The ASUS Rog Ally’s price and release date were revealed overnight, alongside its first drop of reviews.
So far, it’s mostly positive, when compared to the Steam Deck, with some key differences. At lower power modes, the Steam Deck still manages to perform much better than the Rog Ally.
When you crank it up to higher power modes, the Rog Ally obviously far outpaces the Steam Deck for performance, but then there’s a draw on battery life, which reviews lamented for being around an hour when running at those higher performance modes.
Reviews called out the display as being particularly better as well with its 1080p/120hz specs, and they also called out Windows 11 as being great for functionality.
ASUS ROG ALLY REVIEWS
The Verge said: “it’s a powerful gaming machine for $700, one that just needs a power outlet and a mouse and keyboard nearby to reach its full potential. In fact, I could see some people using this as their only desktop that occasionally transforms into a couch-locked gaming machine: I spent two full days working from the Ally, writing posts for The Verge and the vast majority of the story you’re reading now while plugged into almost all the external monitors and peripherals I use with my normal desktop gaming PC. ”
Wired said: “I’d like to say that the Ally is worth the pain. And if you have to play games that aren’t on Steam, then it might be, simply because it’s your only option. But the Ally feels half-baked, even compared to the Steam Deck when it came out. Perhaps future software updates can remove some of the Ally’s jank, but you can’t patch out Windows.”
PC Mag said: “All told, the $699.99 price is reasonable, and we recommend the Ally to those intrigued, with some minor caveats. It’s a legitimate alternative to a gaming laptop if you’re considering one, and the form may fit into your life better than a laptop. Asus succeeded here, even if that is a qualified success, and some continued software improvements—and of course, personalized DIY additions—could make the Asus ROG Ally a real hit for you.”
Tech Advisor said: “With the ROG Ally, Asus has taken handheld console gaming to the next level, but with it highlighted the compromises still needed in the category.”
