Asus’ upcoming ROG Ally 2 could be the Xbox handheld we’ve all been waiting for

By Monica J. White Published May 7, 2025

It seems that the Xbox handheld might be less of a dream and more of a reality, given the latest leaks. We just got new leaked images of the Asus ROG Ally 2, which will rival some of the best gaming handhelds, and there’s a major surprise in there for Xbox fans.

We’ve been hearing about Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox-branded handheld for months, but this is the first concrete proof that the device actually exists. The big reveal here is that the handheld might come in the form of a next-gen Asus ROG Ally. Images of the handheld in two variations leaked due to regulatory listings, which gives us a good idea of what they’ll look like.

First spotted by 91mobiles and VideoCardz, the listings reveal the Asus ROG Ally 2 — which is the official name spotted in the documentation — in its full glory. The handhelds, available in black and white, have seen slight design changes. We’re seeing molded controller grips, which make the ROG Ally 2 look quite bulky, and two USB-C ports at the top edge of the handheld. While the grips will likely stay the same as in these photos, I could imagine the ports being moved to a more convenient location, although it’s hard to say right now.

Other than the color, the most important change between the two ROG Ally devices is that the black version features a dedicated Xbox button. This implies that it might not be a Windows-based handheld like the previous models; it could run on Xbox OS. Equally, it could still run on Windows while being deeply integrated with the Xbox ecosystem. One way or another, something’s happening, and it’s exciting.

The two handhelds are also said to vary a lot in terms of specs, at least if the leaked listings are to be believed. The black model with the Xbox button, also referred to as the ROG Ally 2 RC73X1, comes with AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme CPU (eight cores, 36W), a 7-inch 120Hz display, and 64GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory. Meanwhile, the non-Xbox model seems to be a huge step down, with the AMD Aerith Plus (four cores, 20W) CPU.

Leaks aside, it’s very possible that we’ll learn more about these two devices in the coming weeks. Computex 2025 is right around the corner, so by the end of this month, we might know more about the Asus ROG Ally 2 and the Xbox handheld.