We've had an absolute blast with the ROG Xbox Ally since it released a few months ago, but there's no doubt it's an expensive handheld, and there's a chance it could be getting even more expensive in the near future.
This is according to a statement from ASUS that was shared by Digitimes and VideoCardz recently, with ASUS telling "partners and customers" that "certain product combinations" would be getting price adjustments starting January 5th.
The company highlights rising costs due to "AI compute demand" as one of the key reasons behind it:
"As we approach the end of 2025, global demand in the PC and IT infrastructure markets remains strong, driven by AI adoption. At the same time, structural volatility in the global supply chain is putting sustained upward pressure on costs for key components, particularly memory (DRAM) and storage components (NAND and SSD). These changes reflect shifts in capacity allocation by upstream suppliers, higher investment costs for advanced manufacturing processes, and structural supply gaps created by rising AI compute demand."
It's been mentioned on numerous occasions recently how the demand for AI has caused memory costs to skyrocket, and it's a situation that's expected to result in price increases across the board and maybe a delay to future consoles.
In this specific case, however, ASUS hasn't mentioned any particular product, meaning the ROG Xbox Ally could be safe, at least from whatever this statement is referring to. It's worth noting that ASUS has since responded to VideoCardz telling them that the "internal business communication" wasn't meant to be seen by the public, although it's inevitibly since spread to various mainstream outlets along with social media.
We'll obviously let you know if the ROG Xbox Ally does get a price increase, but let's hope not! Watch this space...