A new Asus Zenbook is in town with an interesting design and the latest Intel Core Ultra Lunar Lake processors. When it comes to Windows-based Ultrabooks, the Zenbook has always been right there among the best. Therefore, when Asus reached out for a review of the new Zenbook S 14 OLED (UX5406), I immediately said yes. All Zenbook models so far have had excellent design, nice displays, and decent battery life. However, the new Zenbook S 14 takes everything up a notch. After using it for about two weeks now, here’s why it’s now my new favourite Windows ultrabook.

The new Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED was launched in India last month at a starting price of Rs. 1,42,990. The top-end variant we received for review comes with 32GB RAM + 1TB storage and is priced at Rs. 1,49, 990. Both options in India are available with the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (Series 2) CPU and Intel Arc 140V GPU. The chipset also has a dedicated NPU for AI tasks.

Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED (UX5406S) Design: Unique

• Dimensions – 31.15 x 21.39 x 1.19 ~ 1.29cm
• Weight – 1.20 kg
• Colours – Zumaia Gray, Scandinavian White

Asus has used a new material for the lid of the Zenbook S 14 OLED. It’s called ‘Ceraluminium’, and it’s supposedly the best of two worlds – ceramic and aluminium. Without going into too much detail, the material is both tough and withstands scratches/smudges. And truly, the lid hardly attracts any fingerprints. The lid also features silver lines running across with the Asus Zenbook logo on the top left corner. It truly stands out among all the boring laptop lids out there.

The ceraluminium lid hardly attracts any fingerprints

 

The laptop also has a geometric grille above the keyboard, which has 2,715 CNC machined vents that boast a unique design. This is also claimed to improve airflow efficiency.

The geometric grille design also features the new Asus logo

 

The rest of the laptop features an all-metal build and comes with US MIL-STD 810H certification. There’s no flex anywhere on the laptop. The hinge also seems durable, and you can open the lid with one finger. However, the hinge doesn’t go 180 degrees. You’ll find the intake vents at the bottom and two slits on the sides for 2 of the 4 speakers. Meanwhile, the exhaust ports are at the back.

You get enough ports on the Zenbook S 14 OLED

 

Despite being just 1.2cm thick, Asus has managed to add an HDMI 2.1 port, dual USB Type-C ports, a USB Type-A port, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack.

Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED (UX5406S) Display: Great for business and pleasure

• Size and type – 14-inch OLED (Touch and non-Touch)
• Resolution – 3K (2,880 x 1,800), 16:10
• Refresh rate – 120Hz

The 14-inch OLED display on our review unit has touch support, and you can also get a non-touch panel if you opt for the 16GB RAM and 512GB storage variant. Touch support is a nice feature, but I hardly used it during my two weeks using the laptop. It’s not really very useful on a traditional laptop.

The display is quite good though, and you’ll have a great time watching content as well as working. Being an OLED panel, you get great colours, deep blacks, and good brightness (400 nits, as claimed by Asus). It also offers HDR, Dolby Vision, 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, and is Pantone Validated. You can choose between different colour gamut in the MyAsus app.

You can choose between touch or non-touch display on the Zenbook S 14 OLED

 

Overall, it is a great display for all kinds of work. However, working outdoors is not ideal as the display gets a glossy coating. Viewing angles are on point, though.

Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED (UX5406S) Keyboard, Touchpad, speakers, and webcam

• Keyboard – Backlit Chiclet style, Copilot key
• Speakers – 4 x Harman/Kardon with Dolby Atmos
• Web camera – 1080p IR camera

The keyboard is one area where Asus could’ve done better, but I shouldn’t be complaining because it’s not easy to have a great keyboard in such a slim chassis. The laptop has a chiclet-style setup with a good distance between keycaps and decent travel. It is also backlit with three levels of brightness control, and it gets plenty bright at night. There’s a dedicated Copilot key as well. It’s a nice typing experience but nothing exceptional.

