More companies are beginning to see there is a market for a PC gaming handheld, with Asus planning to release the ROG Ally. Initially, this seemed like an April Fools joke but it turned out to be real.
For the GamingOnLinux readership it might not be exactly what you're going to instantly sign up for, since it will be coming with Windows 11, but it's interesting to see more companies jump in and no doubt after a while Linux drivers will appear like they do for pretty much everything. We may even see Valve support it with their eventual release of SteamOS 3.
Coming in a bit smaller than the Steam Deck with no touchpads, it will limit what you're able to play a bit more but it will have a 16:9 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a custom AMD APU they claim is the "fastest yet", a dual-fan design and eGPU support. Asus claim it will offer double the performance on the Steam Deck but they're not giving out any tech specs or battery life details.
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Asus are a much bigger name than the likes of AYANEO, GPD and Onexplayer so they could potentially offer prices a bit lower since they're likely able to take on a bit more of the costs. Naturally though, they will still have to price it at a point where it makes enough money to be profitable to a point where it makes sense, so I still expect it to be a fair bit higher than the Steam Deck pricing since they can't make up for it by the 30% cut Valve get from Steam games.
LinusTT and Dave2D managed to take a look at it:
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They're only prototypes right now, so there's of course every chance that Asus don't actually end up releasing it but given how far along it is, I imagine they will. You can follow it on Best Buy if you want to be notified of when it's available, no word yet on availability in various regions.
Given how Valve have clearly said there's no planned Steam Deck refresh for some time, as they're waiting for it to be truly worth it, this is the closest I've been to believing it has some real competition. It all depends on the price.
What do you think about this?
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Quoting: fabertaweMy original EeePC is 16 years old and still going strong! I put Ubuntu on it as soon as I had it though. It was used for years (daily, up until a couple of years ago) as my daughter's media centre (with Arch) and never a problem with the hardware failing, surprisingly.They were built like little tanks - one of my favourite traits in a laptop!
I stuck with the stock OS (a somewhat chopped-up Xandros, wasn't it?) and modified it to enable a full desktop, since it was my first Linux machine and I just wanted to poke at it and see what I could do. The first thing I did was to compile an emulator from source - not because I needed to, but just because I wanted to so that I knew how to. Fun times.
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BlackBloodRum Apr 5, 2023
Quoting: Purple Library GuyWhy so? We're all Linux enthusiasts here, so we all generally have some form of technical backgroundQuoting: BlackBloodRumWith that said, honestly, I think most "average users" will leave the OS as stock, just like they do with the Steam Deck.Well, yes. To be honest, I just find it amusing to be in a position to ask the question.
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Quoting: BlackBloodRumWhat does technical background have to do with it? The point is, for all these years every time anything has Linux on it, a ton of Windows types have claimed "Oh, people will just rip it out and put in Windows because Linux suxxor!"Quoting: Purple Library GuyWhy so? We're all Linux enthusiasts here, so we all generally have some form of technical backgroundQuoting: BlackBloodRumWith that said, honestly, I think most "average users" will leave the OS as stock, just like they do with the Steam Deck.Well, yes. To be honest, I just find it amusing to be in a position to ask the question.
But now, with the Steam Deck having firmly demonstrated that no, they won't, and indeed it seeming like anyone who has tried it found that the experience is . . . underwhelming because Windows isn't well suited to the job, it becomes viable to turn the question around, and I find that somewhat gratifying. That's all I was getting at here.
I hate having to explain the joke.
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 5 April 2023 at 4:37 pm UTC
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BlackBloodRum Apr 5, 2023
Quoting: Purple Library GuyMy bad! I misunderstood intention/reasoning, sorry mate!Quoting: BlackBloodRumWhat does technical background have to do with it? The point is, for all these years every time anything has Linux on it, a ton of Windows types have claimed "Oh, people will just rip it out and put in Windows because Linux suxxor!"Quoting: Purple Library GuyWhy so? We're all Linux enthusiasts here, so we all generally have some form of technical backgroundQuoting: BlackBloodRumWith that said, honestly, I think most "average users" will leave the OS as stock, just like they do with the Steam Deck.Well, yes. To be honest, I just find it amusing to be in a position to ask the question.
But now, with the Steam Deck having firmly demonstrated that no, they won't, and indeed it seeming like anyone who has tried it found that the experience is . . . underwhelming because Windows isn't well suited to the job, it becomes viable to turn the question around, and I find that somewhat gratifying. That's all I was getting at here.
I hate having to explain the joke.
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CyborgZeta Apr 5, 2023
The specs suggest to me that battery life is likely to be atrocious.
People will disagree with me, but I think Valve nailed the best compromise for a handheld PC with the Steam Deck's specs. 720p and 60hz is, IMO, what you want. 720p looks great on a screen designed for it, and 60fps is still plenty smooth; especially for someone who grew up with consoles, like me. At a $400 price tag with an additional $40-50 dollar for a 512GB SSD upgrade, the price-to-performance ratio is excellent.
You want more power? You'll have to pay for it; literally and figuratively.
Last edited by CyborgZeta on 6 April 2023 at 8:30 pm UTC
People will disagree with me, but I think Valve nailed the best compromise for a handheld PC with the Steam Deck's specs. 720p and 60hz is, IMO, what you want. 720p looks great on a screen designed for it, and 60fps is still plenty smooth; especially for someone who grew up with consoles, like me. At a $400 price tag with an additional $40-50 dollar for a 512GB SSD upgrade, the price-to-performance ratio is excellent.
You want more power? You'll have to pay for it; literally and figuratively.
