Asus Rog Ally in the test: This is how good the powerful Steam Deck and Switch alternative with Windows 11 is

Since Nintendo released the Switch, various manufacturers have flooded the gaming market with new handhelds. No wonder: After all, the Switch is a real console hit that makes flops like the Nintendo Wii U forgotten.

1. More performance than Steam Deck

2. A little difficult to hold with one hand

3. Fun brake touchscreen with Windows 11

   1. This is how you can close a game

4. Playing with Asus Rog Ally

5. Suitable as a handheld retro machine

6. Noise and heat

7. Conclusion

Other companies also want to get a tan from the Switch’s sunny success story and are supplying their own handhelds. Some of them are devices with emulators for playing retro games, others have access to the Google Play Store and play mobile games.

A special category, however, is that of PC handhelds. The best-known variant is Valve’s Steam Deck, but Asus wants to have a say and has released an even more powerful handheld in the form of Asus Rog Ally.

More performance than Steam Deck

You can get Steam Deck from just 419 euros, Asus charges significantly more for Rog Ally: 799 euros. That’s a clear difference, but the Asus handheld delivers more performance and includes Windows 11 and you can sometimes get Rog Ally with a discount for around 700 euros.

Rog Ally is powered by an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor with a clock speed of up to 5.1 gigahertz. 16 gigabytes of RAM accompany the 512 gigabyte SSD and the AMD Radeon graphics unit with a clock frequency of up to 2.7 gigahertz and 8.6 teraflops of performance. The device plays back the games it has started on a 7-inch Full HD screen with a 120 Hertz refresh rate.

That sounds impressive on paper, but let’s take a look at Rog Ally in a practical test.

A little difficult to hold with one hand

Measuring 28 centimeters wide and 11.1 centimeters high, the Asus Rog Ally looks monstrous in both hands. At 608 grams, the handheld is slightly lighter than Steam Deck (669 grams). The dimensions are close to the Steam Deck. It’s easy to grip, but the device quickly becomes heavy if you hold it with one hand and use the touch screen with the other.

This happens often because you navigate through Windows 11 and unfortunately it doesn’t always work intuitively and can sometimes be cumbersome. We miss a mouse and a keyboard instead of touch operation for speed and precision. On the competitor Lenovo Legion Go, for example, the removable controllers can be used as a mouse replacement.

Fun brake touchscreen with Windows 11

If we start Asus Rog Ally and set up the device, we feel as if we were setting up a new PC and setting up an operating system. That is definitely the case. So you should plan some time to set up the PC handheld. There are several windows to navigate through, but after a while everything is sorted out and you’re good to go.

Asus Rog Ally in the test

Rog Ally isn’t exactly a gem. This is how massive the handheld looks in photos.

Once you get to the desktop, you get a PC feeling. There is also a taskbar here, in which the Xbox Game Pass and Rog Ally’s own gaming platform “Armory Crate SE” are located. In Armory Crate SE you can add games from different platforms, whether they are loaded from Game Pass or Steam. A platform that displays all PC games is pretty practical, but after the first few sessions there are hurdles that we don’t know from the competition.

This is how you can close a game

Simply closing a running game can be a challenge. If it’s not possible to exit the game from the main menu, things get a little tricky. It’s not enough to press the Armory Crate SE button to the right of the display, because the game in the library can’t be easily closed like on a PS5, Switch or Xbox Series X.

We close it by calling up a desktop view via a hotkey (press right backspace + right d-pad) and push away the desktop with the running game. Steam Deck and Switch are not that complicated. Asus Rog Ally is further away from a console experience than many might think. The navigation and operation can definitely be learned, but it is rather cumbersome. Hitting Windows icons like folders with touch controls is sometimes a challenge. Holding the device with one hand and controlling it with the other hand can be annoying.

After all, a button on the left side of Rog Ally allows you to change not only the performance mode, but also the control concept. If you switch from gamepad to desktop mode, you can navigate a little better with a mouse cursor.

Playing with Asus Rog Ally

Once the navigation hurdles have been overcome and the game is running, the fun begins. On Asus Rog Ally you can enjoy many games with low latency. The Full HD screen with 120 Hertz displays games really well and the control via the analog sticks works properly.

Only the control pad is a bit disappointing. Inputs in fighting games, for example, are much more difficult than on normal console controllers. Admittedly, the Switch’s control pad isn’t convincing either.

The Asus Rog Ally plays more performance-hungry games like Halo Infinite or Far Cry 6 well, and thanks to the Full HD display, the strengths of the hardware come into their own here. The device is a big step ahead of Steam Deck, even if navigation is easier on the Valve handheld.

Unfortunately, turn-based strategy titles like Battletech don’t control well with Rog Ally. This is more pleasant on the Steam Deck, because most game fans don’t want to switch between desktop and gamepad controls for every game or have to remember what the key assignments are for this or that title.

In the test, it was annoying to have to figure out how to control a strategy game with the handheld. If you prefer games like this, it’s better to play on a desktop PC or a notebook.

Suitable as a handheld retro machine

Thanks to Windows, you can set up the Asus Rog Ally as a retro machine like a Windows desktop PC and play various classics on the go. With consoles, a jailbreak would sometimes be necessary and that is fraught with risks.

Noise and heat

The operating volume can certainly be higher, but we remember Steam Deck being even louder. There is no excessive heat on the device and the performance mode can also be adjusted. Without a connected power supply, the battery lasts about one and a half to three hours when gaming and using Windows.

It’s a shame that there is only one USB-C port. An HDMI port or a docking station for connecting to the television would have been nice. Those interested may be able to find a solution with an adapter or a docking station from a third-party manufacturer.

Asus ROG Ally: release, price, technology

Editorial rating 7.4 Reader Rating

No ratings yet

NETZWELT may receive a commission from the retailer for links on this page. More info.

Transparency note: Asus has provided Netzwelt with a test sample.

Don’t agree? Are you looking for suitable alternatives? We have an extensive list of Asus ROG Ally: release, price, technology alternatives available for you in our console overview.