The keyboard doesn’t have a lot of travel, but is still quite nice to use

 

The touchpad on the laptop is fast, smooth, and supports multi-touch gestures. Click feedback is also good. Asus has also included edge controls on the touchpad that let you easily adjust volume brightness, and seek through a video. Once again, it would’ve been nicer if Asus also included the touch keypad function on the touchpad.

The Zenbook S 14 OLED speakers also turned out to be quite good. I’m very rarely impressed by speakers on Windows laptops, and the four-speaker setup (although facing downward) managed to wow me. The speakers are loud and crackle-free, and there’s decent bass as well. It’s still nothing like the speakers on the Dell XPS 13 or a MacBook Air/Pro, but it’s close.

Lastly, the webcam situation is not the greatest and I think Apple’s MacBook still has an upper edge. The quality is good in daylight conditions, but things get choppy in low-light situations. You do get Windows Hello support thanks to the included IR sensor, but it sometimes doesn’t work if the lighting conditions aren’t favourable.

Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED (UX5406S) Software: Useful apps included

• OS – Windows 11 Home/Pro
• Apps – MyAsus, ScreenXpert

Our review unit came pre-installed with Windows 11 Home and the usual Office suite. There’s also the kinda useful Copilot chatbot, which I only used about 5 times in two weeks. Apart from the Windows suite of software, you get some AI features such as Live captions, and Studio Effects.

The MyAsus app lets you manage all kinds of features on the laptop

 

Asus has also included StoryCube, which is essentially an organiser that leverages AI to group and sort media, make searching for photos or videos easier, and create or edit highlight videos. There’s also the MyAsus app for managing laptop settings and changing power profiles and the ScreenXpert app for customising multi-window use.

It’s also worth noting that since this is an Intel-based laptop, you’ll have no trouble with app support. Everything will simply work well together.

Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED (UX5406S) Performance: Great for work and light gaming

• CPU – Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
• RAM – Up to 32GB LPDDR5X
• Storage – Up to 1TB M.2 NVMe
• GPU – Intel Arc

Talking about everything working well together, the Intel Core Ultra 200V chipsets use a SoC design, which means that the RAM is integrated into the package. The advantage here is that it communicates better with the CPU, NPU, and the GPU. However, there’s no way to upgrade the RAM. The Core Ultra 7 258V chipset on the Zenbook S 14 is paired with the new Xe 2 GPU, which can now actually play some games and the new NPU 4, which is claimed to deliver up to 47 TOPs for AI features.

The laptop also features a new Intel Arc GPU

 

While overall performance across basic tasks is excellent, the chipset did not do better than the Snapdragon X Elite chipset or even the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX series processor in CPU benchmarks.

Benchmark	Asus Zenbook S 14	Dell XPS 13 9345	Asus TUF Gaming A14
Geekbench 6 Single	2,520	2,795	2,775
Geekbench 6 Multi	10,688	14,478	14,765
Geekbench AI Quantised Score	3,678	22,200	12,742 (GPU)
PCMark 10	6,836	N/A	8,165
3DMark CPU Profile	5,161	8,459	N/A
3DMark Night Raid	34,727	25,732	59,649 (GPU)
3DMark Steel Nomad Light	3,243	1,931	N/A

However, running in Balanced or Full Performance mode will not notice any lag. The power draw is managed well, and the heat is minimal to non-existent under normal usage. The fans only ran at full blast during gaming or when running benchmarks. The laptop got hot under these scenarios, including the area above the keyboard. You can also enable the Full Performance mode when running on battery.

Talking about gaming, the improved Intel Arc GPU left me impressed. I was able to play Forza Horizon 4, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, and a few other similar titles with decent frame rates (45-55 fps). When it comes to integrated GPU performance, the Intel chipset does much better than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoC.

Connectivity options on the laptop are also solid. There’s Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7, both of which worked without any issues. 

Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED (UX5406S) Battery: Keeps on going

• Capacity – 72Wh
• Charger – 65W

For a laptop running an Intel chip, the battery performance is on par with what Apple provides with its M series chips or even the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors. It’s not there yet, but I was easily able to manage a full 10-12 hour work day on the Zenbook S 14. This included running Chrome with multiple tabs, desktop apps for WhatsApp and Slack, Outlook mail, some YouTube, and lots of editing.

The Zenbook S 14 OLED weighs about 1.2 kg

 

The new Intel Core Ultra Lunar Lake sips battery, and Asus has also provided a large 72Wh cell to offer long usage hours. Charging is also fast thanks to the 65W fast charger, and 20 to 100 percent of the charge takes about 50 mins.

Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED (UX5406S) Verdict

I haven’t been this impressed with a Windows ultrabook in a long time. A thin and light, compact laptop that checks most boxes is a rarity, but that might be a thing of the past with the new Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED. The new design is catchy, you get enough performance for work as well as light gaming, and the battery life is actually ultra for an ultrabook. Pricing isn’t too bad either, seeing how other similarly specced ultrabooks from Dell, HP, Samsung, or Microsoft cost about the same.

If you’re looking for a light, compact, and powerful ultrabook with excellent battery life, the Asus Zenbook S 14 is a good choice and worth the money. You will not be disappointed. 

Asus ROG Phone 9 series is confirmed to launch in select global markets on November 19. Key features of the lineup have been teased officially. Meanwhile, new details about the upcoming handsets and an image of the design have surfaced online. The company has yet to reveal the number of handsets in the lineup or their monikers. It is expected to include a base and a Pro variant, succeeding the preceding Asus ROG Phone 8 and Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Design

The Asus ROG Phone 9 design was leaked in a Weibo post shared by tipster Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese). The phone is seen in black and white colour options, with a rear camera module design similar to the existing ROG Phone 8. The company logo appears in the middle of the rear panel and mini LEDs are seen towards the bottom.

Asus ROG Phone 9 leaked design
Photo Credit: Weibo/ Digital Chat Station

 

Asus ROG Phone 9 Features

The tipster suggested in his post that the Asus ROG Phone 9 will get a 185Hz LTPO flat display. It is tipped to come with an IP68-rated build for dust and water resistance and an upgraded AniMe Vision feature. The phone will reportedly get AI features as well.

Asus ROG Phone 9 series is confirmed to get the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, AI-backed cameras and AniMe Vision support. Previous leaks suggested that the base version will support 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 onboard storage. The phone could be backed by a 5,800mAh battery with 65W wired charging support. The phone is expected to ship with Android 15-based ROG UI.

The Asus ROG Phone 9 model is tipped to sport a 6.78-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,400 pixels) Samsung Flexible LTPO AMOLED screen with 2,500 nits peak brightness, Gorilla Glass Victus protection, always-on-display, and HDR10 support. For security, it is expected to include an in-display fingerprint sensor.

For optics, the Asus ROG Phone 9 is expected to include a triple rear camera setup, including a 1/1.56-inch 50-megapixel Sony Lytia 700 primary sensor, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide shooter, and a 5-megapixel macro camera. 

Asus recently announced that the ROG Phone 9 series will be launched on November 19 with the Snapdragon 8 Elite under the hood. The Taiwanese firm showcased the ROG Phone 9 during the Snapdragon Summit earlier this week revealing its design. A new report has now disclosed the full specifications of the phone. Like its predecessor, the ROG Phone 9 is said to come with a 50-megapixel triple rear camera unit and a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. It could house a 5,800mAh battery.

91Mobiles seems to have obtained alleged renders and specifications of the Asus ROG Phone 9 ahead of its November 19 launch. The images shared by the publication show the device in black and white colours, which will be reportedly called phantom black and storm white. The handset seems to have a centred hole-punch cutout on the display. On the rear, it is seen with a triple camera setup, with Republic of Gamers text below the camera island.

