Latest news with #AsusROGAlly
Stuff.tv
18-06-2025
- Stuff.tv
Microsoft confirms next-gen Xbox – but it will have this one crucial change
The next generation of Xbox consoles is finally starting to take shape. Microsoft has now officially confirmed that we're not just getting one new console, we're getting two: a traditional living room box and a handheld console version. But there's one crucial change. Apparently, these consoles won't be locked into Microsoft's walled garden anymore. That's because they're going to run Windows at the core, which will allow an ecosystem to develop. Read more: I think we've finally got the full Xbox handheld we've been waiting for Xbox President Sarah Bond made it clear that the future of Xbox isn't a single device. Rather, it's an ecosystem that follows you around. Microsoft wants you playing Xbox wherever you are, with full access to your library on any Xbox device you may own and no requirement to buy into just one store. That last bit is the real kicker. Microsoft's new partnership with AMD is about more than just co-designing chips for these devices. The next-gen Xbox consoles aren't going to force you to buy everything from the Microsoft Store. Third-party platforms (like Steam and the Epic Games Store) are going getting a proper support on these consoles. It's still unclear whether Steam is actually confirmed, but we do know for certain that third-party stores in general are coming. Let's not skip past that portable Xbox. After months of rumours that Microsoft had shelved its handheld dreams, the new AMD partnership and Bond's comments about devices 'in your hands' put those rumours to bed. This won't be just another rebranded PC like the Asus ROG Ally. Microsoft appears to be cooking up a dedicated handheld console that lets you dip into the Xbox Cloud, your game library, and those rival stores. It suggests a future Xbox a lot like a Nintendo Switch – but one that talks to Windows. Of course, all of this comes with the usual Microsoft vagueness. We don't have a release date yet, and pricing hasn't been confirmed. If the rumours are to be believed, we're looking at sometime in 2027 or 2028 for an official debut.
Metro
17-06-2025
- Metro
Xbox AMD deal confirms next gen home and portable consoles are coming soon
The next gen Xbox will include both a home and portable console, but it's unclear whether the rumoured Steam support is going to happen. Every time Microsoft talks about their next generation Xbox, or new rumours emerge about it, it seems as if the plans have changed completely. That's not necessarily a bad thing – flexibility is one of the many benefits the company's vast wealth provides – but it's made it hard to tell what they're planning, with their various statements being purposefully vague and short on details. That hasn't changed, but they have confirmed a 'strategic, multi-year agreement with AMD' to create chips for a 'portfolio of devices', including 'the next generation Xbox consoles in your living room and in your hands'. Microsoft is promising 'deeper visual quality, immersive gameplay, and [ sigh ] AI-powered experiences' but in a platform 'not tied to a single store or device' and which is fully backwards compatible. Making sense of all this is difficult but the talk of multiple stores seems to be a hint that third party stores such as GOG, Epic Games Store, and Steam could be accessible from the new console. This has been rumoured for a long time and only 24 hours earlier insider eXtas1s had tweeted news from long-time AMD leaker Kepler, that the next gen Xbox will be made by AMD and that the device will be a 'traditional console' and not a PC, that supports your existing library. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. That information was clearly dead on, although interestingly Kepler suggested that Steam integration is 'in doubt'. Asked about the issue on forum NeoGAF, he replied: 'IDK [I don't know], probably not. Kinda ruins the whole business model if people can bypass your store.' That suggests that the Steam comments were merely his personal speculation and that it is still something that could happen. 👀🔥 ¿Y SI NO OCURRE? 🥶Los comentarios de KEPLER (famoso filtrador de AMD) nos dejan bastante SoC de la next gen de Xbox será de AMD y este señor nos dice que será una consola tradicional y NO UN PC.¿QUÉ PASA? 👉 — eXtas1s 🎮 Noticias & Rumores (@eXtas1stv) June 15, 2025 Microsoft's annoucement was a very brief video from President of Xbox, Sarah Bond, who added: 'At Xbox our vision is for you to play the games you want, with the people you want, anywhere you want. That's why we're investing in our next generation hardware line-up, across console, handheld, PC, cloud, and accessories.' There have been multiple hints about a next gen portable console before, particularly from Xbox exec Phil Spencer, but that would be unconnected to the recently unveiled Asus ROG Ally device – which is essentially just a portable PC. Recent rumours suggested that Microsoft had abandoned plans for its own portable and it may well be that this annoucement was meant to counter that and to acknowledge that Kepler's leaks were accurate. There're multiple ways to interpret Bond's comments though, especially as being a traditional console seems at odds with running PC software and third party stores. No date was given as to when there'll be more information or when any next gen hardware could start to appear, but rumours have pegged it, and the PlayStation 6, for sometime in 2027 or 2028. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: The highest rated Metacritic game of 2025 actually came out in 2023 MORE: MindsEye review – the worst game of 2025 is a shockingly bad GTA clone MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 owner loses 20 years' worth of save data in botched transfer
Metro
09-06-2025
- Metro
Xbox ROG Ally vs. Legion Go and Steam Deck: how do they compare?
