Microsoft and Asus’ Xbox handheld appears in leaked photos

The first photos of the Asus ROG Ally 2 have surfaced online thanks to regulatory listings, but with a twist: there are two versions of the gaming handheld, and one features a dedicated Xbox button.

We reported two months ago that Microsoft was working with Asus to develop an Xbox-branded handheld codenamed “Project Kennan,” and this appears to be it. It’s a black version of the otherwise almost identical white ROG Ally 2, with a small button in the top-left corner bearing an engraved Xbox logo. That button is blacked out on the regular ROG, though will likely be replaced or removed in its production version.

91mobiles found listings for the ROG Ally 2 at the Indonesian certificate, and VideoCardz linked those to an FCC listing for the Wi-Fi module included in the two devices, which includes photos of the hardware. That listing also reveals some limited specs, which include a 7-inch, 120Hz LCD display — about the same as the first generation — with an 8-core, 36W AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme CPU included in the Xbox edition, and a less powerful 4-core, 20W chip in the white version.

The design has also been altered, with more molded controller grips on each edge, rather than the blocky, sloped design of the ROG Ally. That leaves the hardware as a whole looking thicker than before, but perhaps it’ll be more comfortable to hold.

With certification already under way, it’s likely that a release is around the corner. Asus often launches hardware at Computex, which begins on May 20th — just one day after Microsoft’s own Build conference begins on May 19th.