Xbox has officially entered the handheld space with the announcement of two new devices: the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X.
Launching toward the end of 2025, the new portable systems are the result of a collaboration between Xbox and Asus. They aim to take advantage of Xbox Play Anywhere, a service that lets you play across console, PC, and supported handhelds.
The standard ROG Xbox Ally comes with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage, while the ROG Ally X rocks 24GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage. The latter also benefits from the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor, a step up from the Ally's Z2 A Processor.
Aesthetically, the two look pretty similar, with grips that take inspiration from the Xbox controller and face buttons that will look instantly familiar to those well-acquainted with Microsoft's console line. The main difference is that the Ally X comes in black and the standard Ally in white.
ROG Xbox Ally: powered by the AMD Ryzen™ Z2 A Processor - balancing performance and power consumption to maximize battery life without sacrificing gameplay quality - 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.
ROG Xbox Ally X: features the AMD Ryzen™ AI Z2 Extreme processor - allowing us to bring new experiences to life including greater frames-per-second, sharp visuals and increased intelligence - double the storage to have more native games at your fingertips, and 24GB of high-speed RAM and 1TB of SSD storage.
To be clear, though, as highlighted by our pals over at Pure Xbox, these devices are Windows PC handhelds first and foremost. They don't play console games, but rather native PC titles on Xbox. So essentially, with Xbox Play Anywhere (which boasts over 1000 compatible titles), you get a PC version of a game for free when you buy it on an Xbox console.
What's not clear yet, however, is how much these things will cost. Xbox recently raised its prices across the board, and given the specs on these things, we can't imagine either of them will come in at anything less than £500.
Keeping in mind the potential price, the rather niche appeal of the systems, and the fact that Microsoft is keen to support the Switch 2, we can't imagine Nintendo is even remotely concerned about the new ROG Ally devices. Regardless, we'll be keeping a close eye on future developements and how other companies take inspiration from Xbox's new handhelds.