The Asus ROG Ally is a

handheld A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. Mod ...

gaming computer A gaming computer, also known as a gaming PC, is a specialized personal computer designed for playing PC games at high standards. They typically differ from mainstream personal computers by using high-performance graphics cards, a high core-co ...

developed and manufactured by

Asus ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (, , , ; stylized as ASUSTeK or ASUS) is a Taiwanese Multinational corporation, multinational computer, phone hardware and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan. Its products include deskto ...

as part of their

Republic of Gamers ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (, , , ; stylized as ASUSTeK or ASUS) is a Taiwanese multinational computer, phone hardware and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan. Its products include desktop computers, laptops, netb ...

(ROG) brand. Released on June 13, 2023, the device competes with

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...

Steam Deck The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming computer produced by Valve Corporation, designed to run a portion of games available on the Steam storefront client. Built upon the experiences gained from Valve's earlier ventures with Steam Machine and th ...

. The ROG Ally runs the

Windows 11 Windows 11 is a version of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, released on October 5, 2021, as the successor to Windows 10 (2015). It is available as a free upgrade for devices running Windows 10 that meet the #System requirements, Windo ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

and uses an

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a hardware and fabless company that de ...

Zen 4 Zen 4 is the name for a CPU microarchitecture designed by AMD, released on September 27, 2022. It is the successor to Zen 3 and uses TSMC's N6 process for I/O dies, N5 process for CCDs, and N4 process for APUs. Zen 4 powers Ryzen 7000 per ...

processor called the AMD Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme. In addition to handheld use, the ROG Ally can be connected to a TV or

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

through a

docking station In computing, a docking station, port replicator (hub), or dock provides a simplified way to ''plug-in'' a mobile device, such as connect common peripherals to a laptop, or charge a smartphone. Because a wide range of dockable devices—from mo ...

or a dongle and be used like a

desktop computer A desktop computer, often abbreviated as desktop, is a personal computer designed for regular use at a stationary location on or near a desk (as opposed to a portable computer) due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuratio ...

home video game console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. While initial consoles were dedicated units with only a few game ...

History

began developing a

in 2018 to compete with handheld computers such as the GPD Win 2. Development slowed down over the next few years but was accelerated after

's 2021 announcement of the

, which quickly led to a renewed public interest in handheld gaming computers. The device was announced on April 1, 2023, leading many to believe it was an

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

prank, with Asus clarifying its legitimacy three days later. Asus revealed the ROG Ally's release date, technical specifications and price on June 11, 2023. Two models were announced, one retailing for and implementing a Ryzen Z1 Processor, and another retailing for and implementing a Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor. The latter was released on June 13, 2023, and the former was released during the third quarter of 2023. At

Computex COMPUTEX Taipei, or Taipei International Information Technology Show (), is a computer expo held annually in Taipei, Taiwan. Since the early 2000s, it is one of the largest computer and technology trade shows in the world. The most recent COMP ...

2024, Asus announced the ROG Ally X, a high performance update of the Z1 Extreme model. It has 1 TB of NVMe storage, an M.2 2280 slot instead of M.2 2230, 24 GB of LPDDR5X-7500 RAM, a larger battery, and other improvements, priced at US$799. At the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, Asus and Microsoft announced the Xbox version of ROG Ally and Ally X, titled "

ROG Xbox Ally The ROG Xbox Ally is an upcoming Handheld PC, handheld gaming computer co-developed by Asus and Microsoft, and manufactured by Asus as part of the Republic of Gamers (ROG) and Xbox brands. A successor to the Asus ROG Ally, it will be released in ...

" and "ROG Xbox Ally X". The first Xbox-branded handheld gaming computer, it features the controller grips inspired by

Xbox Wireless Controller The Xbox Wireless Controller is the primary game controller for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S home video game consoles, also the official controller for use in Windows-based PCs, and compatible with other operating systems such as macOS, Lin ...

, dedicated Xbox button, impulse triggers (only for X model) and other Xbox-related features, and is powered by Ryzen Z2 AI Extreme and A processors. It is scheduled to be released in late 2025.

Hardware

The ROG Ally implements an

AMD APU AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), formerly known as Fusion, is a series of 64-bit microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), combining a general-purpose AMD64 central processing unit ( CPU) and 3D integrated graphics processing u ...

, based on AMD's

and

RDNA 3 RDNA 3 is a GPU microarchitecture designed by AMD, released with the Radeon RX 7000 series on December 13, 2022. Alongside powering the RX 7000 series, RDNA 3 is also featured in the SoCs designed by AMD for the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion ...

architectures. Two different models of the ROG Ally were released, one with a Ryzen Z1 processor and another with a Ryzen Z1 Extreme. The Z1 CPU runs a six-core/twelve-thread unit and the Z1 GPU runs on four

compute unit A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed for digital image processing and to accelerate computer graphics, being present either as a discrete video card or embedded on motherboards, mobile phones, personal co ...

swith a total estimated performance of 2.56

TFLOPS Floating point operations per second (FLOPS, flops or flop/s) is a measure of computer performance in computing, useful in fields of scientific computations that require floating-point calculations. For such cases, it is a more accurate measur ...

