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ASUS ‘ROG Ally’ Handheld Gaming PC is More than a PSP

By Shubhendu Vatsa - News Published:

What many thought to be just another April Fools Day prank by ASUS at first, has turned out to be the real deal. The company has confirmed that it’s currently hard at work on its debut handheld, dubbed the ROG Ally. While the facetious and somewhat ambiguous nature of the announcement led many to suspect the hardware to be just another April Fool’s shenanigan, ASUS seems in no mood to fool around. The official ASUS Twitter account confirmed its existence on April 3, teasing a few things about the handheld.

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The portable gaming PC market has witnessed a tremendous rise in recent years, which has only accelerated after the spectacular success of Valve’s Steam Deck. ASUS is jumping on the bandwagon as well with its own iteration that looks plenty powerful and stylish. The ROG Ally (A-lie, you can see why people couldn’t believe it at first) will be ASUS’ first-ever handheld device, targeting the high-end gaming handheld space.

The company is cutting no corners here and is fitting the device with the latest and greatest tech to help deliver the ultimate gaming experience on the go. ASUS has even teamed up with AMD to help design a “custom-make the fastest AMD APU yet” for its handheld that on paper is significantly more powerful than the Steam Deck, which is the current reigning champ on the market.

ASUS' 'ROG Ally'

Image: ASUS

While ASUS remained tight-lipped surrounding ROG Ally, it did mention that the system will run Windows 11, with the ability to connect an external GPU or a larger display. Per The Verge, well-known YouTuber Dave 2D even got his hands on an “early engineering sample,” revealing that ROG Ally will have a 7-inch touchscreen, with a 16:9 ratio 1080p display and a 120Hz refresh rate panel as compared to the Steam Deck’s 16:10 panel that only puts out 800p and 60Hz. ASUS’s handheld boasts a clean and slim design in the front as well as the back. The rear has just two buttons, some cooling vents and an RBG line work to complete the look.

As of writing, no official release dates or pricing has been revealed, although you can sign up at Best Buy for a notification when pre-orders go live.

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Shubhendu Vatsa
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Shubhendu Vatsa

Shubhendu Vatsa is an experienced reporter specialising in video game, eSports and technology coverage. A BTech IT graduate, Shubhendu has previously written for entertainment-based publications such as GiveMeSport, Touch, Tap, Play, Attack of the Fanboy, EssentiallySports, Twinfinite and The Load Out.

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