True to recent rumours, at the Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft unveiled a new third party Xbox handheld device in partnership with Asus. Dubbed the Xbox ROG Ally, the device presents yet another major option in the constantly expanding portable market, and Microsoft’s first major dip in those waters in, well, essentially forever. Hot on the heels of the device’s announcement, here, we’re going to talk about a few key details that you should know about it.
IMPRESSIONS
The Xbox Rog Ally and its companion device, the more powerful Rog Ally X, have only just been revealed, but many influencers and outlets out there have already got their hands on both portable devices, and so far, impressions seem to be quite positive. There’s been a lot of praise for the integrated Xbox UI in particular, and how well done the Xbox experience has been tailored for the handheld experience. The physical aspects of the devices have made some point out their bulkiness, but the build quality seems solid, and most importantly, the games seem to be running well. With all that said, let’s now get down to some of the basics.
XBOX ROG ALLY
The flagship handheld device that Microsoft and Asus are launching is the Xbox Rog Ally, which is the lower end of the two devices where specs are concerned, and comes in white, mimicking the Xbox Series X/S duo on the console side of things. The Rog Ally features a 7 inch 1080p 120 Hz screen, alongside two USB 3.2 type C ports, a microSD card reader, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. As for the specs- that leads us to our next point…
ROG ALLY SPECS
What can players expect from the Xbox Rog Ally where its specs and innards are concerned? By the looks of it, the device is going to tout decent specs. It will run on a Ryzen Z2 A processor, touting a 16 GB LPDDR5X-6400 RAM, an M.2 2280 SSD, and 512 GB of storage. The device will also have a 60Wh battery, and will come with a charger stand included in the box.
XBOX ROG ALLY X
Where the Xbox Rog Ally can be considered the handheld equivalent of the Xbox Series S as the lower-end, less powerful device of the pair, the Xbox Rog Ally X, as the premium, more powerful device, is more akin to the Xbox Series X. It comes in a striking black colour, making the stenciled Xbox and Asus iconography on the device more visible (though it is features on the Xbox Rog Ally as well). Similar to the Rog Ally, it will feature a 7n inch 1080p 120 Hz display, as well as contoured grips inspired by the Xbox controller. What it will have that the Rog Ally won’t, however, is an additional USB 4 type C port, as well as impulse triggers, which those who use the Xbox Elite controllers will be familiar with. And as for the specs? Well, speaking of that…
ROG ALLY X SPECS
The Xbox Rog Ally X will feature more impressive specs than its lower end counterpart, which should allow for more high end gaming, if that’s what you’re looking for with your portable experience. The device will run on a Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, feature a 24 GB LPDDR5X-8000 RAM, and 1 TB of storage. Like the Rog Ally, it will also have an M.2 2280 SSD SSD, while also featuring a bigger, 80Wh battery.
XBOX FEATURES
The thing that the Xbox Rog Ally handheld devices are banking on above all else is the way they are integrating the Xbox experiencing and making it a core and central part of what they are about. That, of course, means that users can expect plenty of Xbox centric features to be baked into the Xbox Rog Ally experience right out the box. That will mean playing all of your Xbox games natively on your handheld device, in addition to having the option to play via Xbox Cloud Gaming, or even playing through your Xbox console via remote play. Players will also be able to access the Xbox store (in addition to other PC gaming stores), while Asus also promises the Xbox full screen experience being the default- which in turn means more resources being dedicated to gameplay, enabling better looking visuals and higher frame rates, among other things. Microsoft also says the Xbox app and store pages have been optimized for handheld usage, so hopefully that should also make for a smooth experience.
XBOX BUTTON
As part of Microsoft and Asus’ drive to sell the Xbox Rog Ally and Xbox Rog Ally X as full fledged Xbox centric devices, both of them will also come with dedicated Xbox buttons. Found on the left of the screen right next to the left analog stick, the Xbox button will do exactly what it does when used on consoles right now- it’ll bring up an overlay that will give players access to chats, apps, games, settings, and more. That overlay won’t be exactly the same as what you see on consoles, with the Game Bar interface being the central hub of your Xbox Rog Ally experience, what with the devices running on Windows 11.
GAME LIBRARIES
Integration with Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and the Xbox / Windows is obviously confirmed for Xbox Rog Ally and Xbox Rog Ally X, but with both devices, Microsoft and Asus are promising an even more comprehensive one-stop handheld PC/Xbox gaming experience. Both devices will allow players to access a single compiled library of games that’ll encompass Game Pass, Xbox, Windows, Battle.net, and other leading PC storefronts- presumably including the likes of Steam and Epic Games Store.
PLAY ANYWHERE
Play Anywhere integration is something else that Microsoft and Asus are highlighting quite heavily for the Xbox Rog Ally devices. Support is already confirmed for over 1,000 games, which means that if you have purchased any of those 1,000 titles on any other Play Anywhere-supported platform (i.e., PC or Xbox), you will be able to instantly begin playing them on your Xbox Rog Ally device, with everything syncing instantly as far as your progress, save date, settings, and the like are concerned.
GAMES
As with any gaming device, the question that is most important at the end of the day is- what games are we going to be able to play on the Xbox Rog Ally and Ally X? Will, a number of them have already been confirmed, with Hollow Knight: Silksong notably being confirmed as a playable title upon the devices’ release. Additionally, Roblox will be playable for the first time ever on a handheld, while the likes of Lies of P, Gears of War: Reloaded, and South of Midnight have also been confirmed. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Asus have also revealed that they’re working on a program that is “designed to help players easily identify which games have been optimized for handhelds, including the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X.” More details on that have yet to be shared, however.
PRE-ORDER AND LAUNCH DETAILS
Microsoft hasn’t yet announced pricing details on the Xbox Rog Ally and Xbox Rog Ally X, and as far as launch timing is concerned, all we know is that the devices will be available sometime this holiday, with a specific release date unknown. At launch, both devices will be available in 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. More information will also be shared at some point on when pre-orders will go live, so stay tuned for that as well.