. The Z1 Extreme CPU runs an eight-core/sixteen-thread unit while its GPU runs on twelve compute units at an estimate of 8.6 teraflops. Both processors use variable timing frequencies, with the Z1 running between 3.2 and 4.9

GHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...

and the Z1 Extreme running between 3.3 and 5.1 GHz. The main unit of the Ally is designed for handheld use. It features a 7-inch touchscreen

LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liquid crystals do not em ...

display with a

1080p 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the sc ...

resolution and

variable refresh rate Variable refresh rate (VRR) refers to a dynamic display that can continuously and seamlessly change its refresh rate without user input. A display supporting a variable refresh rate usually supports a specific range of refresh rates (e.g. 30 Hertz ...

that goes from 48Hz up to 120 Hz. Controls resemble those of an

, including two thumbsticks, a directional pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, two shoulder buttons on each side, and two configurable buttons on the back of the unit.

Software

The ROG Ally ships with Windows 11 Home integrated with Armoury Crate SE, a software utility developed by Asus. Armoury Crate lets the user quickly configure thermal design power with several pre-adjusted presets, as well as change the

refresh rate The refresh rate, also known as vertical refresh rate, vertical scan rate or vertical frequency in reference to terminology originating with the cathode-ray tubes (CRTs), is the number of times per second that a raster-based display device displa ...

, screen resolution, limit

frame rate Frame rate, most commonly expressed in frame/s, or FPS, is typically the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (Film frame, frames) are captured or displayed. This definition applies to film and video cameras, computer animation, and moti ...

and adjust

clock rate Clock rate or clock speed in computing typically refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses used to synchronize the operations of its components. It is used as an indicator of the processor's s ...

s. Armoury Crate also acts as a game launcher, automatically compiling the user's game library from third-party launchers like

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

and

Epic Games Store The Epic Games Store is a video game digital distribution service and storefront operated by Epic Games. It launched in December 2018 as a software client, for Microsoft Windows and macOS, and online storefront. Android and iOS versions of t ...

. Although Windows 11 improved touchscreen support, some interactions can only be done using a mouse cursor. Due to this, Armoury Crate lets users emulate a mouse using the left joystick. The ROG Ally also ships with a three-month subscription to

Xbox Game Pass The Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service as part of Xbox and offered by Microsoft Gaming. Launched on June 1, 2017, the service allows users to download and play video games via video game consoles, Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, iPad ...

, a video game

subscription service The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a Product (business), product or Service (business), service. The model Publication by subscription, was pioneer ...

from

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Alternative operating systems

Some users opt to replace Windows 11 with

Bazzite Bazzite is a beryllium scandium cyclosilicate mineral with chemical formula ( or ). It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system typically as small blue hexagonal crystals up to 2 cm length. It has a Mohs hardness of 6.5–7 and a speci ...

, a Linux distribution optimized for handheld gaming devices such as the ROG Ally. It offers native support for Steam, Proton, and Flatpak-based game launchers, along with performance tweaks tailored for portable gaming PCs.

Reception

The initial response to the ROG Ally was mixed. Tony Polanco of ''

Tom's Guide ''Tom's Hardware'' is an online publication owned by Future plc and focused on technology. It was founded in 1996 by Thomas Pabst. It provides articles, news, price comparisons, videos and reviews on computer hardware and high technology. The s ...

'' described it as "solid but imperfect", complimenting its display and ergonomics but criticizing performance and battery life. In contrast to Polanco's review, Sean Hollister of ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...

'' praised the device's performance but criticized Asus' choice of

as an

, calling Windows "largely foreign" on a handheld form-factor. Writing for ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

'', Richard Leadbetter wrote: "Various issues conspire to lend the impression that the ROG Ally isn't fully baked quite yet, while the Windows underpinnings may well be a limiting factor that may never be overcome." A criticism highlighted by multiple reviews is the battery life. Hollister reported a 53-minute battery life playing '' The Last of Us Part I'' on the 25W TDP profile, while Kevin Purdy of ''

Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sci ...

'' measured an 88-minute life playing '' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'' on the 15W profile. Writing for ''

Windows Central Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was founded by Chris Anderson as ...

'', Rebecca Spear described battery life as "pretty atrocious", while Anyron Copeman of '' Tech Advisor'' commented that the device's fast 65W charging capability makes up for its poor battery life.

Controversy

At the ROG Ally’s release, reports of microSD cards, or in some cases the reader itself, were overheating and breaking. This is due to a design flaw where the reader is postitioned just above the left side of the cooling system. Asus acknowledged the issue in July 2023 and later extended warranty by 1 year and offered to reimburse customers the retail value of the damaged cards for US customers in May 2024. In May 2024, YouTube tech channel ''Gamers Nexus'' sent an ROG Ally in for warranty repair due to a faulty thumbstick. Asus denied the warranty repair, claiming that the thumbstick issue was due to "customer-induced damage". Furthermore, Asus demanded a repair fee of US$191.47 for replacement of the LCD panel and the top case because of a "small mark" on the casing, despite it not being related to the original issue that the device was sent in under warranty for. Asus also stated that it would send the device back to Gamers Nexus in a "disassembled state" if it did not pay the repair fee. Several days later, Asus honoured the warranty and performed the repair of the original issue under pressure from Gamers Nexus, as well as subsequently apologised for the poor service.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.asus.com/us/site/gaming/rog/gaming-handheld/rog-ally.html ROG Ally Computer-related introductions in 2023 Handheld gaming computers Products introduced in 2023 X86-based computers