Asus ROG Phone 9 Specifications

Like the previous model, the Asus ROG Phone 9 is said to come with a 6.78-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,400 pixels) Samsung Flexible LTPO AMOLED screen with up to 120Hz refresh rate, Gorilla Glass Victus protection, and always-on-display. The panel could offer 2,500 nits peak brightness, HDR10 support, and an in-display fingerprint reader. It is tipped to pack 16GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS 4.0 storage. The phone is already confirmed to have a Snapdragon 8 Elite under the hood.

For optics, the Asus ROG Phone 9 could pack a triple rear camera unit, comprising a 50-megapixel Sony Lytia 700 main camera with a 1/1.56-inch sensor size, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 5-megapixel macro camera. The Asus ROG Phone 8 also flaunts a similar camera setup.

The Asus ROG Phone 9 will reportedly ship with an Android 15-based ROG UI and Game Genie, which include several features, including AirTriggers, Macro, Bypass charging, and Scout mode. It is said to offer numerous AI gaming features like X Sense X Capture AI Grabber alongside AI call translator, AI transcript, AI wallpaper and more. It is likely to carry a 5,800mAh battery with 65W wired charging support and wireless charging support.

Asus is expected to pack dual stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack, and three microphones with Asus noise reduction technology on the Asus ROG Phone 9. For connectivity, it is likely to include Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 7, NFC, NavIC, GPS, and 5G. It could measure 163.8×76.8×8.9mm and weigh 227 grams.

 

Asus has launched the Zenbook S 14 OLED (UX5406SA) and NUC 14 Pro AI Mini PC in India. The Copilot+ PCs, which were announced during IFA earlier this month, are equipped with up to Intel’s latest Core Ultra 9 processors (Series 2) with Intel Arc graphics. The Asus Zenbook S 14 boasts a 14-inch OLED display with 3K resolution and has a 72Wh battery. The mini PC has military-grade (MIL-STD 810H) durability. The new laptops are unveiled alongside the Asus ExpertBook P5405 laptop in the country.

Asus Zenbook S 14 Price in India 

The price of Asus Zenbook S 14 (UX5406SA) starts at Rs. 1,42,990. The top-end model with model number UX5406SA-PV356W is priced at Rs. 1,49,990. It is currently up for sale through Asus Exclusive stores, Asus eShop, Amazon, and Flipkart.

Pricing and availability details of Asus NUC 14 Pro AI and ExpertBook P5405 are yet to be announced.

Asus Zenbook S 14 Specifications

The Asus Zenbook S 14 comes with a 14-inch 3K touch screen or 14-inch 3K non-touch screen options. The TÜV Rheinland-certified OLED display has a 120Hz refresh rate, 500nits peak brightness, and 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. It runs on up to Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and Intel Arc Graphics alongside up to 32GB RAM and up to 1TB SSD storage.

Asus Zenbook S 14’s lid is made of Ceraluminum and the chassis has 2,715 CNC-machined cooling vents for thermal management. The Series 2 processors that deliver up to 48 NPU TOPS (trillion operations per second) support multiple AI-focused tools like the StoryCube app, and AI noise cancellation among others. It boasts a full-HD AiSense IR camera with AI features.

The Asus Zenbook S 14 has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. It has Harman Kardon-tuned built-in speakers with Dolby Atmos support. It includes a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. It carries a 16:10 touchpad as well.

Asus has packed a 72Wh battery on the Zenbook S 14 with 65W charging support. It measures 31.15 x 21.39 x 1.19mm and weighs 1.20 kilograms.

Asus NUC 14 Pro AI Specifications

The Asus NUC 14 Pro AI ships with Windows 11 and with up to Intel Core Ultra 9 processor (Series 2) alongside Intel Arc GPU, LPDDR5x memory, and M.2 2280 NVMe Support. It has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support. The mini PC sports features like Secure Boot and fingerprint recognition. It has built-in speakers with smart AMP technology and microphones with voice command support.

