Asus just announced the OLED Xbox Ally

If you ask me what I would change about… Xbox Ally – Regardless Repair WindowsI mean – I’ll tell you two main things.

First, give me a bigger, better screen. It’s even a little larger, so the games look less claustrophobic and with a less ugly frame. Second, get rid of the “Library” button. I am So I’m tired of accidental compression taking me out of my game and into the Xbox Library with no simple way to get back.

With the just-announced ROG Xbox Ally X20, Asus has done both – and then some. It’s now a transparent, sleek handheld with drift-resistant GuliKit TMR joysticks, a morphing D-pad that goes from 8-way to 4-way by dropping its corners when you turn it, button adjustments, haptic feedback adjustments, fan adjustments… and what may now be the best screen on a handheld device yet.

Not only does the Xbox Ally It’s a 600 nits SDR panel with an HDR peak of 1,400 nits, which is even higher than Lenovo Legion Go 2although both are VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 1000 certified. It supports Dolby Vision.

Like the Legion Go 2, it also has an improved variable refresh rate (VRR) that drops to 30Hz instead of the original Ally’s 48Hz, which could make games feel smoother when the AMD Z2 Extreme chip can’t get the game up to 48fps to begin with. It’s the same chips here as in the original Xbox Ally

The mobile device just got a little larger to help accommodate the changes: 9mm wider, half a millimeter thick, and 41 grams heavier.

Not only is the “Library” button gone, but it’s been replaced by a new “Action” button that looks really useful: it takes a screenshot with a single tap or records with a long press, as controllers typically do today.

The ABXY buttons now rest on the casing when pressed down, the bumper keys are moved into place and have a longer, quieter throw for better feedback, and the fans have been redesigned slightly to direct more fresh air through the chassis for lower touchscreen temperatures, Asus spokesman Anthony Spence told me.

Plus, the Xbox button now lights up green, which looks cool — and it has a much faster microSD Express card slot, like the Nintendo Switch 2.

What’s not great, and frankly doesn’t make sense to me, is that Asus won’t let you buy it on your own. This holiday, it will come exclusively as part of a bundle that includes a pair of Expensive R1 glasses from Asus and Xrealwhich (at $849) costs almost as much as $1,000 more than the Xbox Ally

Asus hasn’t priced the bundle yet, but I suspect the bundle is intended to help mitigate the high price of the laptop — one at a time. All other mobile devices are getting more expensive – Instead of helping sell glasses at a discount.

I actually think the Xreal glasses set is a good way to improve on smaller, more claustrophobic portable displays, but if I were to buy a new Ally to get a better screen, would I really need the glasses as well?

I think I will dream. However, Spence says he has not yet heard of any plans to increase the price of the original Xbox Ally Its price is still $1000 at the moment. I asked if Asus would offer a way to remap the laptop’s native Library button as well.