Microsoft has unveiled the launch date of its much-awaited Xbox handhelds. Coming on October 16, the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are set to offer a customised, console-like experience, bringing PC and Xbox machines closer together. While the brand hasn’t shared pricing yet, previous leaks have indicated €599 for the cheaper Ally and €899 for the high-end Ally X version.
“On October 16, the Xbox Ally handhelds will be available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, China (Xbox Ally X only), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam. Availability will follow for other markets where ROG Ally series products are sold today, including Brazil, India, Indonesia and Thailand. In China, the Xbox Ally will launch early next year,” said Roanne Sones, CVP Gaming Devices and Ecosystem at Xbox.
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Asus ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds are set to usher in a new era for portable gaming, focusing on performance and UI optimisations without locking you into a single ecosystem. Whether you prefer Microsoft’s store, Steam, or Epic Games, you can play all your games on these Windows 11-based machines. You can even enjoy some cloud gaming if you want.
Both handhelds are identical when it comes to their external design. The main difference is found inside, where the high-end Xbox Ally X houses the stronger AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory, and 1TB of SSD storage, powered by an 80Wh battery. In contrast, the Xbox Ally non-X settles for the slower AMD Ryzen Z2 A, 16GB of LPDDR5X-6400 RAM, and a 512GB SSD, this time fed via a smaller 60Wh battery.
The ROG Xbox Ally will target 720p gaming, while the ROG Xbox Ally X will go for 1080p. Most games are expected to run between 30fps and 60fps, but some may reach 120fps to max out the screen’s refresh rate. The best part is that you won’t need to buy the game first to see how it performs. Like Valve’s Steam store icon system, Microsoft will indicate on its store the performance you can expect from each game.
If a title is marked as “Should perform well on your device”, you can expect 30fps or above, and if it’s marked as “Should perform great on your device,” then you should get 60fps or above. As for those who haven’t been tested yet, they will be marked as “Performance check not available yet.” Lastly, games that work seamlessly with a controller, have UI suited for smaller screens, and support virtual keyboards, will be marked as “Handheld optimised.” We also hope to see a dedicated Xbox Ally graphics option in games at some point, which would be helpful to get going without wasting time on settings.
In addition to the performance offered by the newer AMD hardware, Microsoft has also been cooking up some nice features that are expected to be released over time. Among these, we find:
- Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR): A system-level feature that uses the NPU to upscale games to a higher resolution while boosting framerates, without needing developer implementation.
- Advanced shader delivery: A feature that preloads game shaders during download, to make games run smoother during their first play.
Most importantly, to make the user experience the best it can be, Microsoft has developed a dedicated full-screen UI that sits on top of the Windows 11 operating system. It features new modifications that are said to minimise background activity while deferring non-essential tasks to free up resources during gameplay. Furthermore, the aggregated gaming library is built to give you quick access to all your games in one place, so you won’t have to switch between stores and launches.
October 16 would put the Xbox Ally handhelds face-to-face with GPD’s Win 5 handheld – launching on October 17 – and its monster AMD Strix Halo APU. Thus, we will get to find out what’s best – raw performance or fine-tuned experience.
