Handheld Xbox console images leak just weeks before Switch 2 launch
If you haven't gotten your Nintendo Switch 2 preorder in yet, there may be another option on the table in the near future.
Leaked photos from a potential FCC product listing seem to confirm the existence of an Xbox-branded handheld gaming PC, made in partnership with Asus. The device, which was discovered in an Indonesian listing by 91mobiles (before Videocardz found the FCC listing, with photos via The Verge), looks to be a new iteration on the existing Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC — but with a new button with the Xbox logo.
The Xbox logo is faint, but it's there.
To be extra clear, this seems to be a listing for the ROG Ally 2, and the Xbox machine seems to be a variant of that rather than a new, distinct piece of hardware by itself. Specs reportedly listed in the FCC filing include a 7-inch 120Hz display and an 8-core AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme CPU, which dwarfs the 4-core CPU in the non-Xbox-branded white version of the ROG Ally 2. While these details are promising, we haven't been able to locate an FCC listing that matches these details.
Xbox has been rumored to be working on a handheld gaming console for a while now, but it wasn't until a recent report from The Verge that we knew it would be made by Asus.
SEE ALSO: Nintendo Switch 2 preorder guide: Track latest restocks, see our first-hand impressions
As The Verge pointed out, this device is likely not far off from being announced if FCC certification is already underway. The biggest questions at this point relate to how exactly it works. Is there any kind of special Xbox-themed OS built into the black ROG Ally 2, or is it just Windows? Does the Xbox button just open the Xbox Windows app during gameplay? Are there any differences in game compatibility between the black and white ROG Ally 2 models?
We don't know the answers to any of those questions yet. However, the device at least seems to exist. It probably won't be long now before we hear everything we need to hear about it.
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