Yesterday, we reported on ASUS’ ROG Ally, a new contender in the Windows gaming handheld space, with considerable clout. Today we have rumors about what ASUS’ potential pricing and release date plans are for the device.
Fans and the press weren’t quite sure what to make of the ROG Ally announcement. ASUS deliberately made a humorous announcement trailer on April Fool’s Day. Some fans thought the name was a clue that it was a prank (Ally = a lie), but as it turns out, ASUS is quite serious.
ASUS is tight lipped about details so far, but to run down what we know for sure:
ASUS commissioned AMD to make them a newer and more powerful chip for the ROG Ally than the Steam Deck has.
It has a 7 inch, 1920 x 1080 resolution IPS LCD, with a 120 Hz refresh rate.
In testing, it is demonstrated to have better heat distribution and quieter fans than the Steam Deck.
ASUS also claims it can double the performance of the Steam Deck in previews with YouTubers Dave2D and Linus Tech Tips. Dave and Linus are the only two non-ASUS people to have personally previewed the device for ASUS so far, which to be fair, is in demo unit status. ASUS has also told them that they intend to price their ROG Ally competitively.
Before we go forward with the rumor, it is worth explaining why the ROG Ally needs to be taken more seriously than the other Windows handheld gaming devices we have seen so far.
Most of these devices have come from China based tech companies, including GPD, Anbernic, AYANEO, and AYN. Their devices are of varying quality, and some have made technically impressive gadgets. However, all of these are also smaller, enthusiast tech companies, that have limited resources to produce their devices. Most of these companies have to run crowdfunds to raise enough money to make their devices as well. While it has resulted in great products, those devices have limited distribution and availability, even less than the Steam Deck has now.
Many gamers were hoping that a major tech company would step up to the plate on this, and we did see companies that Lenovo take an interest. If a company like ASUS, Lenovo, Samsung, or Dell, that already make gaming laptops, and have established global distribution networks, made their own Windows gaming handhelds, they would be more capable of producing them in bigger quantities, ensure consistent quality control, and distribute them around the world more quickly and effectively.
So the ROG Ally is definitely a major step forward for Windows gaming handhelds, and something that Valve and Nintendo need to take seriously.
As reported by Insider Gaming, redditors have spread the word out that the ROG Ally will be releasing on October of this year. They are releasing two SKUs, a 512 GB version at $ 649 and a 1 TB version at $ 899. However, there is a dark side to these rumors as well.
Another redditor who had firsthand experience with the ROG Ally claims that the custom OS is actually not Windows, though that hasn’t been confirmed yet. It works with Steam, Epic Games, Xbox Game Pass, VR, and even Origin. Given some of those storefronts are Windows exclusive, it would be surprising if ASUS went so far as to make a RISC-based OS like Windows, instead of licensing Windows themselves.
But that’s the thing. ASUS allegedly cut some corners, AKA, some features had been skipped, to get the device out as soon as they can.
It’s hard to speculate what these cut corners could possibly be. If I were to warrant a guess, the ROG Ally may, unfortunately, launch with poor battery efficiency, to possibly be fixed later. It’s possible that non-Windows OS is another cut corner, if it’s discreetly a barebones system.
Hopefully whatever secrets ASUS has lying in wait won’t be any worse than that. We definitely have our eyes out for this device, so keep following GameRanx for future news on the ROG Ally.
