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ASUS has today formally revealed all about their handheld gaming PC, the ROG Ally and it's releasing in June with a pretty competitive price. It runs Windows 11, so for the GamingOnLinux followers, it may not exactly be what you're after. However, with handheld PC gaming rising, especially with the Linux powered Steam Deck, it's good to keep an eye on the competition right?

Today they revealed the pricing after many leaks:

  • AMD Ryzen Z1 model: $599 - launching in Q3.
  • AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme model: $699 - launching June 13th.

Picture source - ASUS YouTube

Goes without saying really but I will anyway: I will be sticking to the Steam Deck and desktop Linux. Just because something new comes along, doesn't mean I'm going to instantly jump towards it. Not everyone has money to burn every time something a bit more powerful comes along.

IGN already have a review of it up and it sounds overall like a good device, with battery life also not long when playing bigger games like the Steam Deck. They do make a point that the initial experience with Windows 11 and ASUS Armoury Crate being a nuisance.

It will definitely be interesting to watch how this will affect the Steam Deck though. Competition is absolutely good! It benefits everyone and it pushes all sides to do better. Plus, the more companies that show there's a demand for handheld gaming like this, the better the future will be for it, including a potential Steam Deck 2.

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Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Hardware, Misc
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Mohandevir May 13, 2023
Quoting: elmapul
Quoting: MohandevirIf so, I'll wait for the Steam Deck 2, in this case.

smokescreen or not that might kill the momentum that the deck have.
microsoft is famous for doing (among other stuff) vaporwares, promisse something, never deliver, but manage to kill the interest on the competition product, kinect was an good example, i was one of the ones fooled by the milo demo and one who thought "purchasing 4 wii motes to play with 4 persons is worse than purchasing one single kinect to play with a lot of people) not to mention xbox360 had better graphics than the wii.
luckly for me i was too poor to purchase any, otherwise i would regreat.

Thing is, the Steam Deck is already a success. The Steam Deck 2 will come, no matter what happens with the Ally, better, stronger and more feature stacked. Time will tell if Asus will still be in the handheld market, at that time.


Last edited by Mohandevir on 13 May 2023 at 1:31 pm UTC
elmapul May 13, 2023
Quoting: MohandevirThing is, the Steam Deck is already a success. The Steam Deck 2 will come, no matter what happens with the Ally, better, stronger and more feature stacked. Time will tell if Asus will still be in the handheld market, at that time.

the issue is, valve said they wont be relasing steam deck 2 any time soon, people were expecting an console life cycle of ~5 years, maybe a bit less maybe much more.
if valve relase an steam deck 2 any time soon, people would feel betreayed so they are in an complicated situation.
i think the only solution would be to drop the price, its definitelly possible, but then people who purchased an deck recently will want something as it happened with the people who purchased a few time prior to the sale where they gave it an discount.

i dont know how much they will have to drop the prices and if the new price should be permanent or not.
hopefully its not even nescessary, but asus being able to do an world wide launch before the deck , and the deck having to drop the prices sooner than valve expected can be a major blow.
14 May 13, 2023
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What usually sells a console system to me is one main game I gotta have, and any others I want are bonuses. I wonder what that would be for the Ally? What game is the system seller? Fortnite?
Eike May 13, 2023
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Quoting: 14What usually sells a console system to me is one main game I gotta have, and any others I want are bonuses. I wonder what that would be for the Ally? What game is the system seller? Fortnite?

Well, what game was it for millions of Steam Deck customers? In these cases it's more the form factor and that you already got many games before even owning the new "console". I guess.
Mohandevir May 13, 2023
Quoting: elmapul
Quoting: MohandevirThing is, the Steam Deck is already a success. The Steam Deck 2 will come, no matter what happens with the Ally, better, stronger and more feature stacked. Time will tell if Asus will still be in the handheld market, at that time.

the issue is, valve said they wont be relasing steam deck 2 any time soon, people were expecting an console life cycle of ~5 years, maybe a bit less maybe much more.
if valve relase an steam deck 2 any time soon, people would feel betreayed so they are in an complicated situation.
i think the only solution would be to drop the price, its definitelly possible, but then people who purchased an deck recently will want something as it happened with the people who purchased a few time prior to the sale where they gave it an discount.

i dont know how much they will have to drop the prices and if the new price should be permanent or not.
hopefully its not even nescessary, but asus being able to do an world wide launch before the deck , and the deck having to drop the prices sooner than valve expected can be a major blow.

