Asus has announced when the ROG Xbox Ally X20 is set to release
The standalone device and a bundle are up for pre-order now and drop on October 15
Asus has priced the handheld at $1,299, with a bundle including the X1 glasses and an array of cases going for $2,499
The ROG Xbox Ally X20 benefits from a bigger OLED screen, TMR joysticks, and even more optimizations
Asus has finally announced when we’ll be able to get our hands on the shiny new ROG Xbox Ally X20, and more importantly, how much it’s going to cost. We’ve also provided a breakdown of the handheld’s specs and where you can pre-order it.
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 specs
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 is identical in specs to the original Asus ROG Xbox Ally X from last year in most aspects. This means a beefy Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip inside, complete with 24GB of fast LPDDR5X RAM and a 1TB SSD.
The kicker with the new model is the transition to an OLED screen. It’s slightly larger at 7.4 inches (against the Ally Xbox X’s 7-inch panel), plus now has up to 1,400 nits of peak brightness in HDR, alongside support for Dolby Vision and a 120Hz refresh rate.
Moving to an OLED should mean noticeably richer contrast and color over the standard LCD, and Asus has also managed to add VRR to eliminate the compromise it made with the original ROG Xbox Ally X. To be specific, it’s AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.
The other headline addition is TMR joystick technology, which Asus claims offers more precision than Hall effect sensors, while the D-Pad is swappable between a couple of different variants. Cosmetically, it benefits from a semi-translucent chassis in black with gold accents for an extra dose of bling.
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 price
Asus first announced that the shiny new ROG Xbox Ally X20 would be sold separately outside of a bundle back in July, although with the current situation with memory pricing, the ROG Xbox Ally X20 isn’t going to come cheap.
For the handheld alone, it’s going to be $1,299. If that sounds expensive, that’s because it is – $300 or so more than the standard ROG Xbox Ally X makes this the dearest Xbox handheld yet, and should put it close to what the upcoming Acer Predator Atlas 8 and MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ should cost, which will be the first to arrive powered by Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme.
However, it’s still more affordable than the Lenovo Legion Go 2, especially with Lenovo’s most recent price rises for the handheld, so it is going to be reasonably competitive.
For an extra $1,200 on top of the $1,299 price tag, Asus is offering a hefty accessories bundle, including the ROG Xreal R1 Edition 20 Gaming AR glasses, a dbrand Killswitch case, and a custom Pelican case for transport and storage.
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 release date
As part of an announcement at Gamescom this year, Asus confirmed that both the standalone ROG Xbox Ally X20 and the bundle option will be released on October 15.
That being said, the console on its own is available for pre-order now if you’d like to get your hands on one from Asus’s website as well as Best Buy. The bundle is showing as ‘Coming Soon’.
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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.