If you've yet to invest in a handheld PC, GameCentral takes a look at the new Xbox portable and what advantages it has over its rivals. After months of teasing, and rumblings of a dedicated Xbox handheld device, Microsoft finally unveiled two new devices during the Xbox Games Showcase this weekend. As was rumoured, these devices come not from Microsoft itself but Asus which is already responsible for its own Asus ROG Ally handheld PC. Which is why these devices are dubbed the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X. With Microsoft still working on a separate portable device (which rumours say has been delayed internally), these Asus products will be the next best thing for those who want to enjoy Xbox games on the go. Despite what you might imagine, the portable PC market is incredibly niche in the grand scheme of things, with sales that pale compared to eventhe Xbox Series X/S. That's primarily because of the price but also the complexity involved in getting PC games to work on a portable. While it'll be a while before anyone can go hands on with the new devices (they're slated to launch sometime this Christmas), Microsoft has already shared details on the ROG Xbox Ally – including technical specs – meaning we can compare and contrast with the most popular PC handhelds already on the market. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. First things first, is the ROG Xbox Ally any better than the Asus ROG Ally that you can already buy? Not particularly, no, but that's unsurprising when it's essentially the same device but with Xbox branding. It technically has a different processor – the AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor – but from what we can tell, it doesn't sound that much more powerful than the Asus ROG Ally's AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Processor. Both devices also have the same 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space for games. That said, the Xbox handheld does sport better battery capacity, since it comes with a 60Wh (watt hours) battery compared to the Asus ROG Ally's 40Wh battery. It's also notably bigger and heavier (670g compared to 608g), which might be due to it sporting contoured grips akin to the Xbox controller. We'd need to hold it ourselves to tell but, theoretically, this should make it more comfortable to use than the blockier looking Asus ROG Ally. So far, it seems the only reason to pick a ROG Xbox Ally over the current one is to more easily access your library of Xbox games, with the new device featuring a lot more setting and features to facilitate that. Xbox is promising first-of-their-kind features for the handheld, including 'an immersive Xbox full screen experience [and] an aggregated gaming library with access to installed games from leading PC storefronts.' As for the ROG Xbox Ally X, it's also similarbut a more powerful iteration that uses an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor. This comes along with more storage space (1TB) and a stronger battery (80Wh), though it's also larger and heavier at 715g. This makes it almost identical to the existing Asus ROG Ally X, which boasts the same storage space and battery and is itself just a stronger version of the Asus ROG Ally. While Microsoft hasn't shared official prices, its two Xbox devices will cost more or less the same as the currently available Asus ones. The Asus ROG Ally costs £599, in the UK, while the Asus ROG Ally X costs £799, although both have options for bigger and more expensive storage. Moving onto the first non-Asus competitor, the differences between the Lenovo Legion Go and the Xbox handheld appear small as well. The Lenovo Legion Go also uses the AMD Ryzen Z1 for its processor, both devices run on Windows 11, and they both have 512GB of storage that can be upgraded. The Lenovo Legion Go does have less battery capacity at 49.2Wh, but it's lighter at 640g and while it lacks the contoured grips of the ROG Xbox Ally, its controllers can detach like the Nintendo Switch's Joy-Cons. In fact, one advantage the Lenovo Legion Go has is its variety of play options. It has a dedicated mode for first person shooter games (albeit one that requires a controller base that's sold separately) and can be docked so you can play it through a PC monitor or TV. Although considering existing Asus handhelds can be connected to the TV, we have to assume the Xbox ones will too. There is AR functionality on the Legion Go through the Legion Glasses device but that's too niche to be considered a drastic advantage over Xbox. It's also very easy to get Xbox Game Pass set up on the Legion Go – in fact, the app comes pre-installed – so it's not like the Xbox handheld is the only way of accessing Game Pass titles on a portable. However, the Legion Go is the more expensive of the two options, and goes for £699. There is a cheaper version called the Legion Go S, that's sold at £600 though, which honestly looks more comfortable to use thanks to its curved design, but it is less powerful and has less storage space. The Steam Deck is undoubtedly the most popular portable PC on the market (although it's still only sold around 4 million units worldwide), so will the ROG Xbox Ally offer any significant competition? Upon comparing the two, probably not. Not only is neither device more powerful than the other, since they use very similar processors, but they're roughly the same size and weight as well. The most noteworthy differences we can spot is that the Steam Deck has a weaker battery (40Wh) and less storage space (256GB). However, this makes the Steam Deck cheaper, at £349, and while there is an iteration of the Steam Deck with a better battery, that matches the ROG Xbox Ally's 512GB of storage, it's still significantly cheaper at £479. Even the Steam Deck with 1TB of storage space costs less at £569. One downside is that Xbox Game Pass is fiddly to set up on Steam Deck and with Microsoft promising that its handheld will allow for 'quick access to games from Xbox, Game Pass, and other leading PC storefronts,' it sounds like you'll be able to easily access the Steam storefront and