Microsoft just revealed its first handheld gaming console
What's the story
Microsoft has officially unveiled its first gaming handheld devices, the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X.
The announcement was made during the Xbox Games Showcase at Summer Game Fest.
These new additions to the gaming ecosystem were developed in collaboration with ASUS's Republic of Gamers (ROG) division.
The devices will be available this holiday season in several countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, US and more. Their prices are yet to be announced.
Gaming capabilities
Not limited to Xbox games
The Xbox Ally handhelds will not be restricted to just Xbox games. You can also play titles from Battle.net and other leading PC storefronts.
The devices will support Game Pass integration and the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative, which lets you play games with shared progress across multiple devices after purchasing them once.
The new devices come with a full-screen Xbox user interface, optimized for handheld gaming.
Specifications
AMD Ryzen Z2 processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB storage
The standard Xbox Ally is powered by an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage.
The more powerful model, ROG Xbox Ally X, packs an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24GB RAM and 1TB storage.
Both models feature a 7.0-inch Full-HD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 500-nits of brightness.
The anti-reflection screen gets Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection and support FreeSync Premium. Both devices also boast "HD haptics."
Enhanced control
ROG Xbox Ally X provides trigger buttons for enchanced control
The ROG Xbox Ally X also comes with impulse triggers for enhanced control.
Both models offer shaped grips and existing accessibility functions found on Xbox consoles and Windows PCs.
They also have a dedicated physical Xbox button that can bring up a Game Bar overlay, making it easy to switch between apps and games, tweak settings, start chatting with friends among other things.