Okay, so here’s the thing. There’s this new gadget, right? Microsoft’s doing this handheld thing, kinda sneaky-like. They call it Project Kennan. Weird name, but whatever. Anyways, it’s like a new version of their ROG Ally 2 series (which apparently some folks were really hyped about). So, you’re looking at two versions here, kind of like choosing between chocolate and vanilla. You’ve got a black one with this big ol’ Xbox Button. The white one? It’s a bit tamer, not as flashy, more for the “everyday Joe” or “Jane,” I guess.
Project Kennan wasn’t a total mystery. People kinda knew it was happening, but deets were scarce, like trying to find Waldo without his signature red stripey shirt. Recently, though, some inside scoop got out. Apparently, some model numbers popped up in some US FCC thingamajig, and now everyone’s connecting the dots.
The models differ a bit—kinda like how the OG ROG Ally had two options. You’ve got the regular power and then the one on steroids—your Z1 with its lean 4 CUs versus the beefy Z1 Extreme with 12 CUs. Expect about a hundred bucks difference if you’re wondering about your wallet. But no surprises here, Asus is keeping that x86 vibe strong, so your old games won’t ghost you.
Now, about that Xbox Button—on the black one—it’s like they’re yelling, “Hey, look, it’s Project Kennan!” Still, don’t get your hopes up for a new OS. Pretty standard Windows 11, I’d bet. Apparently, that button will just pop open the Game Bar. Nothing too wild. But who knows, until they make it all official. Maybe more goodies will come out of the woodwork.
Now under the surface, the black one (Project Kennan, if we’re square naming things) is packing some serious heat. Think AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip. This thing’s got eight cores! No joke. And there’s 16 Compute Units powering a Radeon 890M iGPU. Basically, this thing might just take off if you’re not careful. It’s prepped with 64GB LPDDR5x-8533 RAM, a 2TB SSD for all your important… stuff, and 100W charging to juice it up fast. Oh, and a 7-inch touch display, keeping things sharp at 120 Hz.
On the flip side, we’ve got the white one. It’s showing off an APU with a code I’ve never seen before. Sounds like some sort of secret agent. It’s more chill with 16GB of RAM and a similar 7-inch screen, but charging drops down to 65W. Looks like it’s powered by something they’re calling Aerith Plus. Some kinda sequel or revamped version of the chip you’d find in a Steam Deck. Still keeping it low-key with just a quad-core processor and lower TDP from 6W to 20W.
Anyway, all this juicy stuff might get more official at Computex. Asus or AMD will spill the beans. So, stay tuned? Or don’t. Up to you.
So, yeah, if you’re the gadget type or just nosy, keep an eye on Tom’s Hardware for more geeky updates and reviews. They’ll keep you in the loop, inbox-style.
