The just-announced ROG Ally is a new rival to Steam Deck, possibly the only real competitor given the gaming credentials of Asus, but for a while there it seemed too good to be true. The new hot PC handheld was teased on social media on April Fools’ Day, and most people glanced and assumed it was all an elaborate fake.
But no, Asus’ ROG Ally is real and it's spectacular. This despite the handheld's name literally telling us all it's 'a-lie'. Oh boy. It also reminds me a little of Tesla's Cybertruck. Partly because of the patchy announcement, but also due to its angular design that resembles Elon Musk's famously sharp e-truck. And, if I'm honest, the muddled bluster and chest-beating is a little Elon-like.
There's certainly room in the gaming space for a real rival to Steam Deck and the copy-cat PC handhelds, as well as the best games consoles around at the moment. With rumours of Nintendo Switch 2 spiralling, now really is the time for a new handheld.
Introducing ROG’s first gaming handheld console!Taking your PC games out of your gaming room is no longer a fantasy!Play wherever you are, whenever you want. With the #ROGALLY, you’ll never have to stop gaming again!Notify me 👉 https://t.co/ljc2GNN0UU#ROG pic.twitter.com/6iqyGbTGa4April 1, 2023
It wasn't just the date and timing that felt too good to be true, but also the ROG Ally simply looks good. Like too good. Not only does it feature that sharp, pointy design but has the neat detailing every PC gaming device needs; RGB lighting glows from beneath the thumb sticks and even the vents look thoughtfully placed and patterned.
Inside the ROG Ally is a teased new AMD CPU, the swish trailer announcing Asus has teamed up with chip manufacturer to “custom-make the fastest AMD APU yet”, taunting me with a new AMD Ryzen. This could put the ROG Ally ahead of Steam Deck, and somewhere inside Nintendo a design blueprint is being scrunched up.
After Asus had to claw back some trust by allowing two popular YouTubers, Dave2D and Linus Tech Tips, to get handsy with the console, we learn the ROG Ally will feature a sharp 1080p display with 120Hz refresh rates and Asus made the bold claim to the pair that this new handheld console will be twice as fast as Steam Deck.
If Asus can back up its claims and get over this weird and perplexing start the the ROG Ally could be one of the surprise hardware hits of the year. There's room for a disruptive and stylish games console in the PC handheld space, and this one has the looks and tech, I just need Asus to get serious.
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