A few days ago, we mentioned how Microsoft had highlighted a few of the early accessories that have been designed for the ROG Xbox Ally handheld, and now Sandisk has gone into greater detail on some of them.
The company is specifically talking about two different storage options for the ROG Xbox Ally - one being a MicroSD card in various capacities, and the other being an NVMe SSD that's built for both the handheld and PC.
As far as we can see, all of these are targeted at the X version of the Xbox Ally rather than the standard version.
Here are the official descriptions for each of them:
SANDISK microSD Card for ROG Xbox Ally (X)
- With capacities of 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB to hold up to 50 titles, gamers can play directly off the card.
- Engineered specifically for the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally so gamers can easily play with full Xbox integration.
- Drop-, shock-, and X-ray-proof to handle the demands of handheld gaming on-the-go.
- Rapid load times for big AAA titles and smooth in-game performance with up to 200MB/s read speeds.
- Lifetime limited warranty, giving players long-term support and protection they can count on, game after game.
WD_BLACK SN7100X NVMe SSD for ROG Xbox Ally (X) & PC
- Capacities up to 4TB, so gamers have tons of storage for new titles and favourite games they can play directly off the drive.
- Officially licensed for Xbox gaming, so users can easily integrate with Xbox.
- Speeds for high-octane gaming with up to 7,250MB/s read and 6,900MB/s write (1TB-2TB models), plus power-efficiency for handhelds and laptops.
- Leading-edge technology designed for serious on-the-go gamers, with DRAM-Less PCIe® Gen4x4 performance and SANDISK TLC 3D CBA NAND.
- A 1-Month trial of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate inside the box for PC gamers.
Now, if you're interested in picking up one of the Xbox-branded MicroSD cards, they're all available to pre-order right now via the official Sandisk website, and they come in variants of 512GB, 1TB and 2TB.
Alternatively, the NVMe SSD variants (2TB and 4TB) will be available at some point in the coming months.
Here's a rundown of the prices in the UK and US:
| Description | Capacity | UK Price | US Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| SANDISK microSD Card for ROG Xbox Ally (X) | 512GB | £49.99 | $69.99 |
| SANDISK microSD Card for ROG Xbox Ally (X) | 1TB | £104.99 | $149.99 |
| SANDISK microSD Card for ROG Xbox Ally (X) | 2TB | £209.99 | $299.99 |
| WD_BLACK SN7100X NVMe SSD for ROG Xbox Ally (X) & PC | 2TB | £123.99 | $159.99 |
| WD_BLACK SN7100X NVMe SSD for ROG Xbox Ally (X) & PC | 4TB | £239.99 | $279.99 |
Of course, there's no obligation to use Sandisk-branded storage options for your ROG Xbox Ally; these are just the first storage solutions that have been purposely designed for the X version of the handheld.
The official line is that they've been "certified, tested, and engineered specifically" for it:
"In the era of massive game sizes and game libraries, there is an increasing demand for high-performing storage solutions with greater capacities. With options of up to 4TB of additional fast storage, Sandisk’s certified solutions for the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally will give gamers quick downloads and the ability to take their games anywhere. The new high-performance microSD card is engineered specifically for the ROG Xbox Ally Xand ROG Xbox Ally and the officially licensed for Xbox gaming internal SSD offers blazing read and write speeds. The microSD card and SSD from Sandisk are certified, tested, and engineered specifically for both Xbox handheld devices as part of the Designed for Xbox program."
Don't be surprised if we end up seeing a lot more ROG Xbox Ally accessories cropping up before the end of the year - not just in terms of storage, but in the form of cases, docks, grips and whatever else these companies come up with!