New details have been revealed surrounding ASUS' upcoming gaming handheld following a recent press event. At the forefront of these announcements, we have a launch event confirmed to be held on the 11th of May (10am New York, 3pm London, 10pm Taipei). This event is confirmed to reveal the pricing and full system specs, and will likely provide further details on the release timescales and availability for the device.

While we previously knew the Ally will be available via Best Buy in America, we now have confirmation of UK exclusivity to electronics retailer Currys. You can find a statement from their Head of Gaming, Nick Hayden, regarding this below:

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 Steamdeck. The portable PC market is an exciting space, and we are looking forward to our customers coming in-store to enjoy our immersive offering. ROG is an innovative partner that we're pleased to continue working closely with on their gaming range that customers countrywide will love.

Much of this press event served to reaffirm details that were previously revealed, including the device's 120 Hz 1080p display, the purpose-built Ryzen APU, and its powerful "Zero Gravity" thermal system. Somewhat new is the weight of the system, coming in at 608g (1.34lbs for the imperial speakers), and a confirmation that the device will retail for less than $1000.

With a prominent slogan of "Play ALL Your Games", ASUS are clearly trying their best to take on the success of Valve's Steam Deck. Whether that will be possible will, to many, come down to its pricing above all, and how competitive it ends up being by comparison.

ROG Ally Event Site

Are you considering the Ally? What would you consider a reasonable price? Let us know your thoughts below.

 

[subcon959]

Until another handheld comes out sub 400 I don't see it as comparable to the Steam Deck. This thing is clearly going to be double the price so it's not in the same league.

 

[EduAAA]

If this goes for anything past $600 for the base model, it will hardly make any dent in the current Steam Deck user base.
Not only that, but the Deck currently has such a big and growing userbase as well, more so with SteamOS, and the fact that it's so customizable and using Linux from the get-go with a great support by Valve itself will be something hard to top if they simply go the Windows route for their OS.

I have a Deck and it's quite the opposite imo. I rather have a full functional version of Windows 10/11 ( there are still drivers missing to be able to use Windows as the standard OS) working perfectly, so we can use easily mods and all games working, no just some ones and some of them even have graphic or saving problems, etc. That is not a problem if you run Windows.

Right now it feels like playing with an alpha version of the device. BTW, plugins could work on Windows too, and a lot of them would be unnecessary because all games would be compatible so you don't need a database with non working, bronce, to platinum category of compatibility.

All the good things about PC games are that they are open machines and you are able to customize your games, use reshade or whatever and games being allways backwards compatible. This is not what you have with a steam deck. To be honest, I'm not gonna waste my time trying to play triple AAA games having to tinker with everything and playing at 30/40 fps + all graphic options at low, now I use the SD for low performance requiring games and streaming from my PC that can handle all new games perfectly to the deck, something I could do before with my phone and a telescopic controller or with my v1 Switch that can have Android.

I bought it because it was on sale and well, I could afford it and wanted to see for my self what kind of device it is. Not impressed at all, in fact I think I'll end selling it. But to each their own

 

[Goku1992A]

I have a Deck and it's quite the opposite imo. I rather have a full functional version of Windows 10/11 ( there are still drivers missing to be able to use Windows as the standard OS) working perfectly, so we can use easily mods and all games working, no just some ones and some of them even have graphic or saving problems, etc. That is not a problem if you run Windows.

Right now it feels like playing with an alpha version of the device. BTW, plugins could work on Windows too, and a lot of them would be unnecessary because all games would be compatible so you don't need a database with non working, bronce, to platinum category of compatibility.

All the good things about PC games are that they are open machines and you are able to customize your games, use reshade or whatever and games being allways backwards compatible. This is not what you have with a steam deck. To be honest, I'm not gonna waste my time trying to play triple AAA games having to tinker with everything and playing at 30/40 fps + all graphic options at low, now I use the SD for low performance requiring games and streaming from my PC that can handle all new games perfectly to the deck, something I could do before with my phone and a telescopic controller or with my v1 Switch that can have Android.

I bought it because it was on sale and well, I could afford it and wanted to see for my self what kind of device it is. Not impressed at all, in fact I think I'll end selling it. But to each their own

Doesn't it make more sense to get a gaming laptop?

I have 2 gaming laptops that's why I didn't get a deck... $400 isn't bad but meh I own a CFW Switch + Galaxy S23. The deck is nice don't get me wrong but I dont need a deck

But it is nice!

 

[voddy]

Doesn't it make more sense to get a gaming laptop?

I have 2 gaming laptops that's why I didn't get a deck... $400 isn't bad but meh I own a CFW Switch + Galaxy S23. The deck is nice don't get me wrong but I dont need a deck

But it is nice!

its all about the formfactor. Playing on a handheld is way more comfortable if you are on a train or somewhere with little space. it doesnt mean you cannot achieve this by using a gaming laptop, but its way better to use a handheld for stuff like that.
A switch is awsome to play because its not that heavy and quite portable - but playing tripple A games on a linux/windows gaming handheld can be quite nice.

tbh. since i have my deck i rarely touch my gaming pc because its so convenient. in the end its up to your own preferences. Some like GPD Win Max 2 for being a hybrid between both worlds - others hate it because its so big.
i will buy the rog ally for sure as i totally fell in love with those windows / linux gaming handhelds

 

[Blavla]

Looks cheap and no touchpad.

 

[Axido]

Looks cheap and no touchpad.

The missing touchpad is actually a dealbreaker to me. It makes mouse controls much more accurate than the touchscreen ever could once you get used to it.

But I'm not expecting this thing to have a competitive price point to begin with. I'd be surprised if it was below $700.

 

[kevin corms]

Why are people acting like it’s hard to install another os on a handheld pc? I’m using windows 11 on my steamdeck currently, with steam os only an install away. I would dual boot, but I don’t have enough storage to make that viable considering the size of todays games.

 

[AutumnWolf]

I am just waiting for the Steam Deck to appear on retail stores.

 

[Scarlet]

Is it really a minority opinion to prefer Windows on these kinda handhelds? Having owned a GPD Win 3, Steam Deck, and AYANEO 2, it just seems so much easier to get up and running with the games I already have.

I think the Steam Deck is unparalleled at its price point, and what Valve has done for the Linux gaming space is undeniably huge. Even so, Windows just feels more versatile. I have a Micro SD card that I pass between my PCs with Playnite and my emulation collection, and being able to keep going with that on the AYANEO was a huge win for me.

I dunno, I get that the custom Linux build is more gaming focused, but that’s also a bit of a down side for me. That’s my two cents anyway, would be interested to hear other opinions.

 

[spuderump]

IMO most under rated feature is the suspend option on the Deck. Nothing better than just turning it back on and getting into your game in a matter of seconds.

 

[Dontuuch17]

Less than a $1000...

That means a 1000 to 1 chance I won't buy it.

 

[djpannda]

SHOTS FIRED Steamdeck
The Asus ROG Ally will cost $699.99 with an AMD Z1 Extreme

https://www.theverge.com/23700094/asus-rog-ally-price-amd-z1-extreme

 

[voddy]

SHOTS FIRED Steamdeck
The Asus ROG Ally will cost $699.99 with an AMD Z1 Extreme

https://www.theverge.com/23700094/asus-rog-ally-price-amd-z1-extreme

if that price is legit it would be really awsome!

 

[dh3lix-pooch]

Could be something as a complete gaming rig replacement for some ppl I guess?