Asus plans to sell its OLED Xbox Ally X20 handheld on its own, rather than only as part of a bundle with AR glasses, company spokesperson Anthony Spence told The Verge.
Spence said Asus is still discussing when the standalone model will be released and that more announcements are coming. That confirms the main bit buyers needed to hear: the OLED version will not be locked exclusively behind an accessory bundle.
The earlier plan, according to The Verge, was to package the OLED Ally with a pair of costly AR glasses. That would have made the handheld harder to buy for people who wanted the screen upgrade but had no use for face-mounted display hardware. Bundles are a familiar retail trick in gaming hardware, and usually a bad deal for anyone who came for one product and got priced into two.
The device shown by The Verge is identified as the Ally X20, with a translucent shell, sitting in front of a Lenovo Legion Go 2. Both handhelds were shown running Ori and the Will of the Wisps on OLED screens. The report says the new Ally was tested for two hours at Asus’ California offices.
What Asus has confirmed
- Asus will offer a standalone version of the OLED Ally, according to spokesperson Anthony Spence.
- The company is still working out the release schedule.
- The device had previously been planned only as a bundle with AR glasses, according to The Verge.
Asus has not yet provided the remaining details that decide whether this is a good buy: price, launch date, final retail configuration, and how the standalone model differs from any bundled package. Until those are public, the useful takeaway is narrower but still meaningful. Buyers interested in the OLED Ally should not have to pay for AR glasses just to get the handheld.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
