The Asus ROG Ally is real – and has better specs than Steam Deck

By Duncan Robertson
published

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...

ASUS ROG Ally announcement image on a white background
(Image credit: Asus)

Following an announcement on April Fools' Day that caused a healthy dose of disbelief, the Asus ROG Ally has been confirmed as a real handheld in development, which will look to take on the blossoming portable gaming PC market.

The ROG Ally ("a lie" - you can see why folks were confused) will run on Windows 11 and supposedly house a custom AMD APU that's dubbed to be the fastest on the market.

Compared to the Steam Deck, the ROG Ally looks like it will have superior specs, at least on paper. The Ally will have a 16:9, 1080p touchscreen display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Valve's popular handheld, on the other hand, can only boast 800p and 60Hz on a 16:10 display.

Regardless of the confusion, an official Asus Twitter account confirmed the handheld's existence on April 3rd.

See more

Of course, there's no accounting for taste, but the sleek and stylish white design seen in images contrasts distinctly from the Deck, as its vents, colorful line work, and front speakers all resemble the best Asus gaming laptops.

The ROG Ally will be the latest in a long line of portable gaming PCs to launch in recent years, as the Ayaneo 2, OneXPlayer 2, and Steam Deck have all made inroads into competing with the on-the-go capabilities on Nintendo Switch and mobile.

While details are still sparse at present, Asus has confirmed that it will run games from Steam and Xbox libraries, as well as other digital storefronts. 

ASUS ROG Ally reveal image on a purple background showing the intricate line work on the handheld's design

(Image credit: Asus)

Just as the Steam Deck can be fastened down to a more stationary setup with one of the best Steam Deck Docks, the Asus ROG Ally can be plugged into an external GPU, or connected to a larger display.

There are no confirmed release dates or prices yet, although one leak found on Reddit and reported by Insider Gaming states that the Ally will launch in two colors – Black and White – and in two storage capacity sizes. If the leak is to be believed, a 512GB model will cost $649, and a 1TB version will set you back $899.

This leak also suggests an October release date, and that the Ally will even support VR. Whether there is much validity to this remains to be seen, although we'd expect to hear more in the coming months. 

To sign up to hear more about the Asus ROG Ally, you can join the mailing list on the Asus website.

Looking for a more stationary setup? Check out the best gaming monitors, the best gaming chairs, and the best gaming desks.

Duncan Robertson
Duncan Robertson
Hardware Editor

Ever since playing Journey at the age of 15, I’ve been desperate to cover video games for a living. After graduating from Edinburgh Napier University with a degree in Journalism, I contributed to the Scottish Games Network and completed an Editorial Internship over at Expert Reviews. Besides that, I’ve been managing my own YouTube channel and Podcast for the last 7 years. It’s been a long road, but all that experience somehow landed me a dream job covering gaming hardware. I’m a self-confessing PlayStation fanboy, but my experience covering the larger business and developer side of the whole industry has given me a strong knowledge of all platforms. When I’m not testing out every peripheral I can get my hands on, I’m probably either playing tennis or dissecting game design for an upcoming video essay. Now, I better stop myself here before I get talking about my favourite games like HUNT: Showdown, Dishonored, and Towerfall Ascension.
Location: UK Remote