Asus ROG Ally, which was initially an April Fool’s prank, is now a serious contender for the Steam Deck.
The company has not officially launched the device (coming on May 11th), but leaked information confirms that it will offer a more powerful AMD chip than the Steam Deck – at a lower price.
A serious competitor to the Steam Deck
According to the leaked details (via The Verge), the high-end version of ROG Ally will cost $699 and comes with AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The AMD Ryzen Z1 version could be priced between $300 to $400. Making it a worthy competitor for the Steam Deck.
The device boasts a 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate display, and Windows 11 support. We’ll have to wait until May 11 to see if the price and specs are accurate, but the ROG Ally could give Steam Deck a run for its money.
Let’s not forget AMD
This is both an Asus and an AMD story. The custom Zen 2 + RDNA 2 chip, developed by AMD, was essential to achieve the balance of performance and battery consumption in the Steam Deck.
With the upcoming AMD Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme chips, AMD is looking to increase performance levels even further. The goal is to provide graphical performance closer to that of a console. Notably, it is about enabling high frame rates for demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077. This dedicated chip from AMD could lead to the development of more handheld PCs in the future.
Valve wins, in any case
Valve doesn’t lose out from Asus potentially releasing a more powerful device. It supports Valve’s aim of creating more demand for PC games that work well with controllers and smaller screens. Valve also benefits financially from the success of the ROG Ally as Steam is a popular storefront for Windows games.
The Steam Deck’s purpose was always to generate discussion. Valve CEO Gabe Newell stated that the Steam Deck would “clearly establish a product category that ourselves and other PC manufacturers are going to be able to participate in.”
The Asus ROG Ally is likely just the beginning of many interesting responses to Valve’s initiative.
