Asus ROG Ally: a prototype of the portable console is revealed on video

Asus having chosen April 1 to formalize its portable console ROG Ally, Internet users quickly believed in an April Fool’s joke, before the Taiwanese brand confirmed the imminent arrival of a portable console competing with the Steam Deck. If the few information communicated by Asus leave you wondering, many doubts remain. The youtubeur Dave2D however managed to get his hands on a prototype and lifts the veil on certain characteristics.

In order to propel the machine, Dave2D tells us that the chip equipping the ROG Ally would be an AMD Zen 4 RDNA 3 APU engraved in 4 nm, without giving more details. Hard to say if it’s good “of the most powerful AMD APU” as promised, but it should easily outperform the Zen 2 RDNA 2 chip that operates within the Steam Decks. On the storage side, the Asus ROG Ally reveals a WD SN740 512 GB SSD, a PCIe unit in M.2 2230 format, easily replaceable.

On the screen side, we are dealing with a 7-inch Full HD panel in 16: 9 format offering a brightness of 500 nits as well as a refresh rate of 120 Hz, particularly suitable for games requiring great fluidity. The other good news concerns the noise and the size of the machine. The youtuber announces that he measured 20 dB for the ROG Ally, facing a Steam Deck reaching 37 dB, which represents surprisingly quiet operation despite the presence of two fans. When it passed through our laboratories, we noted 40 dB at 30 cm distance for the Steam Deck.

Asus therefore sets the bar high and seems determined to surpass the Steam Deck on all fronts with its ROG Ally portable console. However, the bet is not won in advance.

Some reservations

Once past the excitement linked to the announcement and an enticing technical sheet for this type of device, some doubts prevent us from rejoicing fully.

First of all, its more compact format and its less prominent handles induce a less comfortable grip than with the Valve machine. In addition, the lack of a touchpad can be detrimental to players who swear by games that can’t do without a mouse. If the operating system, Windows 11, is more open and allows you to launch more games, the experience brings the ROG Ally closer to a real computer than to a handheld console.

On the other hand, if the screen in 16:9 format is intended to be more universal and remedies the unsightly black bands observed in many games, the move upmarket of the latter risks having a strong impact on autonomy. The Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel 120 Hz panel is naturally more energy-intensive than the modest 60 Hz 1280 x 800 px screen that equips the Steam Deck. For a portable console, however, autonomy is a determining criterion and it is not certain that players will be satisfied with the quality of the graphics alone to justify a lower autonomy than that of the Steam Deck. The AMD chip will therefore have to be particularly efficient to compensate for the overconsumption linked to the higher definition and refresh rate of the screen.

Finally, if nothing is yet official on the price side, it seems difficult for Asus to claim to compete with the Valve console, available from 419 €. On the other hand, Asus is counting on global marketing and is already counting on distribution with Best Buy, a major American electronics chain. If the market proves to be buoyant, it is highly likely that other brands will follow Valve and Asus. With this in mind, it is not forbidden to dream of a portable PlayStation 5 embedding the next AMD chips.