Asus to Launch ROG Ally Windows Gaming Handheld on May 11
- Laurent Giret
- Apr 26, 2023
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After Valve’s Steam Deck proved that playing native PC games in good conditions on a handheld device was possible, Asus may soon give Valve’s gaming handheld some serious competition. This week, the company announced the ROG Ally, a Steam Deck-like device that runs Windows 11.
The Asus ROG Ally is powered by AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Series processors. The new chips feature up to eight cores and 16 threads and use the company’s new Zen 4 architecture, combined with powerful RDNA 3 graphics. The ROG Ally will also offer up to 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512GB of PCIe Gen4 storage, upgradable with a MicroSD slot.
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Asus claims that these new AMD chips combined with its dual-fan system with ultrathin heatsink fins will allow the ROG Ally to “breeze through AAA games and indie titles with ease”. The 7-inch 1080p FullHD display also has a 120Hz refresh rate and supports AMD’s FreeSync technology.
The Asus ROG Ally will weigh just 608g, and it will offer Xbox-style controls. Users will be able to use the touchscreen to navigate the Windows 11 desktop environment, as this is indeed a full-fledged PC: That means native support for Steam and other PC game launchers, as well as PC Game Pass.
While it’s possible to install Windows 10 or Windows 11 on Valve’s Steam Deck, the Asus ROG Ally will be the first full-fledged Windows 11 gaming. There are no details about pricing or battery life yet, but Asus will share more details about the ROG Ally during its launch event on May 11, 2023 at 10AM ET.