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When it comes to announcing anything on April Fools' Day, it's usually a silly prank reveal of a fake product, since nearly everyone expects such on that day. However, on very rare occasions, those almost unbelievable reveals turn out to be real. That was the case with Asus's new handheld device, which was initially believed to be an April Fools' joke, but turned out to be something that will actually be launching in the near future. Called the ROG Ally, it's designed to be a Steam Deck competitor, running Windows 11 with the ability to play Game Pass titles, and will utilize an AMD Ryzen APU. In the initial trailer, uploaded on April 1st, Asus shows the Ally using a home screen that collects games across multiple launchers--specifically Game Pass and Steam, and can apparently natively run titles like Resident Evil: Village, High on Life, Ghostrunner, Dying Light 2, and more. Notably, it also appears to support docking to Asus' ROG XG eGPU. for better performance on your TV when docked.

A Best Buy store page is available, where you can register for notifications as to when the ROG Ally can be pre-ordered. Asus also offered an early production unit of the Ally to YouTuber Dave2D, who got hands-on time with the handheld. It is claimed that the Ally will have "two times the performance of the Steam Deck", with a 1080p screen that can output 120hz. Asus has not announced the price of the ROG Ally at this time.

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[64bitmodels]

the 120hz thing is just such a fucking dumb selling point. batteries aren't good enough to handle that sort of continuous frame pushing, plus the processor likely wont be able to touch 120hz except in older games which probably dont support it anyways. cut that junk and replace it with an OLED.

 

[Olmectron]

I don't understand how companies keep making this mistake honestly. Thats the biggest reason the steam deck was such a hit compared to all the other "steam decks" (ayo geo) before it

Most people are smart enough that a handheld really isn't worth $1k+ when you can get a better laptop(or even desktop) for a very similar price point.

That being said, I do like the design of this much more. But not enough to justify not getting a steam deck instead

Post automatically merged: Apr 3, 2023

The post seems to skip it but its going to be "around $1000"

That's what a 512GB Steam Deck costs where I live.

 

[guily6669]

Yeah both 1080p and 120Hz are unnecessary power drains/price bumps on a portable system, and being it's almost exactly the same size as Steam Deck, there's no way they fit in a much larger battery. So you get 30-45 minutes in next-gen games, tops. I'd think something like this would make for a better mini-PC of sorts, staying mostly docked. For those that don't already have a decent gaming PC, anyway, and especially if the price lands at $1000+ as predicted.

But about the 1080P it still appeals me more even though it wastes more energy, but I mean the clarity at least for older games will be there, it will make it look so much detailed and can also make things like FSR much more usable.

I mean my Nvidia Shield tablet is 8 inch 1920x1200 and it's really on the sweet spot, it's not super crystal clear as like my 6 inch 1440+ OLED phone screen which is like looking into a damn crystal, but it's pretty good...

720P on 7 inch is OK but far from perfect, but sure for modern games the 1080P will also be a big problem for the performance, but I'd rather always go with 1080P than 120hz as a "extra" in terms of power consumption.

That's what a 512GB Steam Deck costs where I live.

Here it's 679€ and the base model is 419€ currently, but considering things it's not even bad cause if this was a 400 US$ MSRP GPU would easily turn into a damn 600€ GPU here so yeah, not perfect but not bad either...

 

[urbanman2004]

I highly doubt Asus' iteration will be any match for the Steam Deck on price alone... Its ergonomics is retarded ‍♂

 

[Xzi]

But about the 1080P it still appeals me more even though it wastes more energy, but I mean the clarity at least for older games will be there, it will make it look so much detailed and can also make things like FSR much more usable.

I prefer the balanced approach with portables. A lot of people were already complaining about Deck's battery only lasting two or two and a half hours in some AAA games, and 1080p is almost double the number of pixels to push as 720p. As far as indie/retro games go, I also feel 720p is closer to the sweet spot where games intended to be played on CRTs still look pretty good.

