Asus Teams Up with Microsoft to Launch First Xbox Gaming Handhelds: The ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X

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So, here’s a fun thing. Microsoft, which everyone knows, finally—well, sorta—rolled out an Xbox handheld. Yep, it teamed up with Asus to make something they call the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X. They showed it off at the Xbox Games Showcase. Not gonna lie, the design is funky. Those grip handles look like they were yanked right off an Xbox controller. Maybe they were.

Asus and Microsoft kinda mashed together the ROG Ally and an Xbox controller. Kudos to them for listening to feedback from the old ROG Ally owners, though. Now, you’ve got this weird fusion with a textured pattern and triggers that, get this, vibrate when you press them. I guess that’s cool?

Asus insists these new devices are the most ‘comfortable and immersive’ handhelds they’ve built. But here’s the thing—they’re hefty. Like, thicker and heavier, which is… a choice? Joysticks are like the old ROG Ally X, but there’s a new shiny Xbox button. Suppose you can use it for some Game Bar stuff. Updated and all that jazz.

Oh, quick side note. AMD threw in a surprise with its own new Ryzen Z2 series CPUs. So naturally, the ROG Xbox Ally X gets the fancy Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip. It’s got more power than I probably need—eight-core CPU, 16 of those RDNA 3.5 graphics cores, and all sorts of memory and ports. Just wild stuff. At 80Wh, the battery’s decent too.

Meanwhile, the other ROG Xbox Ally? It’s like its cheaper cousin, using an older Ryzen CPU. Four cores and the basics, pretty much. Storage and battery are smaller, too. Not much change to the display though—and yes, I checked.

Both devices boot up straight into an Xbox interface. Underneath, it’s Windows 11 with a few tweaks. You can toss other game launchers on there too if that’s your thing. There’s even something called the ROG Armoury Crate Special Edition. Really rolls off the tongue.

Pricing? Still a mystery, of course. But come holiday season, they’ll hit shelves in 28 countries. From Australia to the US. By the way, subscribe to Tom’s Hardware for all the news. Or not, up to you. But they might have the skinny on where to actually get one of these bad boys.