A teaser video for the new ROG Ally handheld gaming PC appeared and got the world briefly too excited about OLED screens and a massive spec increase for the ROG Ally 2. As it happened the video reveal didn’t turn out to be that at all, instead, we got to welcome the ROG Ally X – a mid-generation iteration the likes of which Apple perfected with its S addition to the iPhone range.
Republic of Gamers (ROG) isn’t the only company to do this, they are all on board with it now. Valve’s Steam Deck got a spec bump that also included a gorgeous OLED screen for more or less the same price, but that will not be happening here.
Now don’t get me wrong, I owned an original ROG Ally for a period of time earlier in the year and ended up selling it on to a better home as I wasn’t using it enough, but it was great while I had it, but when I did the battery life wasn’t sufficient for my needs. This is a problem that faces all these devices. Valve, alongside the new screen, managed to get more battery life in its machine and now Asus is doing the same with the Rog Ally X. So what do we know about the device before its official unveiling at the start of June?
What is the Asus ROG Ally X?
Well, if you are an owner of the ROG Ally Steam Deck competitor you could well be asking that question. In the main, the specs are very similar to the Extreme version of the original – which in the main was the only version anybody bought rather than the under-specced lower-price model.
The screen remains the same, albeit lovely-looking but not an OLED 7” model, with a 120Hz refresh rate, and the brain is still the Ryzen Z1. So what, beyond the black shell we have so far seen has actually changed – oh, and the price, which we don’t know yet but know it will be higher.
For an announcement there was a distinct lack of any new specs – they are coming next month. We know the battery – and this is a big one – is getting an increase of “way more than 40%”, which from memory was the figure quoted by Valve on the Steam Deck refresh. The less traditional “way more than” method of measuring is much underused in the tech industry these days.
We didn’t get any images either – “roll the clip” said the presenter before a five-second three-word video on a black screen played. It was a bit… odd.
Another change you likely won’t notice is the positional moving of the SD card storage expansion slot, much maligned by users who said its proximity to the exhaust fans constantly blowing hot air over the SD cards was causing them to fail. Asus never accepted that was an issue. Anyway, the slot is now moved, so whether it was a problem or not, it should not be anymore. The movement of this and other internals has allowed Asus to fit the larger battery so it’s a win on all counts.
But that is kinda it for now. We don’t have any new specs. We don’t know whether it will have more RAM or base storage. We do know, as I pleaded for yesterday that the launcher software Armor Crate is being overhauled, but hopefully, with that just being software it will come to the original Allly too. It would be a travesty if it didn’t.
The ROG Ally is a great machine already but it is more expensive than the Steam Deck. As much as I want extra battery life, I can’t see myself jumping on board at a higher price for a longer playtime.
I am not a fan of mid-term iteration leaps anyway, it’s only a year since the original was announced, and if I have spent over $600 on something I want it to last longer than that. I know Apple does it all the time, but I don’t upgrade yearly because of my contract so it affects me less and I don’t feel any FOMO.
Is that unreasonable?
