ASUS just confirmed the release date and pricing for its ROG Ally. The handheld gaming console will cost a penny under $700 in the United States. Preorders are open now and systems will start shipping on June 13, 2023.
The specs of the console, which I'll touch on below, will likely be the deciding factor for many when considering their handheld console of choice. But I suspect that the price tag may be more important to quite a few buyers. The ROG Ally costs just $50 more than the Steam Deck it aligns best with. And for that price, you get quite a bit more.
The ASUS ROG Ally runs on an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor (a version with a Ryzen Z1 will ship later). It's the first device to ever be powered by that APU, so we'll have to wait for real-world testing to get an exact gauge of performance. But ASUS claims the ROG Ally will be able to handle the best PC games, including AAA titles at 1080p. Our full breakdown of the ROG Ally's specs sheds more light on the handheld console.
The 8.6 teraflops of graphics power the ROG Ally promises is impressive as well. AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution and AMD Radeon Super Resolution support should help games run smoothly on the system's 120Hz display.
The ROG Ally has a wider library of games than its main competitor, the Steam Deck. Since the ROG Ally was built for Windows 11, it runs Steam, the EA App, the Epic Games Store, and Xbox Game Pass.
All of that sounds nice on paper, but I want to know if people plan to purchase the ROG Ally. There appears to be a lot of interest in the device, but I'm curious to see if that's a passing curiosity due to the uniqueness of the Ally or a driving interest that leads to people handing over money for the portable PC.
Initial reports regarding battery life are not promising. Our managing editor Ben Wilson decided to hold off on buying an ROG Ally due to the console's battery life. That may be a common decision of potential buyers.
Let us know in this week's poll if you plan to purchase the ASUS ROG Ally. Then make sure to jump down into the comments to share your thoughts.
