A combination of leaks has provided the first look at the Asus ROG Ally 2 and the Xbox-branded handheld codenamed Project Kennan. Indonesian publication 91Mobiles found a certification for a new ASUS handheld at the local certification company for two different models: the RC73XA and the RC73YA.
With the model numbers, this was subsequently linked by Twitter user Huang514613 to a United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing that included pictures of both models. The white one seems to be the regular Asus ROG Ally 2, while the black one appears to feature an Xbox button and could therefore be the Xbox branded handheld.
The same Twitter user also discovered some of the specifications from the back labels. The RC73YA should be equipped with AMD's AERITH Plus, a 4-core CPU, 16GB of RAM, and up to 20 watts of TDP. The RC73XA, on the other hand, is reportedly more powerful, being equipped with the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, an 8-core CPU, 32GB of RAM, and up to 35 watts of TDP.
There have been rumors that Asus had partnered with Microsoft to make an Xbox-branded handheld. Later, Asus teased that they were 'cooking' something new, and the Xbox social channel replied with a not-at-all-subtle meme hinting that it would be about Xbox.
This portable device made in collaboration with Asus will be just a stepping stone in Microsoft's handheld plans. According to a recent report by Windows Central, a proper Microsoft-made Xbox handheld will debut in 2027 alongside the successor to the Xbox Series X, featuring direct-to-cloud connectivity, among other things.
Earlier this year, in a talk at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Vice President of Xbox Gaming Devices and Ecosystem Jason Ronald stated that the goal of the future Xbox handheld is to combine the best of the console (Xbox) and PC (Windows) ecosystems for an optimal user experience.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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