ASUS unveils ROG Ally

ASUS has officially announced the ROG Ally The ROG Ally Like the Steam Deck OLED, the Ally However, it does bring some changes. Mainly improvements in key areas where the first handheld struggled.

In fact, the improvements that have been made all seem to address consumer pain points. For example, the microSD card slot has been updated. After the launch of the ROG Ally last year, many users experienced problems with the microSD reader. For many users, the microSD card would pop out of the slot randomly.

ASUS later acknowledged these issues and said it was caused by overheating. Note that certain thermal conditions may cause the microSD reader to malfunction. This was clearly a problem, as games get large and the internal storage on ROG Ally can fill up quickly. So naturally, people would turn to microSD cards for extra storage space. ASUS updating this with the ROG Ally Even if it’s not a major hardware upgrade. Now ASUS has also removed some things. Namely the XG Mobile port for connecting ASUS’ external GPU dock.

Instead there are two USB-C ports, one of which is USB 4 with Thunderbolt support. So you can still connect an external GPU dock. Just not the XG Mobile.

The ROG Ally

Let’s talk about upgrades because the ROG Ally The first is RAM. The ROG Ally offers 16 GB of RAM, which is certainly suitable for gaming on a handheld PC. However, more RAM is never a bad thing. Both the ROG Ally and ROG Ally X use the same chipset. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme. However, this is an APU and that means the video RAM is shared with the system RAM. ASUS has increased the RAM on the ROG Ally

It’s a major upgrade because games these days can suck up VRAM like there’s no tomorrow. If you have 24 GB at your disposal, you can adjust the graphics settings slightly so that games look a little better and run smoother.

More space for more games

In addition to the RAM, the ROG Ally X now also comes with much more storage space. 512GB in the ROG Ally is fine and certainly sustainable for some gamers. But many will need or want more. Without it, you end up having to do this dance of deleting games you’re not currently playing to make room for new ones. And the cycle continues. ROG Ally

Play longer without plugging in

Another improvement is the battery life. The ROG Ally can realistically deliver around 95 to 100 minutes of battery life when playing games on the 15W profile. Even less if you play at 25W. ASUS says the 80Wh battery in the ROG Ally So if you were getting an hour and a half in a given game on the ROG Ally, the ROG Ally

However, ASUS does not show any hard figures or details. It simply says that the battery life is double what it used to be. And if that’s true, that’s a huge improvement.

Better thermals and ergonomics are also present

Remember the microSD reader problem and the cause of it is the device overheating? Well, the ROG Ally ASUS says the ROG Ally According to the company, fans now push up to 24% more air through the vents. Another thing that has been upgraded is the ergonomics. On the ROG Ally, the bottom of the handheld had these sharp angular corners. Not sharp because if you are not careful they would stick into your hands and pierce the skin. But sharp because they were very defined angle lines.

For some, this made holding the device less comfortable during longer sessions. On the ROG Ally Because those same corners are less sharp corners and slightly more rounded curves. The other ergonomic improvement is the back of the handles. The ROG Ally didn’t have much to hold on to. These grips where your fingers sit are more pronounced on the ROG Ally

ASUS has also updated some controls. The buttons on the back have been adjusted slightly to account for the slightly larger bump on the handles, and the face inputs all have adjustments. Particularly the joysticks that respond better than before. The D-pad has also been updated.

Prices and availability

You may be thinking that with some of these notable upgrades, the device will surely cost more. And you would be right. ASUS prices the ROG Ally X at $799. This is compared to $699 for the ROG Ally. However, for more storage and RAM, this is to be expected. As for availability, that’s already possible pre-order the ROG Ally at Best Buy. However, there is no official release date yet. You can also sign up to be notified of the launch via the official ROG Ally.