The new Asus ROG Xbox Ally handheld PCs will ship in mid-October

The drip-drip-drip details continue for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X — we now know that the two handheld PCs will launch shortly before Halloween.

Specifically, both the Xbox Ally and Ally X will launch on October 16 in the United States as well as key international markets in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. But what will be the price? Ha! Asus still isn’t saying, even though the company is launching the device at Gamescom in Germany.

Microsoft’s Xbox team said that its team has been busy optimizing “thousands” of titles to work with both consoles. Some of the games will be labeled as either “handheld optimized” — ready to go with default controller inputs, legible iconography, clear text, and the appropriate resolution already preset. “Mostly compatible” games will require the user to adjust some settings.

Some games will also include preloaded shaders, so that gamers won’t have to download the game and then the shaders, delaying the process. It’s not clear how many games will have this capability, but Microsoft said that it’s working to add this capability to more games over time.

So what do we know? We know that Asus will launch the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X this October 16, but we still don’t know a price — either for the United States or elsewhere. (Pricing and pre-order details will follow in the coming weeks, Asus says.)

Asus

We do know the specs (listed below) with the two consoles powered by the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme (the Xbox Ally X) and the Ryzen Z2 A processor (the Xbox Ally) with 24GB and 16GB of LPDDR5X-6000 RAM, respectively. The Z2 A offers eight CPU threads and eight RDNA 2 graphics cores, while the more powerful Z2 Extreme delivers 16 CPU threads matched with 16 RDNA 3.5 cores plus a 50 TOPS NPU. While both consoles share the same 7-inch 1080p IPS screen, the Ally X has both a larger 1TB SSD, versus the 512GB SSD of the Ally, as well as an 80Wh battery versus the Ally’s 60Wh battery. There are significant differences in the ports, as well.

We’re still waiting for hands-on time….but that will be offered to Gamescom attendees, Asus said. That will allow gamers to compare it to the Asus ROG Ally X (2024), and add it to our ongoing tests comparing it to the Steam Deck, Ayaneo Air Pro, and more.