The Asus ROG Ally will launch on May 11, fully equipped with the Ryzen Z1 Processor, which boasts fantastic performance, but there’s no news of pricing yet.
The Asus ROG Ally, a brand new competitor to the Steam Deck’s crown will launch globally on May 11 and is packing some serious heat. Underneath the sleek white and chunky aesthetic, is a new AMD APU that outpaces the custom one inside the Steam Deck.
Asus ROG Ally confirmed specifications
| Specs | Asus ROG Ally |
|---|---|
| APU | AMD Ryzen Z1 |
| Process | 4nm |
| CPU architecture | AMD Zen 4 |
| Cores | Threads | 6 | 12 |
| GPU architecture | AMD RDNA 3 |
| GPU clock speed | 2.8GHz |
| RAM | 16GB LPDDR5 |
| Storage | 512GB NVMe SSD (PCIe 4) |
| Display | 7-inch screen |
| Native resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz |
| Audio | Dual speakers with Dolby Atmos |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C, custom Asus PCIe port |
| Weight | 608g |
The ROG Ally is powered by the AMD Ryzen Z1 series processor, a new APU that brings Zen 4 architecture and RDNA 3 graphics to the handheld. RDNA 3 GPUs have already thoroughly impressed us, and seeing that the Steam Deck can handle most AAA games with some caveats on RDNA 2 at 30-60FPS, expect to see even more power on display here.
On top of this, there’s 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, adding an additional current generation boost to the system’s hardware.
The screen is a 1080p, 7-inch display at a 16:9 ratio. It can output up to 120Hz, with Freesync. While there’s little about the battery being mentioned, we assume that it’ll be a tight couple of hours of gaming before you have to charge.
Asus ROG Ally to support all Windows games
Asus is pitching this with the hashtag “PlayALLYourgames”, a true shot at Valve which is currently making great progress with Linux and Proton support for Windows games. This is emphasized in some of the marketing, as games that the Steam Deck is known to struggle with are featured.
To keep the Asus ROG Ally cool, the team has outfitted it with a dual fan system, along with its “Intelligent Cooling” to aim for a “zero distraction” gaming experience.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
The device will run Windows 11, alongside its “Armory Crate” system to allow you to gain better control over your games on the device.
It’s also a tad lighter than the Steam Deck’s 669g, coming in at 608g. This light portable handheld also sports dual speakers – with Dolby Atmos support – and an intriguing proposition of using an upgraded UHS-II card slot.
Upgradable storage
Asus is saying that it’s a MicroSD card slot in its marketing materials, but UHS-II for this format factor is limited. You’ll probably still end up with a microSD card that the Switch or Steam Deck uses until the hardware is more than just a couple of options.
The company has also highlighted that the ROG Ally will feature upgradable PCIe Gen4 storage, although we’re unsure at the moment what kind of size NVMe that is. For a device this size, we’d assume it’d be an M.2 sized at 2230 found inside the Steam Deck.
ROG Ally price to be announced later
Pricing and full confirmation of specs will be shown off on May 11, during the global launch. This is where we expect to learn more about the innards regarding storage.
We’re not expecting the system to be as low as previously rumored, but are expecting to see Asus take a small hit on pricing similar to Valve and the Steam Deck to ensure people get hold of the console.
