The ROG Xbox Ally X is already an expensive piece of hardware, priced at just shy of $1,000 in the US. The handheld Xbox-PC hybrid was similarly priced in Japan at launch, costing ¥139,800, so roughly $913. That has already changed, not for the better, but for the worse, as the more powerful version of the Xbox Ally has just been subjected to a price increase of almost $200.
The Xbox Ally X Now Costs More Than $1,100 In Japan
The latest on the Xbox Ally X’s price in Japan comes from Otaku Souken (via VGC). The handheld now costs ¥169,800 in Japan. That’s almost $200 more than it cost when it launched only a few months ago, and means the Xbox Ally X is now significantly more expensive in Japan than it is in the US at more than $1,100.
There has been no official word from Xbox or Asus on why exactly the Ally X has already undergone such a significant price increase in Japan – it has only been four months since the handheld launched. However, there’s significant evidence suggesting the RAM prices affecting just about everything in the tech industry are to blame.
That’s because the cheaper model – the standard Xbox Ally – is still the same price as it was when it launched in October. The less powerful version of the handheld has less storage and also requires less RAM. The Xbox Ally specifically runs on 16GB of LPDDR5-6400 RAM, while the Ally X uses 24GB of LPDDR5X-8000 and provides twice as much storage for games and apps.
The differing specs for the handheld Xbox siblings are why people have concluded that the rising cost of RAM is what has led to the Ally X getting such a significant price hike only a few months after its release. The bad news is, even though the device’s prices appear to be unchanged outside of Japan for now, there’s every chance this is an indication that the already expensive handheld is about to cost even more in the US and elsewhere.
Why The Xbox Ally X Might Be Safe From Price Hikes Outside Of Japan, For Now
The only potential saving grace might be that the reason Japan specifically has been subjected to this jump in price is because Xbox is famously unpopular there. The $200 increase might have been brought about not only by the cost of RAM, but also because no one in Japan is buying these things.
Despite how much they cost, it sounds like the Xbox Ally X is actually selling relatively well elsewhere. Despite the reactions to its $1,000 pricetag, the more expensive model sold out almost immediately when it went up for pre-order. Hopefully it has continued to sell well enough that the costs brought about by RAM shortages have been offset by a surprising level of popularity.
- Brand
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Xbox / ROG
- Operating System
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Windows 11 Home
- Processor
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AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor
- Display
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7” IPS, 500 nits, 16:9, 120Hz refresh rate, FreeSync Premium, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus + DXC Anti-Reflection
- Resolution
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FHD 1080p
- Original Release Date
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2025