For connectivity, the Asus NUC 14 Pro AI has a Thunderbolt 4 port, HDMI 2.1 port, USB 3.2 Gen 1, USB 3.2 Gen 2, and an audio jack. It has MIL-STD 810H-rated durability. It measures 130x130x34mm.

The Asus NUC 14 Pro AI is a Copilot+ PC and Copilot+ AI features will be available on the new device through free updates starting November.

Asus ExpertBook P5405 Specifications

The Asus ExpertBook P5405 is compatible with up to Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor with 32GB RAM and up to 1TB storage. The Copilot+ PC supports AI features. It has a 14-inch WQXGA (1,600×2,560 pixels) display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 144Hz refresh rate. The laptop has an aluminium chassis and MIL-STD 810H-rated build.

For video calling, the Asus ExpertBook P5405 features a full-HD IR Webcam with a privacy shutter. It has Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity. It boasts a fingerprint sensor and has a backlit keyboard. It is backed by a 63Wh battery.

 

Asus has announced the ExpertBook P5405 laptop in India. This is the company’s first Copilot + PC made for business and is equipped with Intel’s latest Core Ultra 9 processors (Series 2) with an improved neural processing unit (NPU) for artificial intelligence tasks. Additionally, Asus has started accepting pre-orders for the Zenbook S 14 (UX5406) in the country. It sports a 14-inch OLED display and is also powered by the same Intel Core Ultra 2 processors with Intel Arc graphics. The Zenbook S 14 will be launched on September 25 in the Indian market.

Asus Zenbook S14 2024, ExpertBook P5405 Availability

The price details of Asus ExpertBook P5405 are yet to be announced by the Taiwanese firm. The laptop is confirmed to be available for purchase in India during the fourth quarter of this year.

Asus Zenbook S14 2024 is currently up for pre-reservations via Asus Exclusive stores, Asus eShop, Amazon, and Flipkart. Customers pre-ordering the laptop between September 19 to September 24 can avail of exclusive benefits worth up to Rs. 17,389 for just Rs. 1. These include a two-year additional warranty and three years of accidental damage protection. Customers pre-booking the laptop can also get free premium earbuds with their purchase as well.

On Amazon, the Asus Zenbook S14 2024 is currently listed with a price tag of Rs. 1,49,990 for the 32GB RAM + 1TB storage model in Zumaia Gray. The official launch will take place on September 25.

Asus ExpertBook P5405 Specifications

Asus ExpertBook P5405 features Intel’s latest Core Ultra 9 processors (Series 2) and supports AI features. The chipset boasts 47 NPU TOPS (trillion operations per second) and up to 115 total platform TOPS. It includes the company’s AI ExpertMeet tools with advanced features such as AI transcript, AI translation, AI subtitles, assisted meeting summaries, AI camera, AI noise cancelling, and business watermarks.

The Asus ExpertBook P5405 has multilayered security including features like Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module (TPM). It has an optional SafeGuard Backup tool for securely backing up important data with encrypted protection. It has a standard international warranty with coverage for the adapter. The company is providing a range of extended service packs with a validity of up to five years. It comes with McAfee+ Premium Individual Unlimited subscription for one year.

Asus Zenbook S14 2024 Specifications

As mentioned, the Asus Zenbook S14 2024 sports a 14-inch OLED display with 3K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It is equipped with Intel Core Ultra 9 (Series 2) CPUs with Intel Arc GPU. The chipset delivers up to 47 NPU TOPS for enhanced AI performance. It has a 72Wh battery and weighs 1.2 kilograms.

 

The Asus ROG Ally laid down the gauntlet for Windows-based gaming handhelds when it arrived in 2023. While it had its flaws, including an SD card reader that was unpardonably prone to malfunction, the Ally established itself as the device to beat in the category despite subsequent competition from Lenovo and MSI. Earlier this year, Arnold Su, Vice President of the company’s consumer and gaming PC business, told me that the company didn’t believe in waiting. The Taiwanese firm’s strategy to be the first to market across device categories has paid dividends in India, so why wait when you bring something new?

