It looks like several lucky gamers have already received their Asus ROG Xbox Ally X order, more than two weeks in advance. The ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X are officially scheduled to release on October 16.
Since jumping into the handheld gaming PC landscape in 2023, Asus has swiftly rolled out two iterations of the ROG Ally already, with a third model also hitting the shelves soon. However, unlike the first two products in the Ally lineup, the next one is a joint effort. Back in June, the PC market giant unveiled Xbox as its partner in the development of the ROG Xbox Ally and its more powerful variant, the ROG Xbox Ally X. Since then, the two gaming juggernauts have been drip-feeding interested buyers occasional updates about the Windows handheld.
'Is This Really an Xbox?' - How Microsoft's ROG Xbox Ally Marketing May Put The Handheld at a Disadvantage
The marketing campaign for Microsoft's new gaming handheld, the ROG Xbox Ally, may cause a lot of confusion among casual consumers.
ROG Xbox Ally X Gets Delivered Before Release Date to Some Buyers
On Reddit, at least four different users have posted about getting their pre-ordered ROG Xbox Ally X units way ahead of time—a full 15 days early, to be precise. While user IAm-WilliAm- confirmed reception through a picture of a sealed product box, user hmika59 even showed the gaming handheld in their hand. The latter described the device as lightweight and comfortable and said that it was akin to holding an Xbox controller. Another user, Technical_Fun77, went a step ahead and shared a short review of ROG Xbox Ally X based on "a few hours" of testing. In it, they praised the device's certain key aspects, including its ergonomics, battery life, and the new Xbox fullscreen experience. Interestingly, a common thread among all these lucky buyers was Amazon France, which seems to have delivered the handheld prematurely.
The ROG Xbox Ally X was previously in the news for selling out worldwide on the Xbox Store. Being the variant offering the most hardware power, it makes sense that this model is apparently selling at a rapid rate. Going by the aforementioned fan impressions, the signs appear to be positive for the Asus/Xbox handheld gaming PC. At the same time, given how consumer reviews can be unreliable or biased, it may be better to wait for the official reviews to drop in to get a proper measure of the ROG Xbox Ally X's quality.
With its previously revealed interest in covering a demographic of gamers consisting of both newcomers and longtime players, it may be fair to call ROG Xbox Ally's goal ambitious. Bolstered by prominent new features, such as dedicated controller-like grips and a seamless fullscreen experience, Asus' latest offering in this space might get closer to this goal than any of its predecessors. Over the long term, it will be interesting to see how the Xbox-branded Asus device competes in the market with Steam Deck OLED, Legion Go, MSI Claw, and the like.
- Brand
- Xbox / ROG
- Operating System
- Windows 11 Home
- Processor
- AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor
- Display
- 7” IPS, 500 nits, 16:9, 120Hz refresh rate, FreeSync Premium, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus + DXC Anti-Reflection
- Resolution
- FHD 1080p
- HDR Support
- No
Xbox, Anywhere. Power of Xbox. Freedom of Windows. Craftsmanship of ROG.
Xbox full screen experience
Power on directly into the Xbox full screen experience for a dedicated gaming experience inspired and optimized specifically for handheld gaming.
Game Bar
Press the Xbox button for quick access to essential tools and customizable widgets with Game Bar. Hold the Xbox button to navigate all open apps.
Aggregated library
Access supported games anywhere you go from Xbox and other PC game storefronts.
Progress goes with you
Bring all your game saves, add-ons, and achievements along with games that are Xbox Play Anywhere.
Game Pass - Get an intstant library
Stream hundreds of high-quality games from the Game Pass library plus select games you own.
Streaming with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta)
Stream games with cloud gaming, including select games you own or buy (requires Game Pass membership).
Buy once, play anywhere
Download select PC games to play on the go. When you own a game that is Xbox Play Anywhere, it's yours to play across PC, Xbox console, and supported gaming handhelds at no additional cost.
- Memory
- 24GB LPDDR5X-8000
- Storage
- 1TB M.2 2280 SSD (upgradable)
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 6E (2 x 2)
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 5.4
- Ports
- 1x USB4 Type-C with DisplayPort™ 2.1 / Power Delivery 3.0, Thunderbolt™ 4 compatible, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with DisplayPort™ 2.1 / Power Delivery 3.0, 1x UHS-II microSD card reader (supports SD, SDXC and SDHC; UHS-I with DDR200 mode), 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
- Battery
- 80Wh
- Dimensions
- 290.8 x 121.5 x 50.7mm
- Weight
- 715g
- Included
- 65W charger, stand