Nintendo did it. Sony did it. Even Sega did it. And now, Microsoft finally has launched its own dedicated handheld gaming device…kind of.
Revealed yesterday during the summer Xbox Games Showcase, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally is closer to a Steam Deck than a PSP or Nintendo Switch. Essentially, it’s a spin on Asus’ existing handheld gaming PC, the ROG Ally, but with Xbox style grips, an Xbox button, and a sleeker approach to Windows that skips most of the guff and takes you right to a game launcher (where you’ll find all your various game stores, including Steam and Epic) that you can navigate entirely with your controller.
In other words, it isn’t a portable Xbox, it’s a handheld gaming PC with Xbox branding.
A better Windows-based gaming experience, for a price
Even if that might be disappointing to Xbox diehards, on the surface, it’s at least potentially great news—maybe even everything PC gamers have been asking Windows-based gaming handhelds to do for a while, as that operating system as it currently exists is no fun to navigate with a controller-based device. And loading right into the Xbox app isn’t only more immediate; Microsoft says the handheld will actually skip loading certain parts of Windows, which could make the OS more lightweight and actually boost performance. Finally, systems running Microsoft’s OS could potentially compete with the likes of the Steam Deck, especially because Microsoft says the new Xbox handheld gaming PC experience is coming soon to other devices, including some are already on the market.
And yet, Microsoft doesn’t have to compete with just the Steam Deck anymore. Notably, this announcement came on the weekend after the Nintendo Switch 2 launched, and it’s hard not to see it as at least a little out-of-date.
Also, the ROG Xbox Ally is ugly. While official dimensions aren’t out yet, it also appears to be a little thick, and on the heavier side.Pricing hasn’t been revealed yet either, but based on the specs Microsoft offered up, and the existing ROG Ally pricing, we can probably expect the two models of this thing (the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X) to come in at around $600 and $1,000, respectively.
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt
That might sound reasonable to hardcore gamers, but next to the sleek, Apple-eqsue, $450 Nintendo Switch 2, or even the $400 Steam Deck, it’s a big ask, and puts me in mind of other pricey Steam Deck competitors we’ve seen before. Especially because, according to an interview Asus consumer vice president Shawn Yen had with Game File, Microsoft says the new device will target between 720p and 900p to 1080p (depending on your model), which is roughly equivalent to what’s on the Steam Deck now. Games might run at a slightly higher frame rate, but this won’t be a total game changer. Casual players might not even notice a difference.
What do you think so far?
In short, it’s a more iterative change, which is unfortunate for a debut handheld. There are benefits to a more usable Windows-based gaming handheld—notably, the Steam Deck can’t run games with anti-cheat, plus the Xbox experience is supposed to make it quicker to run games that aren’t from Steam than they’ll run on the Steam Deck (which can also run games from other launchers, but only after jumping through a few hoops). But the Steam Deck has always been my go-to handheld gaming PC recommendation for a reason: it’s affordable, simple to use, and has good-enough performance. The ROG Xbox Ally seems poised to take the mantle of simplicity, but I’m skeptical that the performance bumps (it will use a newer processor than the Steam Deck) will be enough to justify the cost.
Not really a handheld Xbox
The result? An Xbox handheld that won’t be the go-to portable gaming experience for Xbox fans, but rather an Xbox skin on top of a boutique option, ideal for only the most dedicated of fans. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but a missed opportunity, especially when compared to the shiny new Switch 2.
Speaking of, I’ve been playing with the Switch 2 over the weekend, and this thing is sleek. My full review is still forthcoming, but in summary, it’s thin, light, looks a heck of a lot better than the Xbox handheld, runs like a dream, and is still cheaper than the forthcoming Xbox device. Sure, it’s limited in ways a full PC isn’t, but that also makes it more approachable. The Switch 2 feels like a peek at the future of mainstream handheld gaming, while Xbox’s handheld feels more like a stopgap. (Though I’d still recommend the Steam Deck to most handheld PC gamers, and the Switch 2 to any console fans looking for a new handheld.)
Maybe I’m expecting too much. It’s a lot, thinking that Xbox might be able to compete with Nintendo on its first handheld attempt. But the company’s “This is an Xbox” campaign has also been adamant on pushing its cloud streaming and Game Pass experiences over its hardware, and a sleeker, more affordable Xbox handheld could have been a great compliment to that, and helped it carve out a niche as a Steam Deck-alike for people coming from console gaming, or the handheld for Switch gamers who want something a bit more hardcore. Instead, it seems like a nice upgrade for people who were already sold on the idea of the ROG Ally, and nobody else.