And Asus has struck the iron when it’s hot, doubling down on its handheld bet. The ROG Ally X was unveiled in June ahead of Computex Taipei 2024 and launched in India last month. It’s available in a single 1TB SSD storage variant that now comes with 24GB of RAM. It still runs on the same AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chipset as its predecessor and sports the same 7-inch display. However, there are many changes — both within and without. The Asus ROG Ally X is also more expensive than the original Ally, coming in at Rs. 89,990 in India.

But are the upgrades packed in this refresh worth the higher price? At Computex, when I first got a hands-on opportunity to try the Ally X, I felt that Asus had made all the right choices for a mid-gen refresh of the ROG Ally. After spending some time testing the device, it’s clear that the company took no half-measures. 

The ROG Ally X dwarfs the Nintendo Switch

Asus ROG Ally X Design: Ergonomic improvements

• Dimensions – 280mm (width) x 111mm (height) x 24.7 ~ 36.9mm (depth)
• Weight – 678g
• Colour – Black

Asus returned to the drawing board to make the new Ally more ergonomic. While the handheld retains the visual language of its predecessor — barring the Black colourway, there’s little that differentiates the Ally X from the Ally at first glance — there are studied design tweaks all over to make the handheld more comfortable and natural to, well, hold in your hands. Most notably, the grips feature a more pronounced curve than the original ROG Ally — taller by 4.5mm, so the rear side nestles into your palms rather than digging against them. The grips are also textured to resist slips, but these are a little more prominent than necessary. The ROG-themed textures on the rear ended up creating a bit of friction against my palm during longer playing sessions, making them sweat more than usual.

On the other hand, the textured rubber on the joysticks feels really good and prevents your thumbs from slipping off during intense play. The thumbsticks also sport deeper concave grooves on top for your thumbs to settle in comfortably. Asus also claims that the joysticks on the ROG Ally X are twice as durable as the ones on its first handheld — rated for 5 million rotation cycles. The RGB halo effect around the sticks also adds a bit of flair to the handheld.

The ROG Ally X has a more ergonomic design than its predecessor

The hall-effect triggers are wider and sport a slightly more curved contour. The D-pad has been redesigned to be less sticky and floaty, resulting in satisfyingly crisp feedback. This is one of the best D-pads I’ve used on a contemporary controller or gamepad. The left and right bumpers and the ABXY buttons are quite clicky, too. The two rear macro buttons are now smaller to reduce the chance of accidental presses while playing.

There’s a change in the port selection, too. Asus has dropped the proprietary ROG XG Mobile Interface from the original Ally for a second USB Type-C port. This is appreciated, but it would have been better if one of the USB ports was placed on the bottom side of the handheld rather than both positioned side-by-side on the top spine. The ROG Ally X is also a bit thicker and 70g heavier than its predecessor, but it feels right at home in the hands. The construction is solid, and the handheld has a robust presence while maintaining a slick and clean design aesthetic.

The grips feature a slip-resistant texture that is a bit coarse for my liking

Asus ROG Ally X Display: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

• Size – 7-inch “IPS-level” touch display
• Resolution – Full-HD (1920×1080 pixels)
• Refresh rate – 120Hz

The ROG Ally X retains the display from the Ally. The 7-inch multitouch LCD panel goes up to 500nits of peak brightness. It’s crisp with accurate and vivid colour reproduction. Asus also claims the Corning Gorilla Glass DCX coating on the panel reduces reflections, which improves visibility in bright and outdoor environments. However, the best feature of the display is the variable refresh rate support, which reduces screen tearing and stuttering to provide smoother framerates while gaming.

