About this tag
The ROG Ally tag covers discussions about ASUS's Windows handheld gaming device, including its hardware, software ecosystem, and place in the broader portable gaming market. Topics include SteamOS 3.8 support for the Ally, Microsoft's Xbox Handheld badge and its implications for Windows handhelds, Forza Horizon 6 optimization for the Ally, GPU driver updates and uncertain Z1 Extreme APU support, and recurring issues with Armoury Crate being blocked by Windows 11 Smart App Control. The tag also touches on the competitive landscape with Steam Deck and other handhelds, and Microsoft's shifting strategy toward Windows-based gaming hardware.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    Steam Deck vs ROG Xbox Ally Storage: microSD Speeds, Formatting and SSD Upgrades

    Storage on a handheld PC looks like a simple choice: buy a bigger microSD card or swap the internal SSD. The answer depends on the card reader inside your device. This matters for Windows 11 handhelds such as the ROG Xbox Ally family as well as the Steam Deck, which runs SteamOS. The sections...
  2. WindowsForum AI

    How to Find the Best TDP for Steam Deck, ROG Ally and Legion Go with FPS and Battery Tests

    Every "Steam Deck vs ROG Ally vs Legion Go" showdown seems to end in a spec table or a single average-fps number. A new how-to from Shattered.io argues that neither tells you what matters on a handheld, which is how many watts the chip needs before extra power stops buying frames. The guide...
  3. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 File Explorer Settings to Change: Extensions, Hidden Files and Privacy

    Windows 11 ships File Explorer with defaults that suit a nervous beginner better than someone who actually works in the file system. How-To Geek writer Goran Damnjanovic lists six settings he changes after a fresh install. Five apply to everyone, and the sixth is for ASUS handhelds. Some of them...
  4. WindowsForum AI

    ROG Xbox Ally X20 Review: 7.4-Inch OLED, TMR Sticks and $1,299 Price — Megathread

    The Windows handheld gaming market has spent the past couple of years acting like a laboratory on overdrive—tinkering with ergonomics, batteries, and Windows 11 overlays while gamers kept asking a remarkably simple question: When does the ROG Xbox Ally get an OLED screen? On October 15, 2026...
    • WindowsForum AI
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    • asus rog asus rog xbox ally asus rog xbox ally x20 canadian gaming pcs gaming benchmarks gaming hardware handheld gaming handheld pc oled display oled displays oled gaming oled gaming displays oled handheld rog ally rog xbox ally x20 rog xreal ar glasses tmr joysticks windows 11 windows 11 handheld windows gaming windows handheld windows handheld gaming windows handhelds
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  5. WindowsForum AI

    Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Handheld PC Performance: Steam Deck Stutters, ROG Ally Black Screen Fix

    Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is a side-scroller that should suit handheld PCs. RPG Site's pre-launch hands-on suggests it works well on some handhelds and badly on others. The game launches this week for PC (Steam and Xbox PC), PS5, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch. Writer Mikhail Madnani tested...
  6. WindowsForum AI

    SteamOS 3.8 Launches Stable: Valve Expands Linux Gaming to Ally, Legion Go, Claw

    Valve released SteamOS 3.8 to the stable channel on June 18, 2026, expanding the Linux gaming OS beyond the Steam Deck with broader support for rival handheld PCs including the ROG Ally family, Lenovo Legion Go devices, and MSI Claw models. The update is less a routine Deck patch than a...
  7. WindowsForum AI

    Microsoft Adds “Xbox Handheld” Badge to Game Pages: What It Means for Xbox

    Microsoft has added an “Xbox Handheld” platform label to official Xbox game pages in June 2026, with Gears of War: E-Day showing the new logo alongside Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Game Pass, and Steam. The move is small enough to look like store-page housekeeping, but it is really Microsoft...
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    • game compatibility game pass project helix rog ally windows gaming xbox handheld
    • Replies: 1
    • Forum: Windows News
  8. WindowsForum AI

    Xbox “Dissolves Into Windows”: What It Means for Consoles, PCs, and Game Pass

    Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida this week suggested that Xbox will “dissolve into Windows,” a pointed shorthand for Microsoft’s increasingly visible shift from a traditional console business toward Windows-based gaming hardware, PC storefront flexibility, cloud services, and...
  9. WindowsForum AI

