Black Friday and Cyber Monday are long over and out for 2025, so you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for any winter and potential Boxing Day sales in the US. However, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally is on Amazon for $489.99 (was $599.99), with an 18% discount knocking $110 off.
While it arguably struggles to outdo the Steam Deck on value, this discount makes it nearly as cheap as the Steam Deck 512GB LCD, which is priced at $449. Yes, the ROG Xbox Ally’s AMD Ryzen Z2A processor is in the same ballpark as the Steam Deck’s custom APU, but you’re getting a better 1080p 120Hz display and a bigger 60Whr battery.
Today’s best Asus ROG Xbox Ally deal on Amazon in the US
While the recent Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) is the automatic first choice as it’s quite literally made for the device, I would highly recommend installing Bazzite (a SteamOS clone) to get the best out of the ROG Xbox Ally.
It’s already a huge step behind its Ryzen Z2 Extreme counterpart, and Microsoft’s Windows 11, even with FSE, is known to impact game performance due to background processes.
With SteamOS, you’ll be able to enjoy a well-refined and polished user interface, very similar to what you would find on a games console, and ultimately, better performance results without the issue of background processes.
It certainly helps if you’ve loved gaming with an Xbox controller on PC or on an Xbox Series X | S console, since the Xbox Ally has the same ergonomics, which is almost the same as just picking up your controller (obviously with some extra weight with a 7-inch display).
The ROG Xbox Ally isn’t a standout handheld device among strong competitors on the market, but with more price drops, it becomes a more reasonable option for consumers.
Regardless, I think this is at a solid price at $489.99, almost $200 under the Steam Deck OLED and slightly more expensive than the LCD model. Don’t miss this one!
