He plays the Xbox Portable.
Yes, the rumors were true. Microsoft will soon have their very own Xbox Portable.
Well, technically.
This handheld is basically an Asus ROG Ally with some extra bits. Notably, some grips on either side to make things more comfortable. But despite being made by Asus for Microsoft, it will deliver on the Xbox experience. Because, as with devices like the Steam Deck, it will have a sort of front end built in to help you get into games faster and easier, without having to mess with Windows 11, which it will apparently still run. It even comes with an Xbox button exclusive to the ROG Xbox Ally (what they’ll be calling this handheld).
There will be two SKUs: The ROG Xbox Ally, and the ROG Xbox Ally X. Both are set to launch Christmas this year in “select markets” (the US and the UK). While there is no pricing information for either version of the handheld, it’s probably safe to base things off of the prices of the currently available ROG Ally models, with the Ally costing around $650 and the Ally X coming in around $1000. In other words, not cheap, and most likely meant for the enthusiast rather than the average Xbox user.
All that said, they are an improvement over the previous ROG Ally models. While the Ally and Ally X ran the Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen Z1 Extreme processors, the Xbox variants will be running their new variants. The Xbox Ally will run the AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. The Xbox Ally X, on the other hand, will run an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, with a huge, 24GB of high-speed RAM, and a 1TB SSD. That said, it’s implied that both models will come with different configurations, so it may be too soon to accept these configurations as the absolute gospel.
both come with a 7-inch touchscreen. The Xbox Ally aims for a 720p “‘gaming experience” while the Xbox Ally X is aiming to hit 900p-1080p.
And Microsoft is seemingly taking the launch of these handhelds seriously. They’ve already partnered with Roblox to ensure that platform will work on both devices out of the box. They’re also running a partner program with the explicit goal of incentivizing developers to ensure their games are optimized for these handhelds, and will advertise the fact that they do.
Microsoft has the full specifications for the Xbox Ally over on Xbox Wire. There is one thing to note, however, despite the fact that there’s no official word anywhere. It is possible that, considering these devices will still run Windows 11, that they will also be able to launch some version of Steam. This could potentially open up the Xbox Ally to the crown as far as Handhelds go; not only will you have your promised Xbox experience, but also your entire PC Steam library. Nothing to sneeze at.
Source: Metro Game Central
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