ROG Xbox Ally X Buying Guide – Preorders Available At Best Buy (September 29)

Preorders for the ROG Xbox Ally X opened September 25 and promptly sold out at the Microsoft Store and Asus’ online shop, but Best Buy is still taking orders for the $1,000 gaming handheld as of September 29. The retailer is offering release-day pickup or delivery for the ROG Xbox Ally X. The high-end Windows handheld launches alongside the more budget-friendly ROG Xbox Ally on October 16. The ROG Xbox Ally is available to preorder for $600 at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and Asus.

At this time, it doesn’t appear like Amazon and Walmart will be carrying the Xbox Ally X at launch. Asus revealed the price points for both models when preorders opened, ending months of speculation and uncertainty. The first Xbox-branded handhelds were co-developed with Asus, the PC hardware manufacturer behind the most popular Windows portables so far. Check out the specifications of the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally below.

$1,000 | Releases October 16

The ROG Xbox Ally X, the more powerful of the two devices, has an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor (Zen 5), 24GB DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The Z2 Extreme is 8-core, 16-thread CPU; the GPU has 16 cores and is built on RDNA 3.5 architecture.

The grips are inspired Xbox Wireless Controller, and it has all of the inputs found on an Xbox controller as well as a pair of remappable back buttons.

Other small differences found on the X version: The UHS-II microSD card reader also reads UHS-I cards–the base model only reads UHS-I. One of the USB Type-C ports is USB4, while the other is USB 3.2 Type-C. On the base model, both Type- ports are USB 3.2. Xbox’s Impulse Triggers are found on the Ally X, while the base model has Hall Effect triggers.

Specs:

• Processor: AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme
• RAM: 24GB LPDDR5X-8000
• Storage: 1TB M.2 2280 SSD
• Display:
  • 7″ FHD IPS (Gorilla Glass Victus)
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • AMD FreeSync Premium
• Controller Design:
  • Contoured grips
  • Impulse Triggers
  • Shoulder bumpers
  • ABXY bumpers
  • 2 remappable back buttons
  • Analog sticks with light rings
  • 6-Axis motion controls
  • HD haptics
  • 5 menu/settings buttons
• Ports:
  • USB4 Type-C
  • USB 3.2 Type-C
  • 3.5mm audio
• microSD: UHS-II reader (also reads UHS-I)
• Network: Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.4
• Battery: 80Wh
• Weight: 715g
• Dimensions: 290.8 x 121.5 x 50.7mm

$600 | Releases October 16

The ROG Xbox Ally has an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor (Zen 4), 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The Z2 A has half the number of CPU cores (4) and threads (8) as the Z2 Extreme. The number of GPU cores is also cut in half (8), and the GPU is built on RDNA 2 architecture. Overall, the ROG Xbox Ally looks to be comparable to the Steam Deck OLED in terms of specs.

Both models have 7-inch FHD IPS displays made of Gorilla Glass with 120Hz refresh rates and FreeSync.

Specs:

• Processor: AMD Ryzen Z2 A
• RAM: 16GB LPDDR5X-6400
• Storage: 512GB M.2 2280 SSD
• Display:
  • 7″ FHD IPS (Gorilla Glass Victus)
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • AMD FreeSync Premium
• Controller Design:
  • Contoured grips
  • Hall Effect triggers
  • Shoulder bumpers
  • ABXY bumpers
  • 2 remappable back buttons
  • Analog sticks with light rings
  • 6-Axis motion controls
  • HD haptics
  • 5 menu/settings buttons
• Ports:
  • 2x USB 3.2 Type-C
  • 3.5mm audio
• microSD: UHS-II reader (only UHS-II)
• Network: Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.4
• Battery: 80Wh
• Weight: 670g
• Dimensions: 290.8 x 121.5 x 50.7mm

The $600/$1,000 price points are higher than some expected, though not all that surprising. After Best Buy quickly removed $550/$850 prices from the Xbox Ally store pages, it seemed likely that the prices of both devices would be at least a bit higher. As with many new tech products this year, Asus and Microsoft waited longer than usual to announce price points and preorder details. The ongoing tariff situation in the US has led to price increases for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox hardware in 2025. Earlier in September, Microsoft announced price increases for the Xbox Series X|S in the US; the new prices take effect October 3.

Comparisons to the Xbox Series X|S are natural due to the branding, but it’s worth emphasizing that these devices aren’t really Xbox handhelds. The ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are Windows PCs running custom UI that will remind players of the Xbox. At the end of the day, though, the ROG Xbox Ally is playing Windows versions of Microsoft games. But this also means you can use the Xbox Ally for Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, etc. Plus, you can connect it to a portable docking station and monitor to use it as a regular desktop PC. Windows handhelds can serve as desktop and laptop replacements.

Since these are Windows handhelds, the prices are more aligned with other portable gaming PCs like the regular Asus ROG Ally handhelds, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw. The $600 Xbox Ally is priced similarly to other entry-level Windows handhelds, while the Xbox Ally X is slightly more expensive than some Legion Go S and Asus ROG Ally X models, but less expensive than the upcoming Legion Go 2.

Compared to the Steam Deck, the ROG Xbox Ally is priced between the 512GB OLED ($549) and 1TB OLED ($649). It remains to be seen how the portable-focused Xbox UI compares to SteamOS, but there are tangible benefits with Windows in terms of game compatibility. The Xbox Ally can run PC Game Pass and other games from the Microsoft Store natively. You can only stream Game Pass games on Steam Deck. The Xbox Ally also supports multiplayer games with anti-cheat protocols that are blocked on SteamOS, including Destiny 2 and Grand Theft Auto V Online. You can install Epic Games Store, GOG Galaxy, Amazon Games, and other PC game clients on Windows or SteamOS–though it’s a more straightforward process on Windows.

ROG Xbox Ally Accessories

Official Asus ROG Accessories

We also know the prices of two official ROG Xbox Ally accessories from Asus: a hardshell carrying case and portable charger dock. The official $70 carrying case has a built-in stand and a separate mesh bag for small accessories. The travel case is currently sold out at Amazon and Best Buy, but third-party options are starting to pop up at Amazon. The 100W Charger Dock is only listed at Best Buy at the moment, and preorders haven’t opened yet. This is an AC adapter with a built-in HDMI 2.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports for accessories. It can be used to connect the ROG Xbox Ally to a monitor or TV.

Third-party Cases + Screen Protectors (unlicensed)

Expand your ROG Xbox Ally Storage

If you want to expand your storage space with a microSD card, keep in mind that ROG Xbox Ally can only read UHS-II cards, according to Xbox’s spec sheets. The Ally X can read UHS-I as well, so you may already have a microSD card you could repurpose. This is the second time this year a handheld manufacturer has required a microSD format that is, comparatively speaking, fairly niche. UHS-II cards are a bit pricey at the moment; in some cases, they are more expensive than the faster microSD Express Cards the Nintendo Switch 2 uses. Still, UHS-II cards can reach speeds up to three times as fast as UHS-I cards. We’ve rounded up several UHS-II microSD cards below:

• Lexar Professional Gold UHS-II microSD (280MB/s)
• Gigastone Ultimate Pro UHS-II microSD (280MB/s)
• Kodak UHS-II microSD (300MB/s)
• Nextorage UHS-II microSD (280MB/s)
• ProGrade Digital UHS-II microSD (250MB/s)

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