Maybe... Or an actual Steam Deck refresh with better battery and 1tb nvme at the top tier. Maybe put a 128gb nvme in the low tier and the 512gb in the mid tier?

Just throwing ideas...
elmapul May 13, 2023
Quoting: MohandevirMaybe... Or an actual Steam Deck refresh with better battery and 1tb nvme at the top tier. Maybe put a 128gb nvme in the low tier and the 512gb in the mid tier?

Just throwing ideas...

the things i want to see the most on the deck:

1)sell on Brasil
2)Hall Effect Joysticks (so the sticks last "forever")
3)better battery
4)oled screen.

i was going to say that: if i was valve, i would relase those features in the revisions and only after got all those features and maybe an slim model (especially for japan wich have small houses) think about an steam deck 2.
but now with this competition, droping the price should be an priority.
the original planing (if i was valve) would be something like:
drop the 64GB model to 350, 300, 250 and up to 200.
the others would have an smilimiar price cut.

but that was counting with switch as an competition or small companies like GPD, ayaneo and forgot the last one.
this thing is different the price cuts will have to speed up.
slaapliedje May 13, 2023
Quoting: elmapul
Quoting: MohandevirMaybe... Or an actual Steam Deck refresh with better battery and 1tb nvme at the top tier. Maybe put a 128gb nvme in the low tier and the 512gb in the mid tier?

Just throwing ideas...

the things i want to see the most on the deck:

1)sell on Brasil
2)Hall Effect Joysticks (so the sticks last "forever")
3)better battery
4)oled screen.

i was going to say that: if i was valve, i would relase those features in the revisions and only after got all those features and maybe an slim model (especially for japan wich have small houses) think about an steam deck 2.
but now with this competition, droping the price should be an priority.
the original planing (if i was valve) would be something like:
drop the 64GB model to 350, 300, 250 and up to 200.
the others would have an smilimiar price cut.

but that was counting with switch as an competition or small companies like GPD, ayaneo and forgot the last one.
this thing is different the price cuts will have to speed up.
On the bright side you can already install different joysticks yourself. The Oled screen is what I would want. Battery life all depends on what games you play on it.
elmapul May 13, 2023
Quoting: slaapliedjeOn the bright side you can already install different joysticks yourself. The Oled screen is what I would want. Battery life all depends on what games you play on it.

they have an special sensor on the stick that detect your finger presece, i doubt we can find one on the market with that feature + the hall sensor.
im not sure if i gonna use that feature though.
Pecisk May 13, 2023
Quoting: elmapul
Quoting: MohandevirIf so, I'll wait for the Steam Deck 2, in this case.

smokescreen or not that might kill the momentum that the deck have.
microsoft is famous for doing (among other stuff) vaporwares, promisse something, never deliver, but manage to kill the interest on the competition product, kinect was an good example, i was one of the ones fooled by the milo demo and one who thought "purchasing 4 wii motes to play with 4 persons is worse than purchasing one single kinect to play with a lot of people) not to mention xbox360 had better graphics than the wii.
luckly for me i was too poor to purchase any, otherwise i would regreat.

Ohh yeah, Microsoft does that, and I can surely detect something of that here - although to be fair there have been quite a few people wanting Windows handheld they could latch on to.

However, this is Valve we talk about. They have no shareholder responsibility. They have Steam as platform. Despite everything, Microsoft does not have that kind of pull.

Also thing is Microsoft is really well known for their BS these days. Their XBOX lineup is very problematic right now and they are not exactly swimming in good will.

Overall while it is interesting development, I see it as a phase of fight rather some kind of decisive blow.
Pecisk May 13, 2023
Quoting: elmapul
Quoting: melkemindNeither is committed to this the way Valve is.
they did this with netbooks and where an sucess.

Errrr, it clearly was not. They lost to Apple and Google. Microsoft just dropped their mouse and keyboard production. I don't expect them also having follow up to XBOX Series S/X. They are prepping for big fight of "AI supremacy" (whatever marketing nonsense it means).

Edit: I will throw other responses to your posts if you don't mind :)

Brazil (I understand you live there) is special case, it has very expensive tariffs for both hardware and software. That's why no one sells there. Not really Valve's fault not wanting to touch that.

I don't see reason for price drop for SD, because they are not selling it for profit. They might do some reshuffling of versions and having two models instead of three, with corrected price tags.

They are still selling on brand. Steam is much bigger than ASUS is.


Last edited by Pecisk on 13 May 2023 at 5:41 pm UTC
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