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Whoops, looks like ROG Xbox Ally price information just potentially leaked, and the supposed MSRPs are a little menacing. How menacing? Well, if you were hoping to grab the cheapest model for less than a Steam Deck, your gaming handheld purchasing plans could now be completely dashed.
Spotted by Spanish games publication 3djuegos, the suspected Asus ROG Xbox Ally price actually fed straight through to a Google product box. According to the fetched metadata, the base Asus ROG Xbox Ally will come in at €599, whereas the top-end ROG Xbox Ally X has a far higher €899 price tag.
That translates to roughly $699 and $1,050, respectively, and just so happens to be how much you'll pay for the OG Asus ROG Ally and its X sibling in Europe. Effectively, it points towards the company using the same MSRP structure for its Xbox-flavored portables as it does for its own handheld gaming PCs, but that's exactly what I've been fearing.
I'll admit, $699 for an ROG Xbox Ally doesn't sound overly bananas on the face of things. It's still a chunk cheaper than premium portables like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and boutique options like the 3DS-inspired Ayaneo Flip DS, not to mention it'll rock an optimized version of Windows 11. That said, the base model is going to need all the pricing help it can get since its Ryzen Z2 A chipset is pretty underwhelming specs-wise.
Model | ROG Xbox Ally | ROG Xbox Ally X | Asus ROG Ally Z1E (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|
APU | AMD Ryzen Z2 A (4 cores, 8 threads) | AMD Ryzen Z2 AI Extreme (8 cores, 16 threads) | AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme (8 cores, 16 threads) |
RAM | 16GB LPDDR5X-6400 | 24GB LPDDR5X-8000 | 16GB LPDDR5X-6400 |
Storage | 512GB M.2 2280 SSD (full size) | 1TB M.2 2280 SSD (full size) | 512GB M.2 2230 SSD |
Display | 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS screen, 500 nits brightness | 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS screen, 500 nits brightness | 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS screen, 500 nits brightness |
Battery | 60Wh | 80Wh | 40WHr |
Operating system | Windows 11 | Windows 11 | Windows 11 |
Dimensions | 290.8 x 121.5 x 50.7mm (1.45 x 4.78 x 2.00 inches) | 290.8 x 121.5 x 50.7mm (1.45 x 4.78 x 2.00 inches) | 280 x 111 x 212mm (11.02 x 4.37 x 0.83 inches) |
Weight | 670g (1.47 lbs) | 715g (1.57631 lbs) | 608 g (1.34 lbs) |
I don't know about you, but the idea of paying around $100 more for a ROG Xbox Ally that can't keep up with the OG version upsets my brain. On paper, the Z2 doesn't come close to keeping up with the Ryzen Z1 Extreme, and my Lenovo Legion Go S review has receipts to back that up. The TL;DR is that the new AMD APU is closer in performance to the Steam Deck OLED than any Z1E handhelds, which means its price ought to be too.
Simply put, for the ROG Xbox Ally to stand a chance in the ring upon release, it'll have to pull some impressive pricing punches. That means at least matching Valve's OLED model with a $549 tag, but the closer it can get to $400, the better.
But what about the ROG Xbox Ally X? I'm perhaps being a portable gaming pessimist, but I don't have high hopes for the high-end handheld's price. Ideally, it'd be nice to see it arrive for less than the Asus ROG Ally X and beefier rivals, but I can't see that happening since it rocks a new-gen Ryzen Z2 AI Extreme chip.
The X model's saving grace is that, with the lofty price tag, you'll at least end up with a handheld that raises the portable performance bar higher than ever. Virtually, the flagship Xbox handheld will serve as the contender to go for if money's no object, whereas the new price leaks spell trouble for the cheaper model.
Before you get too bummed out, though, I need to stress that there is no official ROG Xbox Ally price yet, and you should take these leaks with a massive grain of salt. Google could have accidentally fetched the wrong price for both handhelds for its product boxes, not to mention that Asus may have simply accidentally uploaded a placeholder MSRP.
Still, if you asked me to speculate on how much the ROG Xbox Ally would cost, I would probably guess a pretty similar figure. It makes sense for the company to replicate pricing from its existing range, especially if all models are set to stick around for now. My issue is that if the cheapest model does cost $600, I'm worried it won't deliver the "handheld freedom for everyone" promised via its tagline.
Already got Valve's handheld? Swing by the best Steam Deck accessories and best Steam Deck dock for additional gadgets. You'll want to peek at the best retro consoles too for portable emulators and modern ways to run the classics.
