I tested the $1,299 ROG Xbox Ally X20 — with that OLED display, the $300 price hike is surprisingly palatable

I’ll be real. When I saw the ROG Xbox Ally X20 at Computex 2026, and saw how Asus was dodging the questions of price like an Elden Ring player panic-rolling through a boss fight, I braced myself for the worst.But then the news broke here at Gamescom — you can pre-order one now for $1,299 standalone, and it’s set to launch on October 15th. Now, after seeing how the supreme MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ with Intel Arc G3 Extreme came in at nearly two thousand dollars, this actually is not that bad.Yes, it’s $300 more. But after getting more hands-on time with this “Edition 20” transparent facelift (which looks seriously slick to a nerd like me) and its glorious OLED panel, dare I say I’m starting to feel this could be kind of a worthwhile premium handheld.Performance and Power

(Image credit: Future)Well, from the start, it’s the same core performance specs: AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a 1TB SSD, which is all fueled by an 80Wh battery inside.Don’t get me wrong — Intel well and truly has AMD’s number in this area. We’re still waiting for an upgraded FSR to come to the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, while Team Blue steams ahead with XeSS 3 multi-frame generation.But every frame counts and with that higher sustained TDP thanks to the evolved internal cooling system to combat the OLED panel’s heat sensitivity, you’re getting noticeably more bang for your buck. 1080p 60 FPS at medium settings on Forza Horizon 6 is absolutely possible for example.OLED perfection (no more glare)