I’m just back from a whirlwind trip to Cologne for the opening day of Gamescom 2025. Officially, I was there with JBL as they launch their new Quantum range of headsets, but I had time to wander the floors and check out some of the other big stories. Few were bigger than the Xbox ROG Ally and extra-powered Ally X. This was the device’s first major public outing and it drew crowds eager to discover what next-gen portable gaming could feel like.
First Impressions of the Xbox ROG Ally
My very first impression of the Xbox ROG Ally is that it feels absolutely fantastic in your hands. I’ve been using a somewhat hacked Gamesir G8 with my M4 iPad and while it works, I have to admit it’s a little cumbersome. But the Xbox ROG Ally feels perfectly balanced and contoured perfectly to my hands. It’s extremely light. In fact, overall I would say how light it is is just the standout first impression that I got. The Ally weighs in at 670g (which surprises me given what it felt like) while the Ally X is 715g.
The 7-inch display is possibly the sweet spot for displays. ASUS knows what they’re doing with the two games on show, both focused on lush graphics. The one I focused on was Forza Horizon 5 (because no-one wants to support JK Rowling IYKYK).
ASUS has obviously leaned heavily into Xbox aesthetics for this handheld. The controller features Xbox’s ABXY buttons and colours, a dedicated Xbox button – all clearly inspired by the Xbox controller. The trigger buttons
Naturally, in a few minutes on the floor at Gamescom, I’m not going to be able to offer up a review here. But I can say my interest has been piqued with this new Xbox-focused handheld.
Xbox ROG Ally Key Features
What I can tell you about, are the specs on paper. ASUS/Microsoft were showing off two models at Gamescom 2025. The Xbox ROG Ally and Xbox ROG Ally X.
The ROG Ally features a Ryzen Z2A chip with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. The ROG Ally X swaps in a Ryzen Z2 Extreme, beefs the RAM up to 24GB and chucks in a 1TB SSD harddrive.
Both feature a 7-inch 1080p display with 120Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass which should be good news if your Xbox Rog Ally takes a trip to the ground – but I wouldn’t recommend that.
The Ally has a 60Wh battery while the Ally X has 80Wh. I’m going to predict that the battery life is the same for both, with the beefier battery making up for the extra power draw.
Networking is uniform across both devices with Wi-Fi 6e and Bluetooth 5.4.
Xbox ROG Ally Launch Date
Rather disappointingly, we still don’t have pricing for either the Xbox ROG Ally or Xbox ROG Ally X. It was expected to be announced at Gamescom, but I’m guessing that the fairly fluid international pricing market right now, owing to tariffs etc, is making that a bit of a nightmare.
Speculative pricing has the two handhelds at €549.99 for the Ally and €899.99 for the Ally X – but that’s speculation with a capital “S”.
We did, however, get a launch date. The Xbox ROG Ally and Xbox ROG Ally X will be available from October 16th. Irish availability to be confirmed. Be sure to follow Goosed on social media for more news on the Xbox ROG Ally range launching in Ireland.
