Asus has officially launched its rival to the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch, with its first fully-fledged gaming handheld – the Asus ROG Ally.
The device runs on Windows 11 and plays 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, the Asus ROG Ally is a handheld games console from the division at Asus 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.
ASUS
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 hundreds of games to download or play over the cloud from day one.
Asus ROG Ally release date
The Asus ROG Ally is available to pre-order now and will go on sale on 13 June 2023. This was confirmed in a big live stream that you can catch up on below.
Asus ROG Ally price
We now know the pricing for the ROG Ally, and it’s impressively competitive – it starts from $599, with a more powerful version at $699.
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.
For now, there are only two models to choose from – with the difference being a bump from an AMD Ryzen Z1 to a Z1 Extreme under the hood for some bonus power.
Specifications and features
Asus has now confirmed the full list of specifications and features of the Asus ROG Ally.
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.
- Dimensions
- 11.0 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches (279 x 111.8 x 12.7mm)
- Weight
- 1.34 lbs (608 grams)
- Chipset
- AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme
- RAM
- 16GB of LPDDR5 memory
- Storage
- 512GB PCle 4.0 SSD, microSD card slot
- Display
- LCD
- Output resolution
- 7-inch Full HD (1080p 16:9) touchscreen with 120Hz refresh rate
- Graphics
- 12 RDNA3 CUs, up to 2.7GHz, 8.6 TFLOP
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 with couch gaming.
What games will be compatible with the Asus ROG Ally?
It should be the case that any game you can run on Windows will run on the Ally – the variable obviously being how it will perform while it runs. Asus has confirmed that it supports Steam, the EA App, the Epic Games Store, GOG Galaxy, Android apps and more to give a really wide range of different options for how you play your games on it.
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How to buy the Asus ROG Ally
The Asus ROG Ally is available exclusively through Best Buy in the States and is now available to order.
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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