If, like me, you like the look of the new Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 handheld but don't want to pay extra for the XREAL R1 glasses it's currently bundled with, we've got good news. Asus has confirmed that it is "actively discussing the release schedule for a standalone version of the new Ally," so you should be able to get your hands on one before too long.
The Asus quote is courtesy of The Verge, but the PC gaming giant didn't offer much more in the way of details. Of course, thanks to its debut at Computex earlier this year, we already know what to expect from the X20 in terms of specs. The headline is that it comes with a 7.4-inch OLED display, putting it in direct competition with the Steam Deck OLED, the current top PC gaming pick from our guide to the best handheld consoles.
Outside of its stellar-looking screen, the Ally X20 also features an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip, 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a whopping 1TB of storage. Those specs, particularly the AMD processor, point to a pretty powerful handheld, rivaling the likes of the MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM and Lenovo Legion Go 2, but we'll have to wait to get our hands on it to know for sure.
If all that wasn't enough, the X20 boasts a unique semi-transparent design, looking like what you'd get if you combined an Xbox controller, a classic Game Boy Advance, and the original ROG Ally. There's also the matter of TMR joysticks, which offer more precise input, potentially making the X20 a solid pick for fans of the best FPS games.
At the time of writing, we don't have any indication as to when the ROG Xbox Ally X20 might launch or, crucially, how much it might cost. However, given that the similar ROG Xbox Ally X retails for around $999, and we've seen inflated prices across the handheld gaming PC market due to issues surrounding component costs, we're not expecting it to be cheap. Either way, we'll keep an eye on Asus' social media accounts for any updates.