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[LordBritish]

Ill wait for preowned $499 bestbuy version.

From the verge's hands on..

Here are some of the smaller details I learned:

• The D-pad is not only eight-way now, it’s also larger and more comfortable. I vastly prefer it.
• The face buttons are 3mm taller, inside a longer tube for more stability. I found they have a flatter press.
• The speakers have a slightly larger chamber for slightly more volume and bass.
• The haptic actuators have moved to the edges of the device, beneath palms, for more pronounced feedback and weight distribution.
• The shoulder buttons are mounted differently on the board so they don’t break as easily in a fall.
• The triggers are wider and made of smoky semi-transparent plastic that looks cool.
• The rear intake vents are slightly larger.
• The joystick tops are now attached with screws, so you could theoretically 3D print your own tops or stem extenders.
• Similarly, the new back buttons are screwed into the rear shell now, so you could theoretically move their position in your own 3D printed rear shell.
• There’s a ring around the fingerprint power button now to find it easier by feel.
• The Turbo mode still operates at 25W, but Silent has been bumped from 10W to 13W, and Performance from 15W to 17W.
• The battery is now rated to have 80 percent remaining capacity after 3 years of cycling, up from 70 percent
• The handheld uses a different IMU now.
• It still has magnetic Hall Effect triggers, but revised slightly to make sure they don’t interfere with the speakers or vibration motors.
• While it does support 100W charging now, it still comes with the same 65W adapter.
• It’s not compatible with existing cases and mounts, but Asus is in touch with fan favorites JSAUX, Deckmate and Dbrand to offer new ones.
• Existing Ally owners will be able to migrate settings to an Ally X with a cloud backup.

Last but not least, there’s an easter egg in the comfy new grips — just like the PS5’s controller is studded with incredibly tiny PlayStation symbols, the ROG Ally X’s grips are covered with “ROG ROG ROG”:

 

[Klosshufvud]

New ROG Ally sounds very good and makes it tempting to get rid of my OG model and get down and dirty with the new model. Even though I shouldn't. Man, I've should've waited for this instead. Looks better in every way. I will never buy the first gen versions ever again.

Absolutely feels like this feels like Rog Ally done right. I remember your nuisances with the OG model and it seems like this was made in direct reply to those things. Universal eGPU solution and double the battery is for me an improvement worth more than any spec upgrade.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Absolutely feels like this feels like Rog Ally done right. I remember your nuisances with the OG model and it seems like this was made in direct reply to those things. Universal eGPU solution and double the battery is for me an improvement worth more than any spec upgrade.

Agreed. The most enticing thing is Asus dropping their proprietary solution for USB4. I had an XG Mobile and it was so bad I got rid of it. With USB4 it will be hot swappable with a GPD G1, making it instantly more flexible and more powerful than the XG Mobile. And the new upgrades on ROG X is great as well, especially that 80w battery. I'll probably not buy it day 1 but at a discount I'll probably bite the bullet.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Isn't that the strength of PC? To not get stuck with old hardware for years, unless you choose that option.

It's not really a strength. There is a reason why consoles and handhelds don't do this.

You'll never have a mass market device by doing that.

 

[OverHeat]

 

[DaGwaphics]

It's not really a strength. There is a reason why consoles and handhelds don't do this.

You'll never have a mass market device by doing that.

That is still the strength of the option. The static hardware of console allows for getting the install base up (the strength) but also results in dated hardware hanging around beyond its usefulness (the weakness). You can choose to go this same way with PC hardware (I do), but you have the freedom to upgrade more often for better performance and features at your own discretion.

 

[Minsc]

It's not really a strength. There is a reason why consoles and handhelds don't do this.

You'll never have a mass market device by doing that.

I dunno, Apple seems to do pretty well with their yearly device upgrades.

 

[Ozriel]

It's not really a strength. There is a reason why consoles and handhelds don't do this.

You'll never have a mass market device by doing that.

No OEM gives a shit. They release gaming laptops every single year. Same principle.

The Deck can be the mass market device. And when any dev targets the Steamdeck, the Windows handhelds in relatively the same power band get the benefits too.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I dunno, Apple seems to do pretty well with their yearly device upgrades.

No OEM gives a shit. They release gaming laptops every single year. Same principle.

The Deck can be the mass market device. And when any dev targets the Steamdeck, the Windows handhelds in relatively the same power band get the benefits too.

