ROG Xbox Ally X vs Steam Deck: Which is the best gaming handheld?

The ROG Xbox Ally X is the latest launch in the handheld market. The device is a result of joint endeavors between Microsoft and Asus, putting an "official" moniker among a range of devices otherwise dominated by third-party manufacturers. However, the Steam Deck OLED continues to maintain a staggering lead in terms of sales. While other handhelds haven't kept up the promise of the Deck, the Ally X looks promising with Zen 4 architecture and 24 GB RAM for $899.

This raises the question: Is the Ally X worth buying for the $250 premium over Valve's offering? In addition to the price, you also receive an OLED display and the streamlined SteamOS software. Let's review the specs and performance differences to come to a conclusion.

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The ROG Xbox Ally X and Steam Deck OLED are capable gaming handhelds

The ROG Xbox Ally X is the top-of-the-line offering from Asus for the upcoming generation (Image via Xbox Wire)

Before delving into speculations about performance differences between the two handhelds, let's review their on-paper specs to get an idea of what you're signing up for. Since both are powered by AMD chips, we should be able to make an apples-to-apples comparison.

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Specs comparison

The Xbox Ally X is launching with a 7-inch 1080p touchscreen display and VRR support. The Steam Deck OLED bundles a similar 7.4-inch display, but the resolution is limited to 1280 x 800. While the HDR OLED panel delivers a decent viewing experience, the Valve device refreshes at 90 Hz, while the Ally does 120 Hz.

Other fine details include an updated Z2 Extreme SoC on the Xbox Allyu X compared to the Zen 2 and RDNA 2-based custom APU powering the Steam Deck OLED. With Zen 5 architecture and RDNA 3.5 graphics, the Z2 Extreme is set to be a significant overhaul.

The Xbox Ally X bundles 24 GB LPDDR5X graphics as compared to 16 GB LPDDR5 on the OLED. Moreover, you also get a modern I/O with dual USB Type-C ports supporting DisplayPort 2.1 and Power Delivery.

Here's the detailed specs list:

Spec	ROG Xbox Ally X (Xbox version)	Steam Deck OLED
Processor	AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme	Custom AMD APU (Zen 2, 4c/8t, 2.4–3.5 GHz)
Graphics	Integrated Radeon (Z2 Extreme iGPU)	RDNA 2, 8 CUs, up to 1.6 GHz
RAM	24 GB LPDDR5X-8000	16 GB LPDDR5-6400
Storage	1 TB M.2 2280 SSD (user-upgradeable)	512 GB or 1 TB NVMe SSD
Display	7" 1920×1080 IPS, 120 Hz, FreeSync Premium, Gorilla Glass Victus + DXC	7.4" 1280×800 HDR OLED, up to 90 Hz, 1,000 nits peak, >1,000,000:1 contrast, 110% P3
Wireless	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
I/O	1× USB4 Type-C (DP 2.1/PD, TB4-compatible), 1× USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (DP 2.1/PD), UHS-II microSD, 3.5 mm combo jack	USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2, DP over Type-C), UHS-I microSD, 3.5 mm jack
Battery	80 Wh	50 Wh
Dimensions	290.8 × 121.5 × 50.7 mm	298 × 117 × 49 mm
Weight	715 g	~640 g
OS	Windows 11 Home (Xbox full-screen experience)	SteamOS 3 (Arch)

The extra hardware on the Xbox Ally X makes it heavier, though: 715g compared to 640g. It also costs significantly more: $899 starting price vs $549 on the Deck.

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Performance comparison

The Steam Deck OLED continues to be one of the most popular handhelds (Image via Amazon)

The ROG Xbox Ally X hasn't officially debuted yet: the handheld is set to hit shelves on October 16, 2025. However, since it packs AMD hardware under the hood, we can make an educated guess about how the performance will vary between competitors.

We know the Z1 Extreme inside the original ROG Ally was about 15-30% faster than the Steam Deck OLED across the board. Given the Xbox edition bundles the Z2 Extreme, the gap is only set to increase.

Here are some side-by-side benchmarks of the Z1 and Z2 Extreme chips in the original Ally X and the Xbox Ally X. We got these numbers from the YouTube channel ETA Prime.

	AMD Z1 Extreme	AMD Z2 Extreme
Geekbench 6 single-core (25W)	2379	2766
Geekbench 6 multi-core (25W)	10434	11163
OpenCL	27807	33488
3DMark Time Spy (25W)	3017	3495
3DMark Steel Nomad	485	560
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Steam Deck)	42 FPS	46 FPS
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p Low)	44 FPS	57 FPS
Forza Horizon 5 (1080p Medium)	76 FPS	80 FPS

On average, the Z2 Extreme is about 14.9% faster than the last generation. In gaming, the differences range between 5-30% largely depending on how well-optimized the title already is. This is a healthy jump for gen-on-gen improvements.

Compared to the Steam Deck OLED, this makes the Z2 Extreme-based ROG Xbox Ally X roughly 32-49% faster (depending on the workload). Given that the custom AMD APU inside the Valve device is already showing its age, with performance faltering in several modern releases, the latest ASUS-Microsoft partnered gaming handheld could bring a much-needed breathing room to the portable market.

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Overall, the Xbox Ally X might shake up the handheld market with better hardware, official Xbox integration, and support from both Microsoft and Asus. While the Steam Deck OLED has been the torchbearer ever since it launched, the outdated hardware on the console makes it a bad deal in mid-2025. For now, we recommend waiting until the Asus device hits shelves in October, as Valve has announced no plans for a successor to its device.