Asus, however, missed a trick by not upgrading the Ally X with an OLED panel. The handheld’s LCD display is excellent, but an OLED screen makes a big difference in the viewing experience, especially while gaming.

The ROG Ally X sports two USC Type-C ports on the top

Asus ROG Ally X Software: Close the Windows

• OS – Windows 11 Home 
• Proprietary app – Armoury Crate SE 

The ROG Ally X runs on Windows 11 Home, and there’s nothing really new to add to the conversation about Microsoft’s OS on gaming handhelds. Windows is far from ideal on a 7-inch touch display, and the OS experience on Windows-based handhelds like the Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw remains consistently frustrating. At this point, Microsoft should work with its partners to optimise its OS for the handheld form factor, but that’s unlikely. Valve has recently confirmed that it would allow third-party handhelds to run its Linux-based SteamOS, but it’s also unlikely that manufacturers would ditch Windows and run Valve’s OS out-of-the-box.

Here’s where the improved Armory Crate SE comes in. Asus’ software brings an intuitive console-like interface that is a hub for all your games and your portal to dive deep into handheld settings. There are plenty of refinements that make Armory Crate smarter and more efficient. The game library can be customised to your preferences and gets a favourites tabs to quickly jump into your go-to games. A deeper level of customisation comes to settings, too. Now, you can adjust custom TDP values and assign additional memory to GPU — the Ally X allocates 4GB of its memory to the integrated graphics by default, but with the bumped-up RAM, I increased it to 8GB. You can also manually adjust the fan curve for both fans.

Overall, Armoury Crate SE adds a hassle-free interface to Windows, and I found myself working off the software most of the time, whether to access games across services like Steam and Xbox or to tweak performance settings and personalise the Ally X. The Command Centre, which can be brought up by tapping the dedicated button that hugs the left side of the display, is also a handy way to quickly select power profiles, switch between Gamepad and Desktop control modes, take screenshots, and more. Contrary to the quick settings overlay on the MSI Claw A1M, the command centre on the Ally is responsive and free from stutters and touch input issues.

The joysticks feel sturdy, with a textured rubber top preventing slips

Asus ROG Ally X Performance: Consistency is key

• Processor – AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme
• RAM – 24GB LPDDR5
• Storage – 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD + M.2 SSD (2280) slot for additional storage
• Graphics – AMD Radeon Graphics (RDNA 3, up to 8.6 teraflops)

The ROG Ally X comes with the same Ryzen Z1 series processor seen on its predecessor that works across a TDP range of 9-25W (it can further go down to a minimum of 7W TDP in Manual settings) on DC power (on battery). Power limit values can be adjusted to your liking in the Manual power profile, or “Operating Mode,” as Asus calls it. Aside from Manual, there are three pre-defined operating modes — Silent (13W), Performance (17W), and Turbo (25W). On AC power (while charging), Turbo mode goes up to 30W TDP even though it’s the same AMD chipset, the Ally X’s abundant and faster memory, its efficient utilisation of power and the VRR-supported screen results in some of the smoothest gameplay I’ve seen on a handheld.

Playing a demanding title like Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p resolution and Medium graphical preset at 17W (Performance mode) resulted in very respectable frame rates in the range of 35-45fps, with densely forested areas, heavily populated settlements and intense combat sections seeing frame rates on the lower side of that range. The average frame rate registered in the in-game benchmark stood at 39fps.

Playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on the Ally X

At 25W Turbo mode, the game performed in the 40-50fps range, with the average frame rate coming in at a slightly improved 42fps. On AC power with Turbo mode boosted to 30W TDP, the average frame rate on Shadow of the Tomb Raider showed a marked improvement at 44fps. And since it’s a small screen, you can easily lower the resolution to recover more frames without a noticeable hit to image quality. For instance, with the same Medium graphical preset at 720p, the average frame rate in the game shot up to 63fps.

