Asus has unwrapped a device which could be the successor to the widely praised and popular Steam Deck from Valve. The Asus ROG Ally appears to check many things that would be on a Steam Deck 2 wish-list; a more powerful custom APU, better screen, quieter running, and Windows in the place of SteamOS. However, Asus perversely chose to launch the device on April Fool’s day, a time when companies often "launch" joke products.
Despite the timing of the launch, it now looks certain that the ROG Ally is a real product, aiming to be only the second major branded device in this niche. And it is largely thanks to Asus being a major name that the ROG Ally features a fresh slice of custom silicon from AMD, which will be key to its success.
On Monday, YouTuber Dave2D published his video overview of the Asus ROG Ally. He said he’s had hands-on time with the device (about a week so far), and said that claims Asus made about the ROG Ally delivering double Steam Deck performance seem to be “legit.”
Of course, the ROG Ally’s performance is largely thanks to the SoC inside. The YouTuber said that the new custom AMD SoC is built on TSMC 4nm, and offers a mix of Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3 GPU cores. Sadly, more precise SoC specs weren’t divulged. Inside the Steam Deck is an AMD Aerith SoC with a 4C / 8T (Zen 2) CPU and an 8 CUs (RDNA 2) GPU.
With more power, you might expect a noisier cooling system. However, Dave2D was surprised by the quiet performance of the ROG Ally. In other words, the Asus device is surprisingly quiet and its noise profile is starkly different to the Steam Deck. A noise level of 20 dB has been quoted for the ROG Ally, but this has yet to be independently verified.
Screen Superiority
A portable’s screen is very important in providing entertainment on the go, and the Asus screen is said to be an improvement over its rival in several important ways. With the ROG Ally, users should enjoy brighter, better colors, higher resolution (1080p, 16:9), and more fluid visuals at up to 120Hz. Importantly for the ROG Ally, Dave2D says games comfortably hit the higher frame rates on the more powerful hardware, making better use of the display and its fast refresh rates. As a reminder, the Steam Deck has an 800p screen with 16:10 aspect ratio, and it maxes out at a rather pedestrian 60 Hz.
Getting Physical
Pondering over the controls, the YouTuber reckoned that the buttons, sticks, paddles and ergonomics of the ROG Ally seem OK, with no obvious errors, but it lacks the capacitive touch pads of the Steam Deck.
Located across the top are a selection of controls and I/O, which include a headphone jack, microSD card slot, volume rocker, and fingerprint sensor. There is also the Asus XG Mobile external GPU connector (supporting up to an RTX 4090), which has the USB-C charging port within. The included USB C charger also features a USB 3 port and HDMI output, useful for quickly connecting the ROG Ally to a larger display,
Battery life for the ROG Ally is said to be currently similar to the Steam Deck on the pre-production sample. Commenting upon the device, once prized open, Dave2D said that it looks serviceable, and should be easy to upgrade or repair.
The Asus ROG Ally runs Windows 11 as its main OS. The Windows UI is a bit fiddly on a small screen like this, but the plan appears to be that gamers will navigate a big gaming thumbnail view via Asus Armory Crate. Not everyone has a good opinion of this Asus accessory software, also used to tune its PC peripherals, components and laptops.
Some good news is that the Asus ROG Ally is said to be a global release. If you can get Asus products in your country, the ROG Ally is likely to be available too. That’s better than some other Steam Deck wannabes we have seen.
After multiple requests Asus wouldn’t reveal pricing, except to say that the ROG Ally would be “very competitive.” The Best Buy tie-up should also mean Asus intends this to be a volume product. Dave2D thinks that the ROG Ally will not compete with the Steam Deck’s $399 starting price point, but will still be an attractive option at $600 or $650.
