The Xbox ROG Ally X finally has a release date – and we went hands-on at Gamescom

Months after they were first revealed, Microsoft and Asus are letting the paying public have a chance to test out their new Xbox ROG Ally and Xbox ROG Ally X handhelds here at Gamescom. The two firms are also marking the show by finally announcing an “on shelf” retail release date: October 16th.

To be clear, these aren’t proper handheld Xboxes that will play any Xbox title, despite the “this is an Xbox” branding, but they’re still capable handheld gaming machines that can play PC games natively, or stream Xbox titles from an Xbox console or Microsoft’s cloud streaming service. Compared to the old Ally devices, the new Xbox models have been spruced up with new AMD processors and a streamlined Windows operating system. That should translate into better performance and a huge step forward in usability, and could make these the best Steam Deck competitors so far.

We went hands-on with both devices at Gamescom, with a software-focused outing at the Microsoft booth and a more hardware-focused extended play session in the Asus area, with Microsoft and Asus representatives providing some interesting extra details that we hadn’t yet heard.

Let’s start with the basics: the white Xbox Ally and black Xbox Ally X look identical in size and shape, which reportedly simplifies the production process, but the vanilla Xbox Ally is lighter by ~45g, as a consequence of lacking the upgraded Z2 Extreme processor and Impact triggers of the top-end machine. Both models are well-balanced and don’t feel too thick, despite their chonkier frames versus the original Ally devices. The impact of the Ally X’s impulse triggers is hard to judge, especially as relatively few games support them on PC, but might result in more fine-grained force feedback in some Xbox titles. Inside, the higher-end Ally X sports a larger 80Wh battery, has a more capable Micro SD card slot and a fancier higher-bandwidth USB 4 port alongside another USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C port.