ASUS ROG Ally Release Date, Price, And Reviews Point To A Steam Deck Rival

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Following the success of the Nintendo Switch and Valve's Steam Deck, more and more hardware manufacturers are taking portable gaming seriously. The ASUS ROG Ally was announced earlier this spring as a powerful vapor pad option, but questions remain as to whether it can compete on price and platform. More important ASUS ROG Ally reviews and information, including the flagship model's price and release date, are available today.

ASUS today confirmed that the ROG Ally high-performance Z1 Extreme APU chip will start at $699, while the entry-level performance model using the standard Z1 will start at $599. There are many features that this device has to offer, but in short: it's amazing for the money. The Z1 Extreme version has a 7-inch 1080p 120Hz display, 512GB of fast NVME storage, smaller size and weight than the Steam Deck, Windows 11, up to two hours of playback on a single charge, and a docking station.

You can't imagine how advanced the technology is with this thing. You need to study the details of Steam Deck to get the full picture. So, consider this introduction to what ASUS ROG Partners means.

© PC Invasion Asus Rog Ally PC Release Date Price Comparison Steam Floor

Image via ASUS

Ally is powered by an AMD Z1 Extreme APU chip that easily outperforms Steam Deck and Switch in most games. If you use the right settings, ROG Ally can play modern AAA games at 1080p and 60 frames per second. There will also be plenty of opportunities to play simple old games at 120 frames per second on this handheld.

When you start comparing prices, it's basically a $50 premium over the original Steam for a much better device. Optimization is important, and it's fair to say that Steam Deck tends to compete with competitors in some games' benchmarks.

© PC Invasion Amd Z1 Extreme Rog Ally FPS Performance Benchmark

Image on AMD

Don't just look at the user experience that Steam Deck seems to win. Steam Deck runs on SteamOS and benefits from seamless integration with the Steam Store. This makes Steam Deck more accessible to those used to the console experience. The downside of this raffle is the lack of support for apps like Game Pass, Epic Games Store, and other apps that aren't supported through Steam. You should use Windows on Steam Deck as a solution to install a second OS and then solve problems with unofficial media.

Valve is also not only about the hardware, but also about the overall product experience. While the Steam Deck offers a touchpad designed for SteamOS, Ally's touchscreen doesn't offer good input controls and can be difficult to use at times. Valve also makes it easy to swap out your Steam Deck and order replacement parts if something goes wrong. You can add an SD card to the accessories to expand storage, but ASUS hasn't included useful user support and repair capabilities at this point, which begs the question of what to do if something breaks.

Ally officially runs on Windows 11 and features the ASUS Armory Crate management app for launching games and more. ASUS has worked with Microsoft to improve the handheld experience, though reviews say the user experience is lacking compared to SteamOS. However, Ali is compatible with Game Pass and many viewers like it.

Now, there's a strong case for Nintendo to compete from wearables, not to mention reinventing itself if it's to maintain its mobile supremacy with its outdated Switch hardware.

ROG Partners. A real steam bridge killer!