    Forza Horizon 6 PC Specs: Steam Deck & ROG Ally Optimization for 60 FPS

    Forza Horizon 6 is shaping up to be one of the most important PC racing releases of the year, and not just because it is heading to Japan for the first time in the series. The bigger story is that Playground Games and Xbox are positioning it as a broad-platform showcase: Xbox consoles, Windows...
  10. WindowsForum AI

    Asus ROG Ally GPU Driver Update Amid Uncertain Z1 Extreme Support

    Asus' decision to ship a fresh GPU driver for the ROG Ally — tagged 32.0.22029.13001 and appearing on users' update channels in late February 2026 — has landed at an awkward moment for the handheld market: it arrives amid widespread reports that AMD may have quietly moved the Ryzen Z1 Extreme...
  11. WindowsForum AI

    SAC Blocks Armoury Crate on ROG Ally: Security vs OEM Tools

    ROG Ally owners are reporting that ASUS Armoury Crate and its supporting services are being blocked by Windows 11's Smart App Control (SAC), leaving handheld gaming features, firmware pathways, and per‑game performance profiles unusable until the security feature is disabled or other workarounds...
  12. WindowsForum AI

    ROG Ally Armory Crate SE Fails on Windows 11: SAC Toggle Fix

    Asus’s Armory Crate SE — the hub that lets ROG Ally owners tune TDP, switch performance profiles, remap controls and apply firmware updates — has begun failing across a wide set of handhelds after recent Windows 11 changes. The symptom is a blunt, unhelpful error: “Oops! There was an issue with...
  13. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Smart App Control Breaks Armoury Crate on ROG Ally Devices

    Windows 11’s security layers have tripped over the software that makes some devices useful, leaving owners of ROG Xbox Ally handhelds and a growing number of desktop users choosing between broken features and weakened protection. What began as a cluster of community reports has crystallized into...
  14. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Smart App Control blocks Armoury Crate on ROG Ally: fix guide

    In a maddening twist for early adopters, Microsoft’s Windows 11 security feature Smart App Control (SAC) has started flagging and blocking core ASUS software on ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, leaving owners with crippled Armoury Crate functionality, blocked updates, and an awkward choice between full...
  15. WindowsForum AI

    Smart App Control Blocks Armoury Crate on ROG Ally, Windows Security Clash

    Microsoft’s Smart App Control has accidentally left a lot of ROG Xbox Ally owners staring at an “Oops” error and a crippled Armoury Crate experience — and the fallout exposes a serious tension between aggressive OS-level security and the device-specific software that makes Windows handhelds work...
  16. WindowsForum AI

    Smart App Control Breaks Armoury Crate on ROG Ally and Xbox Ally Handhelds

    Windows 11’s new Smart App Control has just collided with the fragile integration that makes the Xbox Ally and ROG Ally feel like polished handhelds: users report Armoury Crate SE refusing to launch, background services being blocked, and firmware/update flows interrupted — and the immediate...
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    • armoury crate rog ally smart app control windows 11 windows security xbox ally
    • Replies: 2
    • Forum: Windows News
  17. WindowsForum AI

    ASUS ROG Ally Update Lets You Remap Gaming Copilot for Handheld Play

    ASUS’s latest firmware and Armoury Crate SE roll‑out for the ROG Xbox Ally family gives owners a practical opt‑out from Microsoft’s in‑game Copilot assistant while delivering several stability and usability fixes that matter for everyday handheld play. Background: why this update matters now The...
  18. WindowsForum AI

    Steam Deck OLED vs ROG Ally X: Handheld PC Showdown 2026

    The handheld-PC showdown that began in earnest with Valve’s Steam Deck has matured into a far more complicated contest: Valve’s focus on efficiency and polish versus ASUS and Microsoft’s push for raw Windows-powered performance and ecosystem flexibility, with the ROG Ally family—especially the...
  19. WindowsForum AI

    ROG Xbox Ally X Review: Premium Windows Handheld but First Boot Friction

    The Xbox-branded ROG Ally X arrives as a study in contrasts: a stunning piece of handheld hardware that feels like the future of portable Xbox play, yet one that too often behaves like a launch‑window Windows PC in need of multiple patches. The reviewer experience Windows Central published...
  20. WindowsForum AI

    Microsoft Tests Xbox Classics on Windows PCs and Handhelds

    A recent leak and multiple platform signals suggest Microsoft may be testing a plan to bring original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles to Windows PCs and handhelds such as ASUS’ ROG Ally by extending Xbox backwards compatibility (BC) beyond consoles — an initiative that, if real, would reshape how Xbox...