On Forza Horizon 5, at Medium present and 1080p resolution, the average frame rate registered at 76fps on 30W Power mode while charging. When unplugged at 25W TDP, the racing title performed at an average of 72fps. And on the 17W Performance profile, the average came in at 68FPS. These are really good performance numbers on fairly demanding titles.

Windows remains a frustrating experience on gaming handhelds

Handhelds, however, lend themselves to smaller, less demanding titles, even if they perform admirably and adequately on triple-A games. The smaller screen, too, is more suited to platformers and 2D side-scrollers, as expansive vistas of open-world 3D titles can feel diminished on a 7-inch display. On older and indie games, the Ally X predictably shines. On Hollow Knight, for instance, playing at 1080p resolution with High settings on the 13W Silent operating mode yields framerates consistently above 110fps.

On Hades, I got similar results, with consistent framerates nearing 120fps with negligible dips during intense combat encounters. And while playing, Jusant, a slightly more demanding puzzle platformer, I saw framerates in the range of 45-55fps. At 1080p with Medium settings, while playing in the 17W Performance mode, I noticed some minor dips. On 25W Turbo mode on DC power, the framerates climbed up to 55-60fps range. And with the charger plugged in with 30W TDP, I saw a slight improvement, with performance topping out at around 65fps.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider on the ROG Ally X

Asus ROG Ally X Battery: Best in the business

• Battery capacity – 80Whr
• Charger – 65W AC adapter

The Asus ROG Ally X’s biggest upgrade comes in the battery department, with the handheld doubling the 40Whr cell of the original Ally. It’s a truly transformative improvement that makes the Ally X a legitimate portable device. Most Windows-based handhelds, including the first-generation ROG Ally, top out at around an hour or an hour-and-a-half of playtime on demanding games. The ROG Ally X, with its massive 80Whr battery and efficient power management, can easily last up to two hours while running modern titles. I got just above two-and-a-half hours of gameplay on Shadow of the Tomb Raider before the battery died. Most of my playthrough was unplugged using Turbo mode, but I switched to 13W TDP once the battery reached the 20 percent mark.

On less demanding older and indie games, you can stick to the Silent operating mode at 13W or set it even lower manually to reduce battery drain and get excellent performance and extended play sessions of up to four hours. On low wattage, with brightness set to a minimum, you could go above and beyond on titles like Celeste, Hades and Spiritfarer. The excellent battery life on the ROG Ally X puts it convincingly above its competition. The handheld stays cool and silent during extended play sessions, too, with Asus bringing improvements to its thermal management.

Verdict

When it launched in 2023, the Asus ROG Ally set a high baseline for Windows-based gaming handhelds. It couldn’t touch the Steam Deck OLED in terms of battery efficiency, but its impressive performance on modern games, its compact and lightweight design, and its 120Hz display made it the handheld to beat. With the ROG Ally X, Asus has clearly kept what already worked well and improved what was lacking. The device’s bigger battery, faster (and more) memory, and better cooling results in an efficient and consistent performer that beats out the competition on nearly every metric.

The cost of those crucial upgrades, however, is rather steep. At Rs. 89,990, the ROG Ally X is nearly double the price of the AMD Z1 Extreme model of the original Ally, which currently sells at Rs. 49,990 after price cuts. That vast gap makes it a bit difficult to recommend Asus’ latest handheld; an OLED screen would have definitely sweetened the deal. But if you’re looking for the best Windows-based handheld in the market right now, it’s even more difficult to recommend anything else but the ROG Ally X. With its best-in-class battery and considerable performance gains, the Ally X is your all-weather friend.

Pros

• Excellent battery life
• Consistent performance
• Ergonomic design changes
• Clicky, tactile buttons
• Improved thermal management
• Smooth Armoury Crate SE experience

Cons

• No OLED display
• Windows OS
• Steep pricing

Ratings (out of 10)

• Design: 8
• Display: 7
• Software: 7
• Performance: 9
• Battery Life: 9
• Value for Money: 6
• Overall: 8