SanDisk launches officially licensed Asus ROG Xbox Ally X microSD and SSD storage

You'll be able to expand your Xbox handheld's storage

(Credit: SanDisk)

• 🤝 SanDisk has announced Xbox-branded microSD cards and an SSD for the new Asus ROG Xbox Ally handhelds

• 👉 The microSD card is available in 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities

• 👍 Meanwhile, the WD Black SN7100X SSD is available in 2TB and 4TB capacities and is a standard form factor PC SSD

• 📆 The microSD cards are up for pre-order from SanDisk directly now, while the SSD will be available in the coming months

SanDisk has announced a range of licensed storage options designed for the brand new Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally handhelds.

According to a press release, SanDisk is offering brand new microSD cards that feature Xbox branding and specific NVMe SSDs for the handheld devices.

The SanDisk microSD Card for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X comes in capacities of 512GB, 1TB and 2TB, with the latter making for one of the most capacious cards of its kind.

Unlike the microSD Express cards that are required for the Nintendo Switch 2, the ones for the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds are old-fashioned microSD. Although with sequential reads and writes of 200MB/s and 150MB/s, they still pack a punch.

The cards also extend SanDisk’s licensed options for devices that have brought great success in recent times with Nintendo for both more ‘standard’ cards and the Express type.

(Credit: SanDisk)

As for the SSD, this is the WD Black SN7100X that’s available in both 2TB and 4TB capacities. The -X suffix denotes it’s an Xbox-branded version, as opposed to any speed benefits over the standard SN7100.

With this in mind, if it’s the same as the standard WD Black SN7100 released earlier this year, you’ll be getting an SSD that’s especially fast for sequential and random speeds, making accessing data and booting into games and apps especially brisk.

The thing with the ROG Xbox Ally and X models is that they support a standard PC form factor M.2 SSD with a 80mm length. Other handhelds, such as the Steam Deck need smaller 30mm or 42mm drives, which are rarer and can be more expensive in some instances.

The SN7100X comes without a DRAM cache, but WD has attempted to make up for it by using TLC flash and Host Memory Buffer, or HMB. This is common on some more affordable high-performance SSDs, such as the Lexar NM790, and for gaming tasks, you aren’t likely to notice much of a difference.

The MicroSD cards are available for pre-order from SanDisk and will ship day and date with the handheld, so you’re ready out of the box.

Pre-orders for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally handhelds are available now, although they actually started shipping early in France, giving us a vague, unofficial idea of what to expect under the hood.

The SN7100X will be available in the coming months, according to SanDisk, although if you want the same speed and power and need it sooner, then you can buy the standard SN7100.

Up next: How Xbox Game Pass went from ‘the best deal in gaming’ to the worst

Reece Bithrey is a journalist with credits in 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.