Microsoft Reveals ROG Xbox Ally Handhelds Made by Asus

The first Xbox-branded gaming handheld is official, and it’s made by Asus. There are two versions of it named the ROG Xbox Ally (white) and ROG Xbox Ally X (black), and they will start shipping in select markets during the holiday season.

Some details about this first officially licensed Xbox handheld leaked in early May, but it was unclear until now how Microsoft would tweak Windows 11 to deliver a better Xbox experience on this form factor. We now have the answer, and it begins with making the device boot directly into a full-screen Xbox experience, skipping the Windows desktop entirely.

“When you power on your Xbox Ally, you’ll boot directly into the Xbox full-screen experience, a new feature optimized specifically for handheld gaming. With new modifications that minimize background activity and defer non-essential tasks, more system resources are dedicated specifically to gameplay. That means more memory, higher framerates, and a fully immersive experience for players—all made possible by the versatility and freedom of Windows,” explained Roanne Sones
CVP Gaming Devices and Ecosystem, Xbox.

The “Xbox Ally,” as Microsoft called Xbox President Sarah Bond called it during the company’s Xbox Game Showscase, will also offer a unified game library that integrates games from other digital storefronts such as Steam, Battle.net, GOG, and Ubisoft Connect. All these games will also be accessible from the Game Bar overlay, which will also integrate with ASUS’ Armory Crate suite of device and input controls for power users. Microsoft said that it also made the Windows 11 lock screen and task switcher easier to navigate with a controller, and that should also benefit all Windows gamers.

Microsoft emphasized today that the Xbox Ally is designed to play PC games from all stores, as well as cloud-enabled games, plus Xbox games streamed remotely from an Xbox console. Microsoft highlighted momentum for its Xbox Play Anywhere program, with over 1,000 titles now letting players use the same license across Xbox consoles, PCs, and the new Xbox Ally, with seamless cross-saves and cross-progression.

I’ll get to the specs of the Xbox Ally in a bit, but the Xbox team is also pushing game developers to optimize their games for the new handheld. The popular sandbox game Roblox will be optimized for the Xbox Ally when it launches later this year, and Microsoft will soon launch a new program to help players easily identify which games have been optimized for handhelds, including the Xbox Ally.

As I mentioned earlier, Xbox enthusiasts will be able to choose between the white Xbox Ally and black Xbox Ally X later this year. Both devices are the same size and feature a 7” FHD IPS screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and FreeSync Premium. The two devices also feature the same buttons found on Xbox controllers, contoured grips on the back, plus an Xbox button to access chat, apps, and settings through an enhanced Game Bar overlay.

Here are the main hardware differences between the Xbox Ally X and the base Xbox Ally:

Triggers: Impulse triggers vs. hall effect analog triggers

CPU: AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip vs. Ryzen Z2 chip

Memory : 24GB LPDDR5X-8000  vs 16GB LPDDR5X-6400

Storage: 1TB M.2 2280 SSD vs. 512GB

USB-C ports: one Thunberbolt 4 port, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 port vs. two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports

Weight: 715g vs 670g

Battery: 80Wh vs. 60Wh

The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X will be available in 27 markets during the holiday season. The full list includes Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Microsoft has yet to reveal pricing details for the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, and the company plans to do so in the coming months. Overall, the two devices look much more interesting than other Windows 11-based gaming handhelds thanks to their unique Xbox experience and software optimizations. However, Valve is also courting hardware manufacturers with SteamOS, which is free to use and optimized from the ground up for gaming handhelds.

With a recent report suggesting that Microsoft had delayed its own Xbox handheld to prioritize third-party models like the Xbox Ally, it will be interesting to see if the company can convince Asus’ competitors, including Lenovo and MSI, to release their own Xbox-branded handhelds. Again, these companies may prefer to stick with Valve’s SteamOS, especially after consumers start voting with their wallets. As an example, the new Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS starts at $599.99, while the Windows 11 version now starts at $759.99