At the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, ASUS and Microsoft unveiled their eagerly awaited Xbox handheld projects: the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X. Despite the excitement, a notable feature was missing from both devices: an OLED screen. Fans of OLED displays, with their superior contrast and vibrant colors, were understandably disappointed. So, why did ASUS choose not to include OLED in these devices?
According to ASUS Senior Manager of Marketing Content for Gaming, Whitson Gordon, the decision came down to power consumption. In a recent stream, he clarified that incorporating OLED with variable refresh rate (VRR) would draw significantly more power, a trade-off ASUS wasn’t willing to make. “We’ve embraced OLED with our desktop monitors, and we love OLED at ROG,” Gordon shared. “But for the Ally, the equation is different. We did extensive research and prototyping with OLED, but the technology isn’t quite where we need it yet when combined with VRR, and we’re not willing to sacrifice VRR.”
Gordon made it clear that, in his view, a gaming display without VRR is unacceptable in 2025. The combination of OLED and VRR would demand more power than the current LCD used in the Ally, and it would also increase the cost. Given that many handheld consoles serve as secondary devices, ASUS believes that customers are not willing to pay a premium for features they may not need.
“The market speaks clearly about what price points people are willing to accept for handhelds,” Gordon continued. “By not including features that the majority of users don’t necessarily require, we aim to keep the price accessible. Adding high-end features like 32GB of RAM, OLED displays, or the Ryzen Z2 Extreme would push the price beyond what most consumers are willing to pay for a secondary gaming device.”
As for the specifications of both models, they share a 7-inch FullHD IPS screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium. However, the ROG Xbox Ally X has an edge with 1TB of storage, 24GB of RAM, a Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, and impulse triggers. While the pricing is still under wraps, ASUS has confirmed that both models will launch this holiday season.