ASUS ROG Ally: Everything we know about Steam Deck competitor
ASUS is prepping for the launch of its first-ever hand-held gaming device, the ROG Ally. It may arrive sooner than you expect. A new teaser from ROG Global's official Twitter page suggests that the device will be introduced worldwide. The brand has allowed North American residents to sign up on Best Buy to get notified when the gaming console will be up for pre-order.
Why does this story matter?
When ASUS hinted at its upcoming handheld gaming device two weeks ago, many assumed it was an April Fool joke. However, it later turned out to be a real deal. The company even began sending the pre-production models of the device to tech Youtubers for their initial reactions. The ROG Ally will be positioned as a handheld gaming PC, similar to Valve's Steam Deck.
The handheld gaming PC will have a 120Hz screen
ROG Ally will have mounted controls, a replaceable SSD and joystick, a dual-fan system, and top-mounted vents. According to the hands-on video from YouTuber Dave2D, the gadget will feature a 7.0-inch Full-HD touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 16:9 aspect ratio, and a 5ms response time. Additionally, it is expected to be lighter and more compact (608g/280x113x39mm v/s 669g/298x117x50.5mm) than Steam Deck.
It will have dual joystick controls
ROG Ally will have dual analog sticks, four (U/D/L/R) face buttons, a left-mounted D-pad, and some keys surrounding the screen for menu/settings. The device will also come with ROG XG Mobile external graphics dock compatibility.
The device will run on Windows 11
The ROG Ally's APU may use AMD's Zen 4 microarchitecture-based processor and RDNA 3 graphics. It may contain a custom Ryzen 7x40U APU, with up to 1TB of M.2 2230 SSD. The gadget will run on Windows 11. According to information shared by Linus Tech Tips, the device's prototype model was less noisy in 15W mode (at 20dB v/s 32dB) than Steam Deck.
The gadget may be introduced before Q4 2023
The ROG Ally is tipped to be released before October 2023. A reliable source, The Phawx hints that ASUS may introduce the handheld gaming PC for a price tag of around $650-$700 (nearly Rs. 53,300-57,400).
