What you need to know
- The high-end ASUS ROG Ally will cost $700, according to several reports and leaks.
- That version of the ROG Ally runs on the newly announced AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor.
- If ASUS does launch the ROG Ally at that price, it would make the handheld console only $51 more expensive than the high-end Steam Deck.
ASUS has been trickling out information about the ROG Ally for a few weeks, but a new type of drip is the source of the latest information about the handheld gaming console. Several leaks and reports state that the ROG Ally will launch for $699.99, and that's for the high-end model with a Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor and 512GB of storage.
SnoopyTech shared information about the console's price on Twitter. A screenshot of a Best Buy listing was also shared by Khumail Thakur. The Verge added authority to the reports as well. They spoke with gadget leaker Roland Quandt and were shown data that backs up the information.
The ROG Ally already looked like a promising gaming console with high-end performance. It runs on the newly announced AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor or the more modest but still impressive Ryzen Z1. Until now, the main question around the portable console was its price. Would ASUS be aggressive and compete with Steam Deck or charge a premium price for what appears to be a premium device?
If the leaks and reports are accurate, ASUS decided to take a direct shot at Valve. A price of $699.99 places the ROG Ally at just $51 more at the high end than the Steam Deck. There aren't any leaks at the moment regarding entry-level modes of the ROG Ally. ASUS could choose to continue its aggressive pricing by making the new handheld's low-end model near the price of the most affordable Steam Deck ($400).
| Model | Cores/Threads | Graphics | Cache |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme | 8/16 | 12 AMD RDNA 3 compute units | 24 MB |
| AMD Ryzen Z1 | 6/12 | 4 AMD RDNA 3 compute units | 22 MB |
While the hardware and pricing of the ROG Ally looks promising, we'll have to wait to see how it performs in the real world. ASUS shared figures about performance, including 8.6 teraflops of power, but those are under specific testing conditions. Once the handheld console makes its way to reviewers, we'll see how well it handles the best PC games.
We'll hear official word about the ROG Ally's price at an event on May 11, 2023.
