A series of leaks has revealed the first glimpse of the upcoming Asus ROG Ally 2 and a potential Xbox-branded handheld, codenamed Project Kennan. Indonesian outlet 91Mobiles found a certification listing in a local regulatory body for a pair of new ASUS handsets – the RC73XA and the RC73YA.
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Asus ROG Ally 2 and Xbox-Branded Handheld Specs and Images Leak Ahead of Official Announcement
The same model numbers have since been linked to images in a U.S. FCC filing by Twitter user Huang514613. The white variant is believed to be the standard Asus ROG Ally 2, while the black version also features an Xbox-style button arrangement, suggesting that there might come to be an Xbox-themed version of the gamepad in the future. The source who provided the details also claimed that the RC73YA will come equipped with AMD’s AERITH Plus chip, a 4-core CPU, up to 16GB of RDNA 2 VRAM, and a 20W TDP.
In contrast, the RC73XA appears to be a higher-end version, possibly the ROG Ally 2 Extreme, with an 8-core Ryzen Z2 Extreme CPU, 32GB of RAM, and up to 35 watts of TDP. Speculation around a collaboration between Asus and Microsoft has been circulating for a while. Asus had teased a new project on social media, to which Xbox responded with a playful meme, suggesting a partnership was indeed underway. This Xbox-branded handheld is expected to be a preliminary effort in Microsoft’s broader handheld strategy.
A recent report from Windows Central claims that a fully Microsoft-developed Xbox portable will launch in 2027, alongside the next-gen Xbox Series X successor. This future device is said to include features like direct-to-cloud gaming. Earlier in the year at CES 2024, Xbox VP Jason Ronald explained that the company’s vision for handheld gaming is to create a device that blends the strengths of both the console and PC ecosystems to deliver the best possible experience for users.
FAQs
The models are RC73XA and RC73YA.
Yes, a Microsoft-made Xbox handheld is expected to launch in 2027.