Naturally you can always just plug these devices into an external monitor, and that in my mind negates virtually any need to have a high-end or high-performance display built in. Not to mention gaming laptops already cover that use case, and are designed with much larger batteries to facilitate that.

 

[AkiraKurusu]

...And of course they use the Xbox button layout, with X on the left and B on the right (not even gonna mention the unaligned sticks, because eurgh why).

Would it be possible to pop open the thing (without permanently damaging it) and switch 'em around, then change the mapping in-software to match?

 

[Xzi]

...And of course they use the Xbox button layout, with X on the left and B on the right (not even gonna mention the unaligned sticks, because eurgh why).

Would it be possible to pop open the thing (without permanently damaging it) and switch 'em around, then change the mapping in-software to match?

It's easy to swap out the sticks according to Linus' video, so I'd imagine so. You can definitely do all that with Steam Deck.

 

[64bitmodels]

...And of course they use the Xbox button layout, with X on the left and B on the right (not even gonna mention the unaligned sticks, because eurgh why).

Would it be possible to pop open the thing (without permanently damaging it) and switch 'em around, then change the mapping in-software to match?

.....it's a PC handheld you dingus of course it's going to have an Xbox layout. this isn't an emulation device it's a portable PC handheld for playing Steam games. Buy an Odin if you want a Nintendo style layout

 

[SeventhSon7]

I'm at the point where anything MS related is a non-starter.

 

[gudenau]

It's only integrated as well as the software is integrated, steamdeck os has a lot of folks enjoying it without realizing its linux based.

People don't know Android or Chrome OS is Linux based either. The Linux ecosystem is far more modifiable and customizable than Windows.

 

[Delerious]

Meh, I'll hold out until a Steam Deck successor lands on the market. Proton will just keep geting better until then, and I won't be using Windows on a God-damn handheld.

 

[AkiraKurusu]

.....it's a PC handheld you dingus of course it's going to have an Xbox layout. this isn't an emulation device it's a portable PC handheld for playing Steam games. Buy an Odin if you want a Nintendo style layout

Never heard of Odin; what is it, apart from a Norse god?

 

[64bitmodels]

Never heard of Odin; what is it, apart from a Norse god?

 

[AkiraKurusu]

Thank you; Ayn Odin, huh...wonder if it's available here...?
Welp, that's up to me to research.

 

[CharlesDeGaulle]

Here comes a new challenger.
God bless the free market !

Android was OK on JXD handhelds back in 2015.
Windows was ok on GPD or AYA back in 2018-2020.
Linux is now the new standard issue thanks to Steam Deck.

I don't mind putting 700/800€ once every two or three years for a device I use daily. But one must admit it is definitely a whale market, therefore the mandatory 1 000€ price tag.

While Nintendu lures dophins with cheap hardware then scalps them with expensive softs and add-ons, Asus/GPD/AYA can only make money on the device, then roll out updated models for loyal consumers.

All in all, to each his own, and that's definitely a good thing.

 

[Sir Tortoise]

Steam Deckers using Nintendo-like arguments is so fun to watch!

"Oh, it's powerful, but what about the fun? What about the price?".

From Valve view point it doesn't matter, likely will all end up on their store, so they're good.

But it's gonna kill off the Deck! Just like the Deck killed off the Switch because it was more powerful!

 

[HarveyHouston]

I expect this to have a higher price tag. ROG stuff usually is more expensive.

 

[Dark_Ansem]

But it's gonna kill off the Deck! Just like the Deck killed off the Switch because it was more powerful!

I know you're being sarcastic but there is a difference for those here who will take it as a serious statement: Nintendo exclusives.

 

[Bladexdsl]

Nintendo exclusives.

which can be played on the deck via emulation

 

[Dark_Ansem]

which can be played on the deck via emulation

yes, and no. Yuzu Deck emulation still needs work.