Valve's Steam Deck shook up the world of portable gaming by offering a powerful gaming computer in handheld form, and the ROG Ally from ASUS is now following in its footsteps. Like the Steam Deck, the ROG Ally follows a reasonably similar form factor to the Nintendo Switch but focuses on a PC game library and more intense graphical capabilities. Although Valve and ASUS's competing products share a lot of elements with each other, the ROG Ally has its own unique advantages and disadvantages when compared with the Steam Deck.
Initially announced on April 1, 2023, ASUS played the reveal of the ROG Ally as an April Fools' joke before confirming that the product was actually intended for launch. The announcement that the major retailer Best Buy would carry the product made it clear that plans for the ROG Ally position it as a major venture for ASUS. With the $699.99 version that will be available on June 13, the launch edition of the ROG Ally carries a slightly heftier price tag than the most expensive variant of the Steam Deck. A comparison between the ROG Ally and Steam Deck helps reveal whether that cost will be worth it for gamers.
The ROG Ally Is More Powerful Than The Steam Deck
The biggest sell for the ROG Ally comes in the form of its graphical capabilities. The launch version of the ROG Ally makes use of an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Processor, a powerful chip with the capability to outstrip the custom AMD Zen 2 processor found in the Steam Deck at higher power draws. A more capable screen takes advantage of the resulting performance boost, with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1920x1080p resolution that easily shows up the 60Hz 1280x800 Steam Deck screen. The ability to crank up the settings without an exorbitant increase in price puts the ROG Ally in a sweet spot as a handheld Steam Deck competitor.
How ROG Ally Hardware And Software Compare To The Steam Deck
Although the ROG Ally and Steam Deck have similar form factors overall, their physical differences go beyond the processor and screen. One big difference comes in the ROG Ally's removal of trackpads, which the Steam Deck offers as an alternative for games and software optimized for mouse input. The ROG Ally is a bit slimmer and lighter overall, with a control scheme that resembles a standard Xbox gamepad. Quieter fans can make for more comfortable gaming on the go, although making full use of the system's graphical capabilities might wear down the 40-watt-hour battery more quickly.
On the software end, the choice between the devices is largely preference. Although the Steam Deck runs on Valve's proprietary SteamOS software, the ROG Ally opts for a Windows 11 platform. The biggest advantage that this offers is an increase in game and software availability, allowing s to easily Windows programs without dual booting Windows on a Steam Deck or checking compatibility. On the other hand, the lack of a proprietary OS makes some software features less intuitive. SteamOS provides a more seamless experience, while the ROG Ally opens up the options available to s without requiring special effort.
In many ways, the ASUS ROG Ally and Steam Deck are more alike than different. The $699 ROG Ally and $649 Steam Deck each feature 512GB of storage, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and 7-inch screens in slightly different aspect ratios. Players looking to save a bit more can purchase $399 and $529 versions of the Steam Deck with concessions made on storage, while a $599 version of the ROG Ally will downgrade its processor when it reaches the market later this year. Regardless of which device players choose, the ROG Ally makes it obvious that a serious competitor to the Steam Deck has arrived.
Source: ROG Global/YouTube
