Asus ROG Xbox Ally X vs. Steam Deck OLED: Has the champion been dethroned?

By Monica J. White and Lloyd Coombes Updated December 23, 2025

Valve’s Steam Deck lineup has shown that handheld PCs can be viable for gaming on the go, but one of the strongest competitors to the Steam Deck OLED is the supercharged Asus ROG Ally X.

Asus has pushed the performance envelope further than Valve, and there’s now a new version that has the backing of Microsoft’s Xbox brand, the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X. That’s reignited the battle between the two, and as we head into 2026, it’s a good time to take stock of what’s changed.

Here’s our full comparison between the two new handheld models.

Comparing the specs of the two handhelds immediately puts the Asus ROG Ally X at an advantage — but that’s not much different from comparing the base Steam Deck to the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme. The Ally X was always more impressive in terms of its chipset, but the new AMD Ryzen AI Z2 only stretches that further.

It’s got much higher headroom than the Steam Deck’s more modest chip, with Asus and Microsoft’s newest variant of the Ally X also getting AI functionality in the future to allow for Automatic Super Resolution and other features not possible in the base Xbox Ally.

The ROG Ally X has 24GB of RAM, and it’s faster RAM than the version that launched in 2024, too. You can even upgrade the built-in storage, and there are two ports compared to the single USB-C one on the Steam Deck. That means that while there are docks available, you can plug in a keyboard or mouse and charge the console without needing to buy one.

In terms of hardware, the ROG Xbox Ally X largely wins the battle — but the Steam Deck OLED does a good job in other categories.

Both the Steam Deck OLED and the Asus ROG Ally X were released as improved versions of their base models, before the Xbox version arrived in October 2025 with fresh branding and a revised design.

Valve launched the Steam Deck OLED on November 16, 2023, and it adjusted the pricing of the LCD model instead of raising the price, but the LCD models are basically all gone now. The 512GB model costs $550, and the 1TB model is priced at $650.

Meanwhile, the ROG Ally X got its latest hardware revision, the Xbox version, in October 2025. After months of speculation, the price was revealed to be $999, but expect retailers to discount it in the months ahead.

The two handhelds vary greatly in terms of design. We won’t go over the basic differences between a Steam Deck and an Asus ROG Ally — you can read about those in our comparison of those models. Instead, we’ll discuss the changes that apply only to these newer, updated versions.

While the ROG Ally X had brought the two a little closer together in terms of design, the newer Xbox variant makes more changes. There are now controller-like grips on each side that make it feel much more comfortable to hold, despite the fact it’s slightly heavier than the prior model.

It’s available in Black, with the White version being reserved for the cheaper, non-X ROG Xbox Ally. The controls remain a big improvement on ASUS’ first version, and there’s a new Xbox button to navigate to the Game Bar and other menus so you don’t have to keep diving into Windows.

The Steam Deck OLED, however, looks very, very similar to its predecessor – until you turn it on. That’s because the new display is slightly larger thanks to thinner bezels, offers drastically-improved contrast due to its OLED nature, and reaches up to 90Hz. It’s still an 800p panel, though, so ASUS has it beat with its 1920p screen. The ROG Xbox Ally X goes up to 120Hz, but it’s not an OLED.

While Valve was able to shave off a little weight in the OLED model, Asus ended up adding a little bit when it built the ROG Xbox Ally X, but it’s not a huge difference.

Asus doubled the battery capacity with the original ROG Ally X, and the Xbox model keeps the same 80Wh cell. That keeps Asus in the lead for longevity, but the Steam Deck OLED is more efficient than the original, too. In our tests, the OLED model consumed about 5% of the battery during a 30-minute gameplay session of Dead Cells. Meanwhile, the non-OLED model would lose at least 10% or less during that same time window.

The ROG Ally X did a great job of showing off its new battery in our testing. We were able to complete our full benchmark suite on a single charge — that has never happened before on any other handheld. The console was also able to play Halo 2 Anniversary on Performance mode for an hour while only losing 30% of the battery. Meanwhile, the System Shock remake at 1080p without a frame rate cap only ate up about 35% of the battery.

The difference between the two in this regard boils down to what matters more to you. Steam Deck’s visuals will most likely remain unmatched, but the 80Wh battery on the ROG Ally X takes the crown in that category, too, and there’s no denying that.

The ROG Xbox Ally X is an interesting handheld because it has a newer chip, more RAM, and a bigger battery than its non-X predecessor, meaning it’s a definite cut above. On the other hand, the Steam Deck OLED is less of a major update to Valve’s initial effort, so that performance delta is wider. We’ve run plenty of benchmarks on the non-Xbox version, and compared it to the Steam Deck OLED.

First, let’s look at a comparison at 720p, which is the native resolution for the Steam Deck. Although the Asus console houses a significantly better chip, the difference is not as great as you’d expect at 720p. There are some improvements in memory-hungry games like Horizon Zero Dawn, but other titles, like Cyberpunk 2077, play almost exactly the same. In fact, the difference between the two in Cyberpunk in particular amounts to a single frame rate.

At 1080p, the Asus mini PC fares better, but we can’t compare it to the Steam Deck at that resolution. However, comparing it to its predecessor sheds some light on how much the extra memory matters in some titles and not in others. Take Horizon Zero Dawn as an example. Despite the APU being exactly the same in both models, the ROG Ally X hits 50 frames per second (fps) at 1080p, while the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme trails behind at a measly 35 fps. Meanwhile, games like Returnal and Dying Light 2 barely see any difference.

The ROG Ally X outclasses its predecessor, and therefore, also the Steam Deck OLED, in terms of performance at various power modes. Asus tweaked them slightly, now allowing for 17 watts at the Performance profile and 13 watts on Silent. This brings the 17-watt Performance mode on a much more level playing field with Turbo, which starts at 25W when you’re not plugged in and goes up to 30W if you are.

Valve’s upgrade from the Steam Deck to the OLED version came with some performance improvements, too. Although we’re only talking about a difference of a few frames at most, it can mean a great deal when you’re not already running games at 120 fps. At the Steam Deck’s native 800p resolution, the handheld was able to squeeze out 60 fps instead of 56 fps in Horizon Zero Dawn and 84 fps instead of 79 fps in Strange Brigade.

Be that as it may, the OLED Steam Deck would still be beaten by the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme, let alone the Xbox Ally X.

Choosing between the ROG Ally and the Steam Deck was never straightforward, and these two new versions don’t make the decision any easier.

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is, in many ways, almost like a new generation of handheld console. There’s the improved performance, and while the display hasn’t changed, you do get the new Xbox Full Screen Experience which essentially lets you turn it into a Steam Deck with a few taps.

The Steam Deck OLED is much, much cheaper, however, and offers a console-like interface that’s much easier to get started with, but comes with the caveat of not having compatibility with popular games that need anti-cheat software like Call of Duty Warzone.

Ultimately, it all comes down to how much you value price versus performance. The ROG Xbox Ally X will give you higher frame rates, but is it worth $999? Not necessarily, but it depends entirely on how much you’re comfortable spending on a gaming handheld.