Asus gives the ROX Xbox Ally the OLED screen it deserves

Hope you like augmented reality

Even though the internal specs on the X20 are unchanged from last year’s ROG Xbox Ally X, the surface improvements sound like a welcome refresh to Asus’ promising line of handheld gaming PCs. Unfortunately, Asus seems to be positioning the X20 as a limited-edition bundled curiosity rather than a new standard-bearer for handheld gaming.

That’s because today’s announcement of the ROG Xbox Ally X was really an announcement of an “All-New ROG Xbox Ally X20 bundle,” as Asus puts it (emphasis added). The hardware itself is currently positioned only as part of a special “20th anniversary” bundle that also includes a pair of Xreal R1 AR glasses. Tethering those glasses to the X20 hardware via USB gives users what Asus promises is a 171-inch virtual screen that can either move with them or stay fixed in virtual space as they move their head.

While those kinds of “virtual display” glasses have their fans, they seem much better suited to being a premium optional accessory than a standard inclusion with every device. Asus already sells Xreal R1 glasses for $850, and the ROG Xbox Ally X was retailing for $1,000 last year, before RAM and storage prices sent prices for game consoles and other computing devices soaring.

While Asus isn’t discussing pricing yet, a bundle price approaching or exceeding $2,000 doesn’t seem out of the question when the X20 launches later this year. That price—plus the “Asus’ 20th anniversary” branding for the hardware—would suggest a device with a very limited market and thus a limited production run.

That would be a shame—the upgrades available in the X20 could find a decent audience if they weren’t literally tethered to a pair of expensive AR glasses. Hopefully, Asus will offer a standalone version of the ROG Xbox Ally X20 hardware that will remain available long after the 20th anniversary bundling ends.