We finally have pricing for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, and it’s an expensive handheld

Asus and Microsoft have officially revealed North American pricing details for their jointly-produced ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handheld consoles. The base Xbox Ally will start at $600 USD/$800 CAD, while the higher-end Xbox Ally X will be listed at $1,000/$1,300 CAD.

Additionally, the pre-order floodgates have been opened for both ROG Xbox Ally series devices ‘in select markets’, as of September 25 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. A variety of countries have made the pre-order list, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and various European and Asian states.

The standard ROG Xbox Ally, which comes in a single white colorway, is set to arrive with an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, a 70Wh battery, and a 7-inch 1080p Full HD IPS LCD display with a variable refresh rate (VRR) capable of reaching up to 120Hz.

The higher-end Xbox Ally X carries over the same display specs, while adding in the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, a beefier 70Wh battery, and a single black colorway. Both devices are set to debut with an all-new variant of Microsoft’s Windows 11 PC OS that’s designed to prioritize gaming performance via a set of optimizations, while also introducing a tailor-made user interface geared for gamepad input.

• Dimensions

  11.45 x 4.78 x 1.99-inches (290.8 x 121.5 x 50.7mm)

  Brand

  Asus

  Weight

  23oz (670g)

  Chipset

  AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor

  RAM

  16GB LPDDR5X-6400

  Storage

  512GB M.2 2280 SSD

• 

  Dimensions

  11.45 x 4.78 x 1.99-inches (290.8 x 121.5 x 50.7mm)

  Brand

  Asus

  Weight

  25oz (715g)

  Chipset

  AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor

  RAM

  24GB LPDDR5X-8000

  Storage

  1TB M.2 2280 SSD for easier upgrade

You get what you pay for

If it really can play modern AAA games without a hitch, then the pricing is arguably justified

Broadly speaking, handheld gaming PC consoles are premium-priced tech products. For context, Asus’ own ROG Ally X, the Lenovo Legion Go S, and the MSI Claw all play in roughly the same pricing ballpark, and even Nintendo’s Switch 2is a far more expensive device than its first-generation predecessor was at time of launch.

Asus and Microsoft have been beating the hype drum for some time now regarding the ROG Xbox Ally series, and, if these devices are all they’re cracked up to be from a gaming performance standpoint, they could very well prove to be worth the price of admission.

For me, the litmus test for the Xbox Ally and Ally X will come down to whether they can sustain reasonable AAA gaming performance, as well as whether battery life can match something like the Steam Deck, with its gaming-optimized SteamOS operating system.

Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to find out — the ROG Xbox Ally series is hitting store shelves on October 16. Stay tuned for more hands-on coverage of both the Xbox and the Xbox Ally X from Pocket-lint in the coming weeks.