The floodgates have opened on ASUS’s ROG Ally, as specifications and price for the Windows gaming handheld have leaked.
As reported by The Verge, the handheld will retail for $ 699.99. While it doesn’t match Valve’s Steam Deck entry level price of $ 399.99, it’s dangerously close, especially when you consider the twist.
That twist being that it will have the AMD Z1 Extreme CPU. As AMD have revealed on its new page for the chip, The Z1 Extreme boasts 8 CU cores, 16 threads, and 12 RDNA 3 Compute Unites. It will run in 24 MB cache at a TDP of 15 to 30 watts. This is AMD’s latest, most powerful chip, made for portables.
In plain English, it’s considerably more powerful than the CPU found in the Steam Deck. That is a Zen 2 CPU, with 4 cores and 8 threads, built around a bespoke APU codenamed Aerith. Given that the Zen microarchitecture debuted in the market in 2019, that’s no surprise.
This leaked SKU at a $ 699.99 price will also come with 16 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD. That makes it$ 50 more expensive than the Steam Deck SKU with an equivalent 512 GB SSD.
Now, let’s put that in further perspective. Here are the prices of this ROG Ally, compared to the current generation consoles, handheld and home based alike.
- ROG Ally – $ 699
- Steam Deck 64 GB – $ 399
- Steam Deck 256 GB – $ 529
- Steam Deck 512 GB – $ 649
- PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – $ 399
- PlayStation 5 – $ 499
- Xbox Series S – $ 299
- Xbox Series X – $ 499
- Nintendo Switch Lite – $ 199
- Nintendo Switch V1/V2 – $ 299
- Nintendo Switch OLED – $ 349
As you can see, the ROG Ally is priced significantly higher than any game console, which is of course subsidized by the console manufacturer. However, it is very favorable pricing for what amounts to a Windows computer with the most powerful gaming CPU available in the market. It’s also notable that all these companies except Nintendo have AMD produce their APUs and CPUs.
It’s also considerably cheaper and better value than the panoply of bespoke Windows handhelds that emerged in the wake of the Steam Deck’s original announcement.
Examples of these would be the GPD Win 4, priced starting at $ 799, and the AYANEO Air Pro, coming in at $ 1049 and above. These devices were consistently more expensive than the Steam Deck, but were produced in smaller qualities, and were often delivered months later than promised. That’s because they came from smaller manufacturers, who may be enthusiastic, but lack the clout and manufacturing capacity of bigger companies, like ASUS, and ASUS’ partner, Microsoft.
The GPD Win 4 and Air Pro do still have other differentiating points that could give them a place in the market. For example, both devices are going to be smaller and lighter than both the Steam Deck and ROG Ally.
However, these products and manufacturers are facing an existential crisis, as they cannot compete with ROG on availability. Not to mention, the legitimacy afforded to them by being partnered with Microsoft.
And if the ROG Ally proves successful, other players could come into this nascent market as well. Dell could definitely brush off their Alienware UFO concept in a few months’ time. Razer, which just revealed their new Android based Edge handheld, might revisit their original Edge Windows tablet from all the way back in 2013.
Even Microsoft’s Surface team could take an interest in this market. They would not necessarily be coming in with an intent to dominate said market. Like they have done with their tablets and laptops, Surface could make a Windows gaming handheld to set a standard for OEMs to match or outdo.
Given that this information has come out on the Best Buy store itself, it seems highly likely that it’s all true and set to be confirmed in a matter of days. With all this said, ASUS’ ROG Ally is set to be the standard for PC gaming handhelds, Windows and SteamOS based alike, in the near future.
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