ROG and Xbox

After months of waiting, we finally learned that the Xbox Ally and its premium variant, the Xbox Ally X, are both launching on October 16, 2025.

We’re still a few weeks out from release, but if you’re excited about getting your hands on one of these devices, then you’ve come to the right place.

At the time of writing, listing pages for the Xbox Ally handhelds have gone up at Best Buy; however, preorders are not yet open, and the official prices of these devices haven’t been revealed.

However, you can do what I did by clicking the links below and then clicking on the Notify Me button. That way, Best Buy will send you an email when these handhelds are in stock.

Should I get the Xbox Ally or the Xbox Ally X?

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Before I explain the differences between these two Windows handhelds, take a gander at the specs.

It’s important to note that the white Xbox Ally and the more premium black Xbox Ally X serve different gaming needs.

If you’re on a budget, then the white Xbox Ally handheld will be more within your price range, due to its more modest specs. Since these devices haven’t been released yet, we haven’t been able to conduct testing to see how different the performance is between the two devices, but we’ll do this as soon as possible.

If you want the best handheld performance, you’ll want to go with the Xbox Ally X. Its Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor features eight cores and 16 threads compared to the four cores and eight threads in the base Xbox Ally’s Ryzen Z2 A processor. Plus, having more RAM and storage space helps the system work better overall for a smoother gaming experience. It also has a 33% larger battery capacity, which could help it last longer unplugged if the system is designed well.

Outside of the casing color, memory, storage, and the processors, many of the features between these two devices are the same.

They both offer grips that were inspired by the official Xbox Wireless Controller, have 7-inch FHD IPS touchscreens, provide the same dual amp speakers, and feature the same Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.

One other major difference, though, is that the base Xbox Ally has two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports while the Xbox Ally X has a USB4 Type-C with Thunderbolt 4 and then a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2.

In case you didn’t already know, despite both having a USB-C connection, a USB4 Thunderbolt 4 port offers much faster speeds for video, data, and power delivery.

What can an Xbox Ally handheld do?

The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are both Windows 11 devices, meaning that they function much like a gaming laptop, but with controllers instead of a keyboard and touchpad.

What this means is that you’ll be able to access a wide range of gaming services and programs on this device. For instance, you could play games via Steam, Epic Game Store, Battle.net, Xbox App, and more, as long as the Xbox Ally handheld meets a game’s system requirements.

To help with this, Microsoft recently revealed a new Handheld Compatibility Program, which will mark compatible games with either “Handheld Optimized” or “Mostly Compatible.”

On top of that, Microsoft has created Windows Performance Fit indicators to explain how well a game will run on Xbox Ally or Xbox Ally X. These can either be “Should play well” or “Should play great.”

Together, this dual-part compatibility system will help you figure out which games to purchase for your Xbox Ally handheld.

If you have a compatible dock, you can play your games using a connected controller from the comfort of your couch. Alternatively, you can connect the handheld to a monitor and use it like a regular computer.

Outside of gaming, the Xbox Ally handhelds can be used to run most PC programs. If you connect a keyboard to them, like this Artcietty Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard ($34.43 at Amazon), you can even type up documents or browse the internet like you would on a laptop.

Self-professed gaming geek Rebecca Spear is one of Windows Central’s editors and reviewers with a focus on gaming handhelds, mini PCs, PC gaming, and laptops. When she isn’t checking out the latest games on Xbox Game Pass, PC, ROG Ally, or Steam Deck; she can be found digital drawing with a Wacom tablet. She’s written thousands of articles with everything from editorials, reviews, previews, features, previews, and hardware reviews over the last few years. If you need information about anything gaming-related, her articles can help you out. She also loves testing game accessories and any new tech on the market. You can follow her @rrspear on X (formerly Twitter).