As it’s April fool’s day, Asus ROG handheld gaming PC might not be a joke. Read the entire article to learn about the entire story. Considering the date on the calendar and the lack of a price or other details, the first response to Asuss’s surprise announcing a handheld gaming machine is that this must be an April Fool’s day prank. Still, this Asus ROG Ally launch video is just a little too good to simply shake off. According to Asus, the Windows 11-powered ROG Ally has a customized Ryzen APU from AMD inside, like the Aerith SOC inside Valve’s Steam Deck, and Asus claims it is the fastest one from AMD yet.
ROG ALLY Handheld Gaming Console
The screen will provide ‘full HD gaming, and it promises a quiet dual-fan design along with the visible standard setup of dual analog sticks, a left-mounted D-pad, and four face buttons, plus a few smaller buttons around the screen to access the menu and settings. It even advertises the opportunity to experience Ally’sfull potential by plugging in the ROG XG Mobile eGPU the company offers for use with its gaming laptops while streaming your games to a TV.
Valve’s Steam Deck has the most successful attempt at making PC gaming a truly portable experience, as they are plenty of competitors, like the Ayaneo 2 or another switch-like machine from GPD and OneXPlayer. However, in our opinion, they’ve relied on an AMD 6800U chipset instead of a custom design and generally lack the right combination of horsepower and efficiency that we want to see from handheld gaming machines.
Moreover, the machine featured in the video looks fully designed and ready to roll out as a high-powered entry into the portable gaming market. It is more realistic than what Asus ROG posted on April Fools’ Day 2022. We all have to wait and see if this Ally handheld is still standing after the clock rolls over to April 2nd, but Asus certainly seems ready to face the Steam Deck in this category sooner or later. Lastly, thank you for being a patient reader.