Unlike the Steam Deck, the ROG Ally will run on Windows 11. The specs known so far are promising. (Image: Asus)
Handheld gaming is back in fashion: Since the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, portable consoles and gaming PCs have been popping up all the time. The latter in particular is a category that is becoming increasingly popular.
In addition to the Steam Deck, there are other handheld consoles that are designed for PC games – such as that of the Chinese manufacturer GPD.
Now Asus also wants to enter the market and presented the Asus ROG Ally on April 1st. But in fact it was not an April Fool’s joke, as many suspected, but a tangible announcement.
The most powerful APU AMD has ever made
On April 1st, the tongue-in-cheek YouTube trailer was uploaded to the official Asus Republic of Gamers channel, ROG Global. The comments below the video paint a positive picture and many consider the ROG Ally to be a nasty April Fool’s joke, as they would be interested in the PC handheld.
As it has since been revealed, the real April Fool’s joke was that there was no joke. The Asus ROG Ally is legit and will soon rival the Steam Deck.
link to YouTube content
According to Asus, an unnamed AMD APU is installed (processor with integrated graphics, like the one in the Steam Deck), which more powerful than all previous AMD APUs should be.
Other handheld PCs like the Ayaneo 2 or the OneXPlayer have chips like the Ryzen 6800U. It also offers decent performance, but this new APU is said to have been specially optimized for the ROG Ally in cooperation with AMD.
Here’s what we know about the hardware
- As operating system comes Windows 11 for use.
- You watch the games on a “high-performance display” christened by Asus, which you should be able to use even in sunlight. The resolution is Full HD, i.e. 1,920 x 1,080 Pixel.
- However, the size and brightness are not discussed in detail. Judging by the video, it could have a 7-inch screen with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
- Like the Steam Deck, the Asus ROG Ally is actively cooled. Inside there are two fans that are supposed to keep the heat development under control. Asus also markets the handheld PC as particularly quiet and shows a person playing with it in a library in the trailer.
- You can also connect the Asus Rog Ally to a large screen or television via a docking station. It also supports the in-house eGPU (external graphics card) ROG XG Mobile 2022, which contains a Radeon RX 6850M XT.
More information about the specs, price or availability is not yet available. So far we only know that the Steam Deck competitor can be reserved at the American retailer Best Buy.
Based on what is shown, one must also expect that the Asus Rog Ally will be more expensive than the Steam Deck.
Are you interested in the Asus Rog Ally? How much do you think it should cost? Are you thinking about buying a Steam Deck yourself and would such a Windows handheld be a suitable alternative for you? What features would be most important to you in such a handheld? Tell us what you think about it in the comments!