It seems like you both have a massive misunderstanding of different markets.

Apple releases new phones every year, their other products, they tend to stagger more. Why do you think that is? They release new phones every year, as there is significant demand for phones. Phones are something people use every day. They break, get lost, and get outdated significantly more than gaming systems.

OEMs release gaming laptops every year and they don't sell nearly as well as consoles AND they're used as multipurpose devices just like phones.

The deck is not as useful as a gaming laptop. You're not going to do work on it or go through social media in a steam deck. Nor is the steam deck a mass market device. You're not going to have developers tune and optimize for 5 different models of steam deck.

When you're asking someone to spend 400+ dollars on something that is largely only going to play video games, you're not going to have success selling them another device the next year or the year after that.

Mid gen refreshes are a happy medium that still get push back.

 

[Ozriel]

It seems like you both have a massive misunderstanding of different markets.

Apple releases new phones every year, their other products, they tend to stagger more. Why do you think that is? They release new phones every year, as there is significant demand for phones. Phones are something people use every day. They break, get lost, and get outdated significantly more than gaming systems.

OEMs release gaming laptops every year and they don't sell nearly as well as consoles AND they're used as multipurpose devices just like phones.

The deck is not as useful as a gaming laptop. You're not going to do work on it or go through social media in a steam deck. Nor is the steam deck a mass market device. You're not going to have developers tune and optimize for 5 different models of steam deck.

When you're asking someone to spend 400+ dollars on something that is largely only going to play video games, you're not going to have success selling them another device the next year or the year after that.

Mid gen refreshes are a happy medium that still get push back.

It seems YOU have a massive misunderstanding about the market.
Asus, Lenovo et al don’t expect to sell the annual upgrades to the same people. Same way nobody expects you to buy the 2024 Alienware m16 laptop and then still go and buy the 2025 version.

These are handhelds designed to play PC games. Not a single one is targeting mass market blowout success like the Switch. I suspect you’re too fixated on console and can’t think ‘PC’.

The Deck is different, since Valve’s release cadence seems to be tied to ‘generational leaps’ of sorts.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

It seems YOU have a massive misunderstanding about the market.
Asus, Lenovo et al don’t expect to sell the annual upgrades to the same people. Same way nobody expects you to buy the 2024 Alienware m16 laptop and then still go and buy the 2025 version.

These are handhelds designed to play PC games. Not a single one is targeting mass market blowout success like the Switch. I suspect you’re too fixated on console and can’t think ‘PC’.

The Deck is different, since Valve’s release cadence seems to be tied to ‘generational leaps’ of sorts.

The Deck is different because that's the only way to make margins on a mass market device.

These other handhelds are priced higher and have higher margins because they don't expect them to sell that many units.

You compare it to gaming laptops that people buy because people are always in the market for laptops. When someone buys a laptop there are very few people who ONLY game on it.

The numbers of handhelds you're going to sell above market value isn't worth having a conversation about let alone annually.

 

[Minsc]

It seems like you both have a massive misunderstanding of different markets.

Apple releases new phones every year, their other products, they tend to stagger more. Why do you think that is? They release new phones every year, as there is significant demand for phones. Phones are something people use every day. They break, get lost, and get outdated significantly more than gaming systems.

OEMs release gaming laptops every year and they don't sell nearly as well as consoles AND they're used as multipurpose devices just like phones.

The deck is not as useful as a gaming laptop. You're not going to do work on it or go through social media in a steam deck. Nor is the steam deck a mass market device. You're not going to have developers tune and optimize for 5 different models of steam deck.

When you're asking someone to spend 400+ dollars on something that is largely only going to play video games, you're not going to have success selling them another device the next year or the year after that.

Mid gen refreshes are a happy medium that still get push back.

I dunno, I was thinking more about their iPads, which many people use as gaming devices, actually many gamers don't even own a console I'd argue but play games primarily on an iPad/iPhone. There's new iPads all the time, and all different kinds.

The Deck is very much a device that competes with PCs (if not now, it will in future iterations that are more capable), and actually is constantly bringing in new people to PC handheld gaming. You can absolutely dock it and use it as a desktop replacement, and people have done this with the Deck and with the Ally and other handheld devices like GPD's lineup - many of which can use external GPUs and deliver desktop-like gaming performance. I think the next generation of them will be fast enough that the difference will be nil between a typical non-gaming desktop and one of those devices that likely costs the same. Currently I feel there's a tiny bit of shortcomings to them for general desktop usage, and maybe the Ally X with the extra RAM and ability to use external GPUs if desired will minimize.

