What you need to know
- The ASUS ROG Ally is a gaming handheld that released in 2023.
- Rumors of an ROG Ally 2 successor have been swirling around for a while now.
- ASUS ROG revealed that an official "next ROG Ally" stream will take place tomorrow, May 9 at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET.
The ASUS ROG Ally has been a hit gaming handheld since it released in June 13, 2023, even with strong competition against Steam Deck OLED and Legion Go. Rumors have been swirling for a while now that a next-gen ROG Ally (dubbed by the internet as ROG Ally 2) would be releasing in 2024. Well, those rumors seem to be true. The official ROG Global channel on YouTube will be hosting a stream tomorrow, May 9, 2024 at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET to discuss, "the new ROG Ally."
Where to watch the "next ROG Ally" stream
You'll be able to watch the next ROG Ally stream in the embedded video above once the event goes live.
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Now, ASUS and its gaming sub-brand ROG (Republic of Gamers) haven't revealed all that much about what the stream will entail. I'm more inclined to think it will simply be a teaser where we learn some info but don't get the full ROG Ally 2 specs. It's also not guaranteed that we'll even see what the next-gen ROG Ally looks like.
For a while now, rumors have intimated that the next ROG Ally will be revealed at Computex computer expo in Taiwan, which is just around the corner — June 4 through June 7. So, prepare for the possibility of tomorrow just being a quick hype announcement rather than a full reveal, but with additional ROG Ally 2 info coming in early June. Remember, June 13 is also the ROG Ally's one-year anniversary, so it's possible that we could also get additional info then.
Honestly, I hope I'm proven wrong and we do get all the info we want tomorrow. But it's best to keep expectations low so we don't get disappointed.
Improvements we want to see in the next ROG Ally
Now, I love the ROG Ally and I've basically been using it daily to play my favorite PC games ever since I got it. You can even check out the games I and my coworkers have recently been playing on our favorite gaming handhelds. However, the ROG Ally certainly isn't without its flaws. I've previously made a list of improvements I want to see in the ROG Ally 2 (found in my ROG Ally 2 FAQ), and I'm going to expound upon them a bit here.
First, let's discuss the most obvious issue. Shortly after the ROG Ally released, people discovered that it had an overheating problem where the microSD cards can get fried and stop working properly. Fixing this heating issue is a major priority for the Ally successor.
Outside of that, I'd love to see additional colors other than white to choose from. I know some people on the WC gaming team really want a black ROG Ally while others want the option to choose from a range of vibrant hues.
Another important thing for me is an improved UI interface. The ROG Ally is basically a Windows 11 laptop with controllers attached, but that means it's not as simple to navigate as the Steam Deck with its SteamOS interface. Armoury Crate SE and AMD Software can both be used to customize the ROG Ally playing experience, but having to hop between them for certain features can be tedious and time-consuming. With any luck, the next ROG Ally will have a simpler system setting interface that unites these programs more thoroughly.
I can't discuss gaming handheld improvements without bringing up battery life, right? It's basically understood that people will always want their devices to last longer before needing a recharge. We'll just have to see if ASUS ROG managed to make that happen. Of course, part of improving battery life depends on the kind of display used, which leads me to my next improvement...
One of the things I really want is an ROG Ally OLED. These displays make colors pop more vibrantly than basic LCD screens because they offer true black and far better contrast. Depending on how OLED screens are implemented they can help save battery life too. We've seen this with the Switch OLED, which managed to offer significantly better battery life than the original Nintendo Switch did.
In the end, I just want ROG Ally to make a device that improves upon the foundations of the original gaming handheld. It might not have been perfect, but the Ally has been an amazing PC gaming companion for me and many others out there. So, check in tomorrow to see what ASUS ROG has in store for us!
