Microsoft has officially unveiled its long-rumored Xbox handheld console running on Windows 11. The device, called ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X, features a comfortable design with textured grips and familiar face buttons, triggers, and analog sticks.
The unique selling point of the Xbox Ally is its ability to download games, remote play from your Xbox or stream from the cloud, making it more versatile than PlayStation’s Portal. This feature allows users to access their game library across different platforms, including Xbox consoles, PC, cloud, and this new handheld console.
When it ships, users will be able to navigate via a full-screen Xbox app that combines your Xbox game library with installed games from other marketplaces into a single Xbox experience. The company mentioned Xbox, Game Pass, Blizzard’s Battle.net, and “other leading PC storefronts” as supported platforms, potentially including Steam.
The device uses the Game Bar, which is similar to what we’ve seen on PC. It offers features such as quick access to home screens, libraries, games, apps, chat with friends, and settings adjustments. The Xbox Ally also boots directly into the “Xbox full screen experience,” optimized for handheld gaming.
Two models are available: the ROG Xbox Ally and the more powerful ROG Xbox Ally X. The Ally has a white color scheme and comes with an AMD Ryzen Z2A processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of solid-state storage, weighing around 23.6 ounces. The Ally X has a black color scheme, a more powerful AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, weighing slightly more at 25.2 ounces.
Both models have similar specs, including a 7-inch 120Hz 1080p screen and RGB lights surrounding the analog sticks. The Xbox Ally is expected to ship this winter holiday season, but Microsoft has not yet revealed pricing or an official release date.
Source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/i-played-with-the-xbox-rog-ally-the-upcoming-xbox-handheld