Microsoft's ROG Xbox Ally handhelds will officially arrive on October 16, but I really need to see a price

It's official - the Asus ROG Xbox Ally will arrive on the best gaming handheld battlefield on October 16, and it'll come armed with a few unique features. However, we still have no idea how much the portable PCs will actually cost, as you'll need to wait a few more weeks for an MSRP.

During its Gamescom broadcast, Microsoft finally shared its all-but-confirmed ROG Xbox Ally release date, as rumors have pointed towards an October 16 for a while. Pre-orders will apparently pop up "in the coming weeks," but the console maker did reveal that it will borrow queues from handhelds like the Steam Deck.

Notably, the ROG Xbox Ally will take advantage of a new "Handheld Compatibility Program" that sounds almost like Valve's "Verified" system. The idea is that players will be able to quickly identify games in their library that either work well or are "mostly compatible" with the portable.

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Given that this is a Windows 11 handheld, the ROG Xbox Ally range should technically have less difficulty getting games to run than the Linux-based Steam Deck. That said, the feature is backed up by an additional "Windows Performance Fit" indicator that'll help set your frame rate expectations.

Microsoft and Asus say they're "working with game studios to test, optimize, and verify thousands of games for handheld compatibility," which really sounds like exactly what you'd get with a Steam Deck OLED. I'll naturally have to get hands-on with the new optimized version of Windows 11 to see how the indicators actually improve the overall experience, but it sounds like a step in the right direction for Windows portables.

In addition to the compatibility indicators, ROG Xbox Ally handhelds will have access to new tools that should help boost portable performance. In a bid to help games launch faster, the devices will use "Advanced shader delivery" tricks to pre-load textures at the downloading stage, which will theoretically make launching "10x faster."

The handhelds are also getting their own AI upscaling dubbed "Automatic Super Resolution" (Auto SR) that will use the portable's NPU to "upscale games at lower resolutions." Yes, most Ryzen devices already have access to spatial upscalers, but this specific box of tricks could produce results closer to DLSS and FSR 4.

In a move to help the handheld feel more like a modern-day console, the ROG Xbox Ally will also boast an AI-powered "Highlight reels" feature for sharing clips. It's virtually just an automatic capture tool that will grab moments like boss fight victories, but it should help play into the idea of this device being like other portable Windows 11 PCs out there.

That said, this is still a handheld gaming PC, and the cheapest model still feels too close to the existing Asus ROG Ally for my liking. Some of the above features should be making their way to other Windows 11 portables too, so I really need to see a price before I can get too excited. If fresh rumors courtesy of billbil_kun are to be believed, the base model will come in at $599, whereas the ROG Xbox Ally X will set you back a whopping $899.

Ultimately, I need to see for myself whether the ROG Xbox Ally range offers up unique features at the right price. By doing so, it will stand out and not end up outstaged by premium handhelds like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and its upcoming Claw A8 Ryzen counterpart.

I suspect it'll be down to the premium ROG Xbox Ally X to make a huge impression with its modified version of Windows 11 and punchy Ryzen Z1 Extreme chipset, but again, we'll need to wait a few weeks for an official price.

• Check out more handheld gaming PCs at Amazon
• MSI Claw Ultra 7-155H | $749.99 $564 at Amazon
• Asus ROG Ally Z1E | $649.99 at Amazon

Looking for more portable ways to play? Swing by the best gaming laptop and best gaming phone for mobile options. If you're looking to play the classics, take a peek at the best retro consoles for handheld emulators and more.