Technologies

Xbox Ally Gaming Handheld Price Could Be Higher Than Expected, Leak Suggests

The Microsoft-Asus portable gaming device could price itself right out of the market.

The ROG Xbox Ally handheld gaming device from Asus and Microsoft debuted last month, and there were a lot of questions about the new portable. The big question about price might have been answered by a leak, and it looks like this handheld won’t be cheap.

A Google search screenshot showed a listing for the Xbox Ally and upgraded Ally X at 599 and 899 euros, as first spotted by Spanish gaming site 3DJuegos on Sunday and reported by Insider Gaming. This would put the Xbox Ally at approximately $700 and the Ally X at approximately $1,050.

Microsoft and Asus didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

While this might be the European price, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the US price. When the Xbox Series X launched back in November 2020, the US price was $499 while the EU price was 499 euros, which would have converted to approximately $590 at the time. It’s common for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft to keep the same price number across the different common Western currencies such as dollars, euros and British pounds — though the latter two include tax at 20%. (Prices quoted to consumers have to include sales tax, known as VAT, in those regions.)

If we do some back-of-the-napkin math, the euro prices without tax would be 479 and 719 euros respectively. Converting those to US dollars gives $559 and $839. In comparison, Asus’ ROG Ally cost $700 when it was released in 2023. The ROG Ally X came out in 2024 for $800.

There is, however, a big concern with the Xbox Ally and that involves President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Microsoft already increased the Xbox Series console’s prices in May due to tariffs. China has been the main trading partner affected by the tariffs, as most other countries were part of a 90-day pause Trump declared back in April, only days after revealing his plan. That pause is due to come to an end on Aug. 1, and one country that could be affected is Vietnam, where a lot of electronic devices are made.

The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X could be big competition for the Steam Deck, which currently dominates the handheld market. A flaw in the original ROG Ally and other Windows-based portable devices is that Windows is not optimized for a handheld device, whereas SteamOS is built for the Steam Deck. This means Windows handhelds can come off as laggy when booting up games and sluggish while playing, even though they have better processors and more memory. The Xbox Ally looks to provide an Xbox-like experience by incorporating the console’s UI into the device. An early look at the device suggests the new UI will be a welcome improvement over the standard Windows 11 setup.

Both the Xbox Ally and Ally X are expected to launch later this year, most likely during the holiday period.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

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A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.

Technologies

First Partner to the Stars: Muon Space Adopts Starlink Lasers for Millisecond Data Transfer

By integrating Starlink’s mini laser technology, Muon Space will eliminate ground station bottlenecks to build a high-speed, real-time network in orbit.

Satellites firing lasers at each other in space sounds like science fiction, but it’s happening right now, as terabytes of data quickly pass across the Starlink network. Muon Space satellites are set to adopt the technology, enabling a near future when they transfer data as easily as we access the internet on the ground.

This week, Muon announced it will incorporate Starlink’s mini laser technology into its upcoming Halo spacecraft, with the first outfitted satellite going up in 2027. Starlink satellites communicate with each other using lasers, creating a mesh network in low-Earth orbit, or LEO. The tech supports 25Gbps connections between satellites at a range of up to 4,000 kilometers. Higher data speeds are available at shorter distances.

Muon Space will be the first company outside of Starlink parent SpaceX to use the mini laser technology on its satellites.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Satellites typically suffer from bottlenecks like latency when communicating with ground stations, and lag when traveling between them.

«Most of the Earth observation and analytics in space have been constrained at a systems level by this little straw of connectivity, which gets pinched most of the time and only gets connected once in a while,» Muon Space’s president, Gregory Smirin, told CNET.

With the mini laser technology, Muon satellites will join the Starlink network for real-time data access and high-bandwidth streaming. Muon says latency gets reduced to milliseconds. It also noted that data is end-to-end encrypted to maintain the security of customer information.

The Starlink “mini laser” shown in today’s video will connect third party satellites and space stations into the Starlink constellation. The mini laser is designed to achieve link speeds of 25 Gbps at distances up to 4000 km, and was recently successfully tested in orbit on a… pic.twitter.com/8nW37CRp7s

— Michael Nicolls (@michaelnicollsx) August 25, 2025

Normally, this kind of announcement is intended to excite Muon’s existing and potential corporate customers, but the broader implications of the technology will also be felt by everyday people. Smirin equated the adoption of the mini laser technology on satellites to the shift from the days when people connected to the internet using dial-up modems to the always-on access that’s prevalent today.

«Even in 2027, you’re going to start to see the impact of this kind of persistent connectivity on services that will be visible to individuals,» Smirin said. «Space is becoming a ground truth enabler.»

For example, Muon Space is the hardware supplier behind FireSat, the system of satellites developed in conjunction with Google and the Earth Fire Alliance to locate and track wildfires from space. In July, the companies released the first FireSat images from an initial protoflight satellite in orbit for testing.

Smirin explained that reducing latency will help operators track a fire’s direction and progress. He cited this year’s wildfires in Los Angeles, when the winds and smoke prevented aircraft from flying overhead to make accurate observations. With FireSat, you could get that information on an ongoing basis, enabling responders to better establish perimeters for personnel and equipment.

«We’re providing five to ten times the capacity that the rest of the new space industry is providing, so this is a massive step forward,» he said.

Smirin said the company is confident in the technology. After all, these are the same terminals Starlink uses to operate its global mesh network. «It’s operating today for everyone, and it’s reliable, and now it’s about bringing that capacity to organizations outside of Starlink.»