September 26, 2025, 1:03 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Mid-October marks a significant milestone: The first Xbox handheld officially goes on sale. Starting now, the console can be pre-ordered in Germany. However, the price is quite steep. The more powerful model costs as much as an Xbox Series X and a Series S combined.
Even Entry-Level Model More Expensive Than Series X and PlayStation 5
The console from manufacturer Asus, featuring technology from Microsoft’s Xbox team, is available in two versions:
- Asus ROG Xbox Ally – 599 euros
- Asus ROG Xbox Ally X – 899 euros
Thus, even the entry-level model costs as much as an Xbox Series X or a PlayStation 5, despite both consoles having seen a price increase this year. Even the Switch 2, which many Nintendo fans have criticized for its high price, is nearly 130 euros cheaper.
The ROG Xbox Ally X, priced at 899 euros, is the most expensive console under Microsoft’s gaming brand. Even the “Galaxy Black Special Edition” of the Series X with 2 terabytes of storage seems cheap by comparison, with a price tag of 699.99 euros.
Handheld consoles have recently seen a steady increase in price. The Xbox Ally X competes directly with MSI’s Claw 8 AI+ and Lenovo’s Legion Go 2, which are even more expensive at 999 euros and 1099 euros, respectively. Considering the Xbox Ally X features the Z2-Extreme chip from AMD with an additional AI processor, which the other two models lack, the price seems almost justified.
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Powerful Handheld Hardware
Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X replace the predecessors Ally and Ally X, which came without the “Xbox” branding in their names, and feature completely new hardware. Both models have a 7-inch 120-Hertz screen with 500 nits brightness and a new design with ergonomically shaped grips.
The Xbox Ally X is equipped with a Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, featuring eight Zen-5 CPU cores. The chip integrates the AMD Radeon 890M graphics unit, which comes with 16 RDNA-3.5 GPU cores. Additionally, it offers 24 GB RAM and 1 TB of fast SSD storage. The system is designed for a thermal design power (TDP) between 15 and 35 watts—significantly more than what the Switch 2 can handle even in dock mode. This makes the more powerful model particularly appealing to users who expect high performance on the go. The built-in battery measures 80 watt-hours.
The base model, on the other hand, comes with a significantly weaker chip. For the first time, Asus uses the new Ryzen Z2 A, which offers four Zen-2 CPU cores and eight RDNA-2 GPU cores. The RAM amounts to 16 GB, with 512 GB SSD storage available for content. With a TDP between 6 and 20 watts, the Xbox Ally is designed for less demanding games—and is likely closer in practice to the Nintendo Switch 2 and Valve’s Steam Deck. The battery, at 60 watt-hours, is smaller than the X model’s but still suitable for the hardware.
First Mobile Xbox Consoles
Both handhelds are the first devices with a special Windows version, where Microsoft has given the Xbox team considerable leeway to enhance gaming performance. The Desktop and Windows Explorer don’t start up here, allowing more memory for games. Additionally, operation is likely to be entirely possible via the controller for the first time.
I’m Curious
“As a first-hour Steam Deck buyer and occasional Switch gamer with two kids, gaming is now 90 percent handheld for me. In this respect, I find the major development leaps the market segment is currently experiencing quite positive.
At Gamescom 2025, I was able to try out the ROG Xbox Ally X. I was particularly impressed by the ergonomic design, and at least the gameplay demos ran smoothly at nearly 120 frames per second.
The biggest improvement over the original Ally is definitely the abandonment of the classic Windows environment, which repeatedly pulled me out of the gaming context during testing for TECHBOOK. Operating Windows 11 on a 7-inch display is simply no fun. The integration of games from multiple platforms in one overview and input exclusively via controller solves this problem—no more annoying detours via the desktop.
If it weren’t for the price, Asus and Microsoft would have already won me over. There are certainly gamers for whom the highest performance on the go is important. For me, however, that plays only a minor role. What’s important is that the games run smoothly. If I want the bombastic graphics spectacle, I’d rather play on the PC—with a large screen.”