Asus company Republic of Gamers (ROG) has revealed hardware specs and price options, as well as a release date, for all the different versions of its high-tech Windows gaming handheld, the ROG Ally. All the updates came in a special launch event held today, where ROG broke down what fans can expect come launch. For starters, players looking for PC gaming on the go will have a few options when they head out to purchase their own ROG Ally, but the prices are pretty steep.
The least expensive version of the device is the AMD Ryzen Z1 (up to 2.8TFlops 512G PCIe Gen 4 SSD), which comes in a $599 but has no release date and is only expected to come to Best Buy in Q3 2023. The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme (supports up to 8.6TFlops 512G PCIe Gen 4 SSD), on the other hand, comes in at $699 and will release at Best Buy June 13, with preorders opening today. So, if you just can’t wait to see what the Windows handheld device can do, you’ll need to shell out an extra $100 to get it as soon as possible. Both versions of the console also come with three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as a small bonus.
ROG used today’s event as an opportunity to really sell players who are still on the fence when it comes to the ROG Ally. It’s extremely customizable hardware, with players able to remap nearly every button with up to two functions each. The deadzone and range of the joysticks can also be tinkered with, with the triggers able to be adjusted for those looking to make every weapon feel responsive and unique. The ROG Ally furthermore features haptic feedback and RGP rings around the joysticks.
ROG’s device is meant to be an all-in-one system that lets players play what they want from any platform like Steam, the Epic Games Store, Xbox Game Pass, etc., and it even supports many mobile games. The ROG Ally also supports more casual activities like browsing Netflix and YouTube. It’s all viewable on the 7” touchscreen, which supports 1080p 120HZ. Unfortunately, running just about any game you can imagine with all of these fun features means the ROG Ally’s battery life isn’t too long. ROG estimates that the ROG Ally will support “heavy gaming” in performance for up to two hours and up to six hours for those simply browsing Netflix and YouTube.
Whether the ROG Ally will be able to compete with Valve’s Steam Deck remains to be seen, but you can judge the new device for yourself in today’s presentation below, where all the prices and release date were first revealed.