Microsoft has never hidden its interest in developing a handheld product. A more compact PC-like device would undoubtedly be a fantastic machine to sell its flagship service, Xbox Game Pass, especially if it can be well-optimised. Early rumours suggested that a launch in 2025 was the plan, and now, leaked images and details appear to add more weight to the speculation.
First discovered by Indonesian tech site 91mobiles, the information was then linked to the Federal Communications Commission in the United States, where brief images of the product can be seen. The Xbox handheld, codenamed Project Kennan, could very well be an entirely different product than many would expect.
Rather than being a wholly separate and specially-built product, strong indications suggest that the Xbox handheld is actually a special variant of ASUS’s latest handheld device, the ROG Ally. With two colour variants of black and white, the image of the black variant clearly shows a dedicated button featuring the Xbox logo.
As of now, there is still no detailed information on what this button will do and how it differs from the white variant of the ROG Ally 2, which does not feature the Xbox logo on the button. VideoCardz also found that the supposed Xbox handheld is expected to sport higher specifications than the white one.
It is believed to be powered by a Ryzen Z2 Extreme with 9 Cores and a 36W TDP, paired with 32GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the white variant is equipped with an AMD Aerith with 4 Cores and a 20W TDP, along with 16GB of RAM.
With Computex 2025 just right around the corner, it could be the best place to unveil this new Xbox product. What it actually is and what it can do will be key, and we will keep our eyes peeled for more information on this one.
