Microsoft teams up with ASUS for new Xbox handheld

WEB DESK: At this year’s Xbox Games Showcase live-streamed on Sunday, Microsoft unveiled their first foray into the handheld gaming market with the ROG Xbox Ally.

In the midst of various game announcements, Microsoft shocked the gaming community by finally revealing their handheld device, rumours of which had begun circulating last year. The device is being made in collaboration with ASUS, who in recent years have released the ROG Ally line of handheld gaming consoles.

The Windows based console is one of the biggest competitors to the Steam deck, Valve corporation’s hit console that began the trend of PC handheld devices. The new device made in collaboration between Microsoft and Asus may present the biggest challenge to the Steam deck thus far.

Inspired by an Xbox controller, the console features a much more ergonomic design than other models in the ROG Ally line. More importantly, players will be able to avoid the struggles of navigating a windows desktop menu with a controller.

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Instead, the device features the Xbox full-screen experience, providing players with a slick user interface that is easy to navigate. Adding to the ease of use is the multitasking interface that opens with a press of a button, allowing players to switch between various applications.

The new device also marks another step forward in breaking down exclusivity barriers in games, as the Xbox Ally will have access to Game Pass, Steam, the Epic store, and more. This means that for the first time ever, PlayStation exclusives, many of which have recently been made available on PC, will be available to play on an Xbox device. What’s more, users won’t have to switch between multiple launchers, as games from different store fronts will all be available together in Xbox’s game library.

Two devices under the Xbox Ally branding will be released holiday 2025. The base model, simply named the ROG Xbox Ally, will have an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, 16 GB ram, 512GB of storage, and will be available in white. The more powerful, ROG Xbox Ally X, will have an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24 GB of Ram, and 1TB of storage.

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