Asus will soon unleash a rival to the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch, with its first full-fledged gaming handheld, the Asus ROG Ally.
The device will run on Windows 11 and play games across a wide variety of services, including game stores and cloud gaming platforms. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
What is the Asus ROG Ally?
First teased at the start of April 2023 and then announced formally later in the month, the Asus ROG Ally is a handheld games console from the division that manufactures high-end gaming PCs. It is powered by an AMD Ryzen Z1 series processor and sports a Full HD touchscreen display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
Unlike its most obvious rivals – the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch – the ROG Ally runs on Windows 11 so can access all manner of online game stores and cloud services, such as the Epic Games Store, Nvidia GeForce Now, PC Game Pass and Cloud Gaming from Xbox, and, of course, Steam itself. You even get a 90-day trial of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate included, so will have access to 100s of games to download or play over the cloud from day one.
A full launch event will take place online on 11 May 2023.
Asus ROG Ally release date
With the full launch event scheduled for 11 May 2023 it is expected that the Asus ROG Ally will either be available to pre-order from that date, or be available to purchase completely,
You will be able to watch the keynote address online right here.
We’ll update with any further news we hear of this.
Asus ROG Ally price
Although pricing details are yet to be confirmed, trusted leaker SnoopyTech tweeted that it will retail for $699.99 in the US.
It’s not yet known if there will be various models though, with different specifications at different price points.
Asus has confirmed that it is working with Best Buy in the US and Currys in the UK to stock the ROG Ally. You can find out more on its dedicated page.
Asus ROG Ally
The Asus ROG Ally is a PC gaming handheld that runs on Windows 11 and a custom AMD chipset. It has a Full HD display and can play PC games from multiple platforms.
Asus ROG Ally specifications and features
Asus has revealed some of the specifications and features of the Asus ROG Ally, which a few leaks have revealed the rest. Here are the specs so far:
- Display: 7-inch Full HD (1080p) touchscreen with 120Hz refresh rate
- CPU: AMD Z1 Extreme
- GPU: AMD Radeon Navi 3
- Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
- Storage: 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD
- Audio: Dolby Atmos
- Weight: 608g
The Asus ROG Ally will also be able to be connected to a TV through an optional ROG XG Mobile external graphics dock. Wireless controllers, such as the latest Xbox variants, will be compatible for couch gaming.
What games will be compatible with the Asus ROG Ally?
Although we don’t yet have a game list, it is thought that just about any PC game available through online stores or cloud gaming services will be compatible. Even Android games will run thanks to Windows 11 support.
How to buy the Asus ROG Ally
The Asus ROG Ally will be available exclusively through Best Buy in the States. You can register your interest on its dedicated website here.
Currys has been chosen as the exclusive stockist for the UK: “We’re thrilled to offer our customers the ROG Ally, the most powerful graphics and best quality screen on a handheld device to date, providing strong competition for Steam Deck,” said the retailer’s head of gaming, Nick Hayden.
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