The Xbox handheld is actually a next-gen ROG Ally — It's the best hardware crossover I could hope for

Earlier this month, our own Jez Corden exclusively broke the news that an Xbox handheld codenamed "Project Kennan" would be getting made in partnership with another hardware company.

Today, a quick teaser trailer went live on X (previously Twitter) alluding to the next-gen ASUS ROG Ally gaming handheld.

Xbox itself coyly responded to the post with the Side-eye Monkey Puppet meme, basically implying that the Xbox handheld could be part of this.

Jez has already stated that ASUS is the company creating this crossover hardware, and I couldn't be more thrilled about this partnership.

As a handheld enthusiast who has written both Windows Central's ROG Ally review and ROG Ally X review, this is absolutely fantastic news.

I highly recommend the ROG Ally X as the very best PC gaming handheld available right now due to its excellent performance and comfortable design. It even supports VRR (variable refresh rate), which not all PC handhelds do.

On top of all of that, The Ally is more affordable than some PC handheld competitors on the market (like the $899.99 MSI Claw 8 AI+).

So, learning that the highly anticipated Xbox handheld is actually going to be an ROG Ally is just what I want to hear.

Next-gen ROG Ally handhelds that will incorporate the new AMD Ryzen Z2 chips are already expected to release sometime this year, so it could very well be that the Xbox handheld is part of this next-gen hardware line.

If this is the case, then the Xbox handheld could be a very powerful portable gaming device.

Of course, this news comes out two days before the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct is supposed to be taking place, so in some ways, the ROG Ally Xbox handheld is stealing the Switch 2's thunder.

From a marketing standpoint, that's a pretty smart move.

What to expect in the ROG Ally Xbox handheld

While the ASUS ROG teaser is only 34 seconds long and doesn't go into specific specs, it does provide a basic idea of what to expect from the Xbox handheld.

To summarize the trailer, a little robot works at a computer, figuring out improvements to make to itself before jumping into some sort of device. Before the doors close, an ROG Ally and a controller get thrown into the machine with the robot. We then see a darkly lit room with an ROG Ally-like device that now has the robot's face, implying they've merged together. However, it's too dark to make out the handheld's details.

At the trailer's four-second mark, the little robot looks up at his screen to see a depiction of himself with four key areas highlighted. These are "marathon stamina," "faster speeds," "more capacity," and "fresh look!"

The robot basically represents the ROG Ally, so this tells me that the upcoming device is going to have a longer-lasting battery, offer higher speeds, have more storage, and have a new design compared to previous ROG Ally devices.

I'm more than willing to bet that this Xbox handheld will feature an Xbox button in place of one of the ROG Ally's Armory Crate buttons.

Since the robot is part of the handheld, it also makes me wonder if ASUS is teasing that its next-gen device will have an AI processor, like the MSI Claw 8 AI+. But that's purely conjecture at this point.

Based on Jez's previous reports, this handheld is going to be an Xbox-branded Windows PC handheld rather than a portable Xbox console.

A full-blown next-gen Xbox handheld is also in the works, with target 2027 release. However, Jez has stated that the next-gen Xbox hardware will be "closer to Windows" than ever before.

Now back to the ASUS ROG Xbox handheld that was teased.

So, how much will the ASUS ROG Xbox handheld cost? It's hard to know for sure until we are told the specs, but Jez has previously conjectured on the price:

"I don't think ASUS or Microsoft has placed a hard price on Kennan just yet, but I do know the target price range, and it's actually not as bad as I expected. Our sources indicate that it won't be quite as cheap as the base model Steam Deck, but it won't be as expensive as the Lenovo Legion Go RRP. It'll be somewhere in the middle, with a base model price range of between $499 and $599 potentially."

Still, take all of that with a grain of salt. Even if that is the intended plan right now, it's very possible things could change between now and the handheld's actual launch.

My colleagues and I are all very excited about the "Project Kennan" Xbox handheld and will report more when we learn anything.

Are you excited about the ROG Ally Xbox handheld? Tell us what features you hope it has in the comments.