purchase and play games through Valve's launcher. All in all, it seems the only real advantage for owning the ROG Xbox Ally is convenience. There's a chance it will be more comfortable to hold during play sessions than its competitors, but it appears no more powerful than other portable PCs. More Trending The aggregated Xbox library feature should be useful but the Xbox Play Anywhere system is, by its nature, available on many other devices. The real deciding factor will be whatever price Microsoft settles on. Like we said, the Asus ROG Ally and Asus ROG Ally X are £599 and £799 respectively, making the Steam Deck a far more enticing option for anyone still on the fence about joining the portable PC community. It's not impossible that Microsoft will aim for a slightly lower price point and absorb some of the cost, but we doubt it since the ROG Xbox Ally isn't technically Microsoft's own hardware and that may undermine the other Asus handhelds being sold. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Persona 4 remake, Keeper, High On Life 2 and the best of Xbox Games Showcase MORE: Silksong release date teased for Christmas by Xbox but it could be sooner MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 sales: an overnight success as UK stock shortages loom
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Microsoft may have shelved its Xbox Handheld, and the reason is Windows 11
Microsoft has temporarily shelved development of its own Xbox handheld gaming device to prioritize improving Windows 11 performance for third-party gaming handhelds, according to sources familiar with the company's plans. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The decision represents a strategic shift as Microsoft faces mounting competition from Valve's SteamOS platform. The tech giant's internal first-party handheld project, which was targeting a 2027 launch alongside the next Xbox console, has been put on hold while teams redirect efforts toward optimizing Windows 11 for devices like the upcoming Asus ROG Ally successor, codenamed " Project Kennan ." Windows Latest reports that Microsoft announced the reprioritization internally, though no layoffs have occurred as a result of the decision. Microsoft's rumored handheld with Asus remains a priority Microsoft's partnership with Asus remains unaffected by the internal handheld delay. Project Kennan, expected to launch later this year with AMD's Z2 Extreme processor, represents Microsoft's near-term handheld gaming strategy. The hardware development is reportedly complete, with software optimization now the primary focus. The shift comes as SteamOS poses an increasing threat to Windows' gaming dominance. Recent tests show significant battery life and performance improvements when SteamOS is installed on Windows-based handhelds like the Legion Go and ROG Ally, though users lose access to services like PC Game Pass. Microsoft continues developing next-generation Xbox cloud systems at its Redmond headquarters, aiming to match NVIDIA GeForce Now 's latency performance. The company also cancelled its cloud-focused mini console "Hobart" as part of broader strategic realignments. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now While Microsoft maintains long-term ambitions for a native Xbox handheld, the immediate focus on third-party partnerships and Windows optimization reflects the competitive pressure from established platforms like Steam Deck ahead of the company's June 8 Xbox Showcase .
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Business Standard
23-05-2025
- Business Standard
Now, you can use SteamOS on Asus ROG Ally, other handheld gaming consoles
Valve, the American video game publisher and digital distribution company, has released a major update to SteamOS – the operating system that powers its popular handheld gaming device, the Steam Deck. The new version, SteamOS 3.7.8, introduces several improvements for Steam Deck users but also for those using other handheld devices like the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally. SteamOS expands beyond the Steam Deck Until now, SteamOS was primarily developed for the Steam Deck. With this update, Valve is officially supporting a wider range of devices. For the first time, users of the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally will be able to install SteamOS more easily using a recovery image provided by Valve. A recovery image allows users to restore their Steam Deck to its original state by wiping all data and reinstalling the operating system. This move enables gamers who prefer these Windows-based handhelds to switch to Valve's gaming-focused OS. Valve has published installation instructions, though it notes that support for non-certified devices is not yet final. Improvements for Steam Deck users Bluetooth microphone support in Desktop mode: Players can now use the microphone on their wireless earbuds, but only when the Steam Deck is in desktop mode. This feature is not yet available in gaming mode. Remote power-on via Bluetooth controller: Owners of the Steam Deck LCD model can now turn on the device remotely using a Bluetooth controller. Previously, this feature was exclusive to the OLED model and is particularly useful when the device is docked to a TV. Battery care feature: Users can now limit battery charging to 80 per cent to protect long-term battery health when the device is constantly plugged in. Technical upgrades: These enhancements are supported by a newer version of Arch Linux, updated Mesa graphics drivers, and an upgraded Plasma desktop environment. Also Read Valve's broader vision for SteamOS Valve's updated FAQ suggests the company is working with additional partners to release officially licensed 'Powered by SteamOS' devices. This could include more handhelds or even mini-consoles that run SteamOS out of the box. Market rumours also suggest that Valve is developing a wireless VR headset, reportedly named 'Deckard.' According to The Verge, this could be part of a broader initiative to build a full SteamOS-powered living room console—reminiscent of the earlier Steam Machines concept.
