd say the new additions are very welcome and make for a refined and desirable device. If you have the cash, this is a sweet treat. It's just a shame that the memory crunch has killed the prices of the manual market.