ASUS ROG has dropped the full spec sheet for the Ally, its upcoming handheld PC, along with details on a showcase to unveil all its hidden secrets. Based on the spec sheet, which we’ll get into below, the ROG Ally is a device ASUS is clearly hoping will cut a bit of the Steam Deck’s grass.
The showcase will be held on May 11 at 10:00 AM ET in the US. For Aussies on the east coast, that’s 12:00 AM AEST on May 12. Though it dropped the full spec sheet earlier today, ASUS says there will be many more reveals during the presentation. At the time of writing, it has not officially confirmed availability in Australia, though Kotaku Australia has heard the hardware maker’s local arm is preparing for a local launch.
The handheld is set to compete with directly with Valve’s dominant Steam Deck, which remains officially unavailable in the Australian market. Though grey importers have embraced that device at inflated prices to capitalise on Aussies tired of waiting for Valve to get its arse in gear, the Steam Decks’ Australian footprint remains small and out of reach for most. That creates a significant hole in the market for competitors looking to secure a market beachhead. Scuttlebutt around the ROG Ally is that ASUS is planning to adopt a price point considerably cheaper than that of the Steam Deck (though still above other handhelds like the Aya Neo) in hopes of gaining a foothold.
In terms of spec, ASUS confirmed all earlier this morning, revealing a surprisingly beefy little device. Take its processor, the recently-released AMD Z1 APU, reportedly comparable in power to the Zen 4 79840 chip with Radeon 780M graphics, if Dexerto is to be believed. Previous looks at the device have also shown it hooked up to the external ASUS XG eGPU, though that comes with a trade-off — a shot of extra graphical grunt at the cost of chaining an otherwise portable device to a desk.
ASUS ROG Ally spec sheet
Let’s take a look at the spec sheet, and then we’ll get into where you can catch the broadcast:
APU: AMD Ryzen Z1
Process: 4nm
CPU Architecture: AMD Zen 4
Cores | Threads: 6 | 12
GPU Architecture: AMD RDNA 3
GPU Clock Speed: 2.8GHz
RAM: 16GB LPDDR5
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD (PCIe 4)
Display: 7-inch screen
Native Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Refresh rate: 120Hz
Audio: Dual speakers with Dolby Atmos
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C, custom ASUS PCIe port
Weight: 608g
Where to see the ASUS ROG Ally showcase in Australian times
ACT, NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC
12:00 AM AEST on Friday, May 12, 2023
NT, SA
10:30 PM ACST on Thursday, May 11, 2023
WA
10:00 PM AWST on Thursday, May 11, 2023
NZ
2:00 AM NZST on Friday, May 12, 2023
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