One year after the release of the ROG Ally, ASUS is preparing a new variant of its console, although there's no mention of a "version 2".
In the wake of Valve's Steam Deck, ASUS was one of the first "major manufacturers" to take the portable console route. Its ROG Ally model has been out for over a year and, once again following in Valve's footsteps, ASUS has just confirmed the forthcoming launch of a new version. As with the Steam Deck OLED launched to improve the Steam Deck without changing everything, there's no question of a complete overhaul of the console. However, the ROG Ally X does have some interesting arguments to put forward.
Main features of the ROG Ally X © ASUS
First and foremost, it seems clear that ASUS has extensively overhauled the internal organization of components in order, in particular, to resolve the problem of excessive heating at the microSD card reader. This reorganization has also led to a rethinking of the M.2 SSD slot, which is no longer a 2230 format model as on the ROG Ally, but a 2280 model. Longer, this SSD format is also much more common, as it's the one used in "classic" PCs. It will be easier to change and replace it for a larger capacity... even if ASUS has already made an effort with a basic 1TB SSD, compared with 512GB on the ROG Ally.
The console compared to its big sister © ASUS
Another change, and this one is perhaps even more remarkable: the ROG Ally X's built-in battery is rated at 80 Wh, i.e. exactly double that of the ROG Ally. Quite simply, this is the largest capacity on this type of product, and since the ROG Ally X will continue to be powered by the AMD Z1 Extreme APU, battery life should be considerably increased. RAM capacity (24 GB) and speed have also been revised upwards: we're talking about LPDDR5X-7500, which is more in line with the console's gaming objectives. It's worth noting that AMD's APUs have no video memory of their own: they have to make do with the system's RAM, so the faster the better.
Released in July, that's all there is to it! ASUS
ASUS has confirmed that the ROG Ally X will be available for $799. A higher price than the Steam Deck OLED, but still reasonable. We're disappointed, however, to see that the screen remains unchanged. It's still a 7" IPS panel, whereas the Steam Deck OLED features a 7.6" OLED panel. ASUS is betting more on autonomy than on image quality. We'll see if this pays off... and quickly, since release is scheduled for " sometime in July ".