Last edited by CyborgZeta on 6 April 2023 at 8:30 pm UTC
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NerdNoiseRadio Apr 6, 2023
So, I have very mixed thoughts on this.
While I am definitely happy with the Steam Deck, and am in no hurry to replace it, my loyalty is ultimately not to the Steam Deck per se. Instead, it is, primarily, to Linux in general, and to the state of Linux gaming in particular, and secondarily, to the "handheld PC" form factor at large, or put more crassly, the "Nintendo Switch of PCs" of the world.
To the second priority, this definitely helps the form factor, advances the medium, and proves that it's only continuing to gain more traction. So, on that front, I'm happy!
But to the first, I worry that its impact, shipping with Windows by default will ultimately be corrosive to the gains and changes in perspective that Steam Deck and SteamOS3 have brought. And that would be very disappointing to me (and likely most of the rest of us) indeed!
Now, I know that Steam making Steam OS available universally, and the inevitability of Linux drivers eventually coming along for the device will soften that blow a little bit, at least for us Linux devotees - those of us using Linux by choice. But for the majority of Steam Deck users, the mass of people using Linux on the deck simply because it works well enough by default and they just don't want to dick with setting up Windows may evaporate, and I still feel at least a small measure of anxiety that the balloon we joyfully watched the Steam Deck inflate may begin deflating again now that there will be a big name supporting the big OS, and providing an alternative in the space to making Linux work.
Now, it may not turn out so bad as that. But I still feel that anxiety.
Plus, with it being Windows and very likely being quite a bit more expensive than the Deck (if I have that kind of money, I'd rather upgrade my big rig out of its current 2017 spec), plus, with my being pretty happy with the Deck, and not in any big hurry to replace it, I can definitely say that this device will not be for me personally.....
.....that said, I certainly can't deny that this thing looks slick as hell! Very good looking! And, as I said earlier, this does move the form factor forward, and may provide some influence into what the eventual proper Steam Deck sequel and potentially other future Linux handhelds may look, feel, and spec like. And that much, at least, I can't help but celebrate.
And that's my take! :-)
While I am definitely happy with the Steam Deck, and am in no hurry to replace it, my loyalty is ultimately not to the Steam Deck per se. Instead, it is, primarily, to Linux in general, and to the state of Linux gaming in particular, and secondarily, to the "handheld PC" form factor at large, or put more crassly, the "Nintendo Switch of PCs" of the world.
To the second priority, this definitely helps the form factor, advances the medium, and proves that it's only continuing to gain more traction. So, on that front, I'm happy!
But to the first, I worry that its impact, shipping with Windows by default will ultimately be corrosive to the gains and changes in perspective that Steam Deck and SteamOS3 have brought. And that would be very disappointing to me (and likely most of the rest of us) indeed!
Now, I know that Steam making Steam OS available universally, and the inevitability of Linux drivers eventually coming along for the device will soften that blow a little bit, at least for us Linux devotees - those of us using Linux by choice. But for the majority of Steam Deck users, the mass of people using Linux on the deck simply because it works well enough by default and they just don't want to dick with setting up Windows may evaporate, and I still feel at least a small measure of anxiety that the balloon we joyfully watched the Steam Deck inflate may begin deflating again now that there will be a big name supporting the big OS, and providing an alternative in the space to making Linux work.
Now, it may not turn out so bad as that. But I still feel that anxiety.
Plus, with it being Windows and very likely being quite a bit more expensive than the Deck (if I have that kind of money, I'd rather upgrade my big rig out of its current 2017 spec), plus, with my being pretty happy with the Deck, and not in any big hurry to replace it, I can definitely say that this device will not be for me personally.....
.....that said, I certainly can't deny that this thing looks slick as hell! Very good looking! And, as I said earlier, this does move the form factor forward, and may provide some influence into what the eventual proper Steam Deck sequel and potentially other future Linux handhelds may look, feel, and spec like. And that much, at least, I can't help but celebrate.
And that's my take! :-)
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Quoting: UberkeyserQuoteIt all depends on the price.
Well, kindof not at all. For me it all depends on the software, in particular the OS. The ASUS thingy won't stand a chance with me for being Windows 11 based.
And that is not because of ideology this and that; okay maybe a bit ideology, but mainly because I do not want to end up with a brick once MS decides to no logner support it (potentially on purpose because it competes with the Xbox ecosystem).
Booo booo, ASUS, booooooooo!
There's a rumor floating around the interweb that Asus is working on their own custom OS. You know how rumors are though. They seem to have gone out of their way to mention that it's a Windows handheld, so I'm skeptical. If they did have their own OS though, it would likely be Linux-based since it's the only other OS that can support a large catalog of games.
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I've read that the new Sony handheld will only be able to remotely play games on a PS5 and it was said that it would be permanently online only. If that's true then that thing will be no alternative at all.
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NerdNoiseRadio Apr 6, 2023
Quoting: KlaasI've read that the new Sony handheld will only be able to remotely play games on a PS5 and it was said that it would be permanently online only. If that's true then that thing will be no alternative at all.
That's what I've heard about it too. So it's not gonna be a "PS Vita 2" nor a "Playstation Steam Deck", but rather, an optional aftermarket "WiiU gamepad" add-on for the PS5. So you're not gonna be able to play in the car or the coffee shop or the office.....but for the overwhelming majority of us who can't afford, or at least can't justify a "dedicated toilet PS5", this at least makes it so you can play from the throne....for those who might want to. Puts quite the spin on "play 'on the go'"! 😂😉
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