Be first or be best. For Asus, it has gone for the latter option when it comes to handheld gaming.
While gaming on the go was previously reserved for Nintendo Switch fans, last year’s Valve SteamDeck (built by the same team behind Half-Life games) changed all that. It put a powerful but portable PC in the hands of over a million people: along with some nice quality of life changes (such as bigger, more joy-stick-friendly menus and controls). It was a hit. And meant you could now play proper, full-blown PC games while out and about – with some caveats: it was big, it was bulky, and had lackluster screen.
Fortunately, Asus has now picked up the handheld gaming mantle and built the most powerful little PC we’ve ever seen. The ROG Ally comes with a gorgeous Full-HD screen, incredible performance, and huge storage capacity (it can also be attached to an external graphics card, to properly dial up the power). It runs most games on high-settings and can even be paired with your television and a controller for couch-friendly gaming. But where it really shines is outside the living room, as the boffins at Asus made this as portable and comfortable to use as possible.
The Ally can run just about any game possible, too; from emulated retro titles to the current crop of blockbuster titles; it supports the likes of Steam, Xbox Game Pass, Epic Games Store, and more. There’s also a special edition of Armoury Crate, which puts all your games in one place and lets you tinker under the hood (such as switching between battery saving and turbo performance modes).
Ultimately, the Asus ROG Ally lets you play any game, any time, anywhere. And without limits. What’s not to love about that.
Asus ROG Ally will be available on June 14, for AED2,699. Pre-orders start on June 1. For more information, head to rog.asus.com.