Microsoft and Asus’ new Xbox Ally handhelds launch on October 16th

The Xbox Ally X. | Photo: Tom Warren / The Verge

Microsoft and Asus are putting a date on their new Xbox Ally handhelds: October 16th. Both the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X will be available on the same day in a variety of markets worldwide, but Microsoft and Asus aren't opening preorders yet or revealing pricing. Microsoft also announced its handheld compatibility program to identify games optimized for the new Xbox Ally devices.

Leaks have suggested that the Xbox Ally will debut at 599 (around $699) and the top-of-the-line Xbox Ally X model at 899 ($1,049). I understand Microsoft and Asus had planned to announce Xbox Ally pricing and release date information today, but then it decided to only reveal a release date. Microsoft is now promising pricing and preorder information in the coming weeks."

The price information delay could be related to the leaks or ongoing uncertainty with US tariffs. Dealabs reported yesterday that the Xbox Ally could be priced at $549.99 and the Xbox Ally X at $899.99 in the US. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft and Asus can subsidize this further for this important Xbox hardware release.

Both Xbox Ally handhelds will be available on October 16th in the following: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, China (only the Xbox Ally X), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.

That covers a lot of key markets for Asus and Xbox at launch, and there are also plans to introduce these handhelds in Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. The white ROG Xbox Ally is designed for 720p gaming, and the more powerful black ROG Xbox Ally X targets 1080p gaming. Like the existing ROG Ally and Ally X, the new ones share the same 7-inch 1080p screen, complete with a 120Hz refresh rate and VRR support.

The Xbox Ally uses AMD's Ryzen Z2 A chip, combined with 16GB of LPDDR5X-6400 RAM and 512GB of M.2 2280 SSD storage. The Xbox Ally X upgrades the chip to AMD's Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory, and a 1TB M.2 2280 SSD.

Alongside release date confirmation, Microsoft also announced its handheld compatibility program today. We have worked with game studios to test, optimize, and verify thousands of games for handheld compatibility, allowing you to jump into the game without having to tweak settings, or requiring only minor adjustments," says Roanne Sones, CVP of gaming devices and ecosystem at Xbox.

There will be two forms of handheld compatibility: Handheld Optimized and Mostly Compatible. While Handheld Optimized games will have default controller inputs, accurate icons, and the correct screen resolution in full-screen mode, Mostly Compatible titles may require minor in-game setting changes for an optimal experience on handheld."

Microsoft will also mark games with a Windows Performance Fit indicator, so you'll get the benefit of knowing if a game is compatible and how well it will play. Both Xbox Ally devices will ship with the Xbox full screen experience that Microsoft has been developing to improve Windows on handheld devices. This will boot as default, with the Windows desktop hidden away but still accessible through an option in the Xbox Game Bar UI.

Microsoft is also working on improving the game shader experience on Windows, with a new advanced shader delivery" feature. This will preload game shaders during download on the Xbox Ally devices, so certain games can launch a lot faster and run smoother without the typical stutters that shader compilation introduces on Windows. This is key on a handheld as it will help with battery life and performance, but it's not clear which games will support this just yet.

Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR), which is an NPU to upscale games, is also arriving in early 2026 on the Xbox Ally X. Microsoft is planning to use the NPU on this device to introduce a highlight reels feature that uses AI models to automatically capture gameplay moments and make them easily shareable with friends or on social networks.

Additional improvements to the docking experience for the Xbox Ally devices are also coming soon. Microsoft is working to enable a seamless, high-performance setup that supports big-screen gaming, Auto SR, intuitive controller pairing, optimized display output, and more," according to Soanes.

Photos by Tom Warren / The Verge