Microsoft is putting a lot on the line with the ROG Xbox Ally and could risk putting itself even further behind the ...

The Nintendo Switch 2 could have had some competition from Xbox’s new handheld, but after seeing what it looks like, I think Xbox has already lost.

The ROG Xbox Ally specs include a base 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. That’s relatively standard for handheld PCs, but its chip is far more telling for what this device is capable of.

For now, none of this is confirmed. But the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally, plus that streamlined version of Windows, definitely indicate a new direction for Xbox. We'll be watching closely.

Microsoft also has to stick with its plan to make Windows 11 a viable handheld OS. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the ROG Xbox Ally X won’t be perfect at launch. But they have to be ...