Turns out the Asus Rog Ally is an actual Steam Deck alternative, because the component giant just confirmed it is not an April Fool’s Day prank. Not only will the hand held gaming PC run Windows 11, but you may have the ability to attach it to top-of-the-line graphics card options to provide it an actual desktop performance boost.
The news of the rival Asus Rog Ally Steam Deck got here on an unlucky day, but that was the corporate’s plan from the start. When you concentrate on it, revealing a “too good to be true” product on a day of disbelief is smart since it makes a terrific double bluff. That’s to not say the brand new handheld guarantees anything fictitious, nevertheless it does have a number of things that would shake up the hand held gaming scene.
For starters, Asus says it has worked with AMD to provide Rog Ally “AMD’s fastest APU yet.” We’re still waiting for the official specs to land, nevertheless it could mean it wields a “Little Phoenix” chip that we consider was intended for Steam Deck 2. This perhaps allows Asus to boldly claim it’s going to bring “true PC performance to your life on the move” despite the fact that Valve’s mobile device probably already does.
The handheld’s promotional trailer also claims to supply smooth “Full HD” gameplay, suggesting it’s going to be armed with a 1080p screen. What’s more, Asus says you may have the ability to play under the sun, which implies it could include anti-glare features that can outlast the 512GB Steam Deck model.
Like a Valve handheld paired with the perfect Steam Deck dock, you may have the ability to attach your Rog Ally to the massive screen. However, as a substitute of pairing the hand held with a docking station, the teaser says it’s going to work with the Rog XG Mobile – an eGPU case that means that you can connect a full-fledged graphics card to compatible laptops and an upcoming mobile device.
This alone will give it a hybrid advantage over each Valve’s handhelds and consoles just like the Nintendo Switch, as “docked mode” will increase frame rates. However, the newest Rog XG Mobile eGPU case costs a staggering $1,999, so the setup is removed from the identical price as a Steam Deck and dock combo.
Given the Asus Rog Ally’s premium vibe, the hand held itself will likely cost significantly greater than a Steam Deck. Other portable Windows-based Steam Deck alternatives just like the Onexplayer Mini cost $1229, so it won’t be a contender on price. That said, Asus’ track record of the perfect space for gaming laptops should help it gain a slice of the portable PC market, which could enable it to create cheaper models in the longer term.
In fact, if Asus successfully enters the hand held highlight, there is no reason why a SteamOS version of Rog Ally shouldn’t follow. Valve said they’re open to the concept of developers creating their very own decks, and it could make my dream of a modular Steam Deck 2 more real. Of course, we’ll should test the Rog Ally first-hand before we all know if the corporate has anything truly recent to supply, so keep a watch out for more details.
