New ASUS ROG Ally Handheld Console Coming Soon

ASUS unveiled the ROG Ally handheld console almost a year ago, and it’s a decent Windows-based handheld that has its fair share of cons and pros. It seems the company isn’t wasting any time in fixing those issues, as it has teased the arrival of a new model.

ASUS has scheduled a YouTube premier for later today at 3 PM ET, with the title “The next ROG Ally is coming.” There isn’t much information about the device revealed in the teaser, so fans will have to wait and see what the company has in store for them.

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ROG Ally 2 Could Come to Retain AMD Ryzen Z1 Chip

This is not the first time a new ROG Ally device has been teased this week. It was previously reported that the company will be taking the wraps off of a so-called ROG Ally 2024 as a product overhaul at Computex instead of a full-blown ROG Ally 2.

The report also suggested that the new ROG Ally model would come equipped with the AMD Ryzen Z1 chip. It is also believed that the refreshed model could address a problematic microSD card reader defect and potentially offer a bigger battery.

Fans are hoping that ASUS and other Windows handheld makers are joining forces with Microsoft to offer an improved Windows interface that takes better advantage of gamepads. After all, a well-optimized UI is one of the biggest plus points of the Steam Deck.

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Did First-Gen ASUS Ally Impress The Users?

In 2023, the company launched the ROG Ally as the first Windows handheld from a big PC player. This model was fitted with an AMD Z1 Extreme chip, with the company promising a cheaper version with a standard Z1 chip to be launched later that year.

While the ROG Ally Z1 chip incorporated a newer, more efficient CPU and a more modern GPU, the Steam Deck’s semi-custom Aerith chip brought 8 RDNA 2 graphics cores versus the Z1’s four RDNA 3 cores. This could be one of the reasons it lagged behind the Steam Deck’s superior performance.

That said, the tests showed a huge difference in performance at 15W, which can be a difference-maker between a playable and unplayable experience. This is pretty much notable in games such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield that push the Steam Deck hard. For improved performance, ASUS’ handheld is capable of delivering higher wattages (30W), but this obviously comes at a cost of the battery life.