ASUS is making a handheld gaming PC called the ROG Ally, so Ayaneo and Valve can’t have the market all to themselves. They announced it on April Fools’ Day, which made people doubt it was real, but it actually is. The device will use a special AMD Ryzen chip and run on Windows 11. You can also attach an extra GPU to it.
The ROG Ally has a 7-inch touchscreen that is 16:9 and 1080p with a 120Hz refresh rate. This is better than the Steam Deck, which only has an 800p resolution and 60Hz refresh rate on a 16:10 panel. Even though the ASUS device is lighter and thinner than Valve‘s, it’s uncertain how the screen will affect battery life. YouTuber, Dave 2D discovered this information according to The Verge.
The ROG Ally has the usual buttons and controls found on other gaming devices such as two analog sticks, four buttons on the front, and a left mounted D-pad. It also has some smaller buttons near the screen to access menus and settings. You can use the ROG XG Mobile eGPU with the Ally, which is something you can’t do with the Steam Deck. This allows you to stream games to a TV and use the Ally to its full potential.
The gaming device shown in the video looks complete and ready for sale as a powerful device for gaming on the go. It’s more believable than what ASUS showed on April Fools’ Day 2022, which was a joke about a “Smart Lens” that could control the device with your eyes. The Smart Lens was also shown in the launch video for the Ally, but it was just a joke.
The success of the ROG Ally depends on its price and how well it performs compared to other handhelds like the Steam Deck ($399) and Ayaneo 2 ($850). ASUS says the Ally has benefits like the ability to play any game that the hardware can handle, while the Steam Deck can only play games in your Steam library. ASUS is a big company, so it might be easier to find the Ally than other brands like Ayaneo or GPD.