Microsoft has announced the official pricing for its new ROG Xbox Ally handheld gaming consoles, which are now available for pre-order. The premium ROG Xbox Ally X is priced at one thousand dollars, while the more accessible ROG Xbox Ally model costs six hundred dollars. The devices, developed in partnership with ASUS ROG, were first revealed in June and are scheduled to start shipping on October 16. They run on Windows 11 and offer extensive gaming flexibility. Players can access their entire Xbox game library, whether purchased on console or PC, and can also install and play PC games from any store directly on the device. The handhelds support game streaming from a user’s home console or via the Xbox Cloud Gaming service and feature seamless continuation of gameplay when switching between the handheld and other devices. At launch, Xbox will label thousands of games as either Handheld Optimized or Mostly Compatible to indicate their performance on the new devices. A look at the specifications highlights the differences between the two models. The standard ROG Xbox Ally is equipped with an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Its battery capacity is 60 Wh. The device includes two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports. The high-end ROG Xbox Ally X steps up significantly with a more powerful AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip, 24GB of faster RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It features a larger 80 Wh battery. For connectivity, it has one USB 3.2 Gen 2 port and one more versatile USB 4 Type-C port, which supports Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 2.1, and external graphics processing units. Both models share a seven-inch 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 500 nits of brightness, anti-reflective Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, and support for FreeSync Premium. Each also includes a microSD card slot for expandable storage and uses an upgrade-friendly M.2 2280 SSD. Pre-order availability varies by model. The standard six hundred dollar ROG Xbox Ally is widely available for pre-order from Xbox, Microsoft Store, ASUS, Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The premium one thousand dollar ROG Xbox Ally X has more limited availability, offered through Microsoft, ASUS, and Best Buy, and was reported as sold out at Microsoft at the time of the announcement. Both handhelds are priced higher than their non-Xbox ROG Ally counterparts. Accessories are also available for pre-order, including a SanDisk microSD card designed specifically for the handhelds and a Seagate SSD that supports Microsoft DirectStorage for faster load times. The consoles are available for pre-order in numerous countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and many others, with a global release date of October 16. Additional markets, such as Brazil, India, and the Philippines, are expected to receive the devices at a later date.