Plus AFAIK the gaming markets outside of consoles are larger than the console market anyway, so I'm not sure that's the ultimate bar of success. If you look at the PC MMO, mobile, and just general PC/Mac markets, there's more money in those markets than traditional consoles. I think that's why over the past decade we've seen more PC ports than ever.

I think there's three sides to it for consoles, people who welcome mid gen refreshes, those who hate them, and those who largely ignore them.

Same is true of PC handhelds. You have those who welcome the iterations, those who hate them, and those who largely ignore them.

But I think the attention now all these PC handhelds are getting is a sign people are acknowledging from the insane Switch sales, this is a growing market. And the success of the PSPortal and rumors of other Sony and MS handhelds, and constant new PC hardware manufacturers joining the fray with their own products, which no matter how niche IMO will appeal to a large enough crowd for them to gather interest. It's not like they need to sell 10s of millions. I don't know how many devices are sold in each iteration of a GPD handheld device, but I doubt it is even in the millions. And yet, they are very successful in that they keep iterating them and have been doing it for a while.

Valve being valve isn't going to release a new Deck every year IMO, but PC tech moves faster than console tech, and other companies don't have any issue with grabbing the latest and greatest and selling it to whoever wants it.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I dunno, I was thinking more about their iPads, which many people use as gaming devices, actually many gamers don't even own a console I'd argue but play games primarily on an iPad/iPhone. There's new iPads all the time, and all different kinds.

The Deck is very much a device that competes with PCs (if not now, it will in future iterations that are more capable), and actually is constantly bringing in new people to PC handheld gaming. You can absolutely dock it and use it as a desktop replacement, and people have done this with the Deck and with the Ally and other handheld devices like GPD's lineup - many of which can use external GPUs and deliver desktop-like gaming performance. I think the next generation of them will be fast enough that the difference will be nil between a typical non-gaming desktop and one of those devices that likely costs the same. Currently I feel there's a tiny bit of shortcomings to them for general desktop usage, and maybe the Ally X with the extra RAM and ability to use external GPUs if desired will minimize.

Plus AFAIK the gaming markets outside of consoles are larger than the console market anyway, so I'm not sure that's the ultimate bar of success. If you look at the PC MMO, mobile, and just general PC/Mac markets, there's more money in those markets than traditional consoles. I think that's why over the past decade we've seen more PC ports than ever.

I think there's three sides to it for consoles, people who welcome mid gen refreshes, those who hate them, and those who largely ignore them.

Same is true of PC handhelds. You have those who welcome the iterations, those who hate them, and those who largely ignore them.

But I think the attention now all these PC handhelds are getting is a sign people are acknowledging from the insane Switch sales, this is a growing market. And the success of the PSPortal and rumors of other Sony and MS handhelds, and constant new PC hardware manufacturers joining the fray with their own products, which no matter how niche IMO will appeal to a large enough crowd for them to gather interest. It's not like they need to sell 10s of millions. I don't know how many devices are sold in each iteration of a GPD handheld device, but I doubt it is even in the millions. And yet, they are very successful in that they keep iterating them and have been doing it for a while.

Valve being valve isn't going to release a new Deck every year IMO, but PC tech moves faster than console tech, and other companies don't have any issue with grabbing the latest and greatest and selling it to whoever wants it.

An iPad is a multipurpose device sold at scale across a multitude of prices from 349 to 2,600.

You continue to conflate this with a primarily gaming device, which shows that you don't understand the market for ipads.

You might as well compare it to double cheeseburgers from Mcdonalds.

The Steam deck is evidence of about as much market there is for PC handhelds and you can see that they don't do annual releases.

The ONLY way to do annual releases is to sell well above market value and there is entirely too much competition from hardware sold at scale to do that.

Even having this argument is a waste of time, because you're so far from reality that you can't be helped.

 

[Minsc]

An iPad is a multipurpose device sold at scale across a multitude of prices from 349 to 2,600.

You continue to conflate this with a primarily gaming device, which shows that you don't understand the market for ipads.

You might as well compare it to double cheeseburgers from Mcdonalds.

The Steam deck is evidence of about as much market there is for PC handhelds and you can see that they don't do annual releases.

The ONLY way to do annual releases is to sell well above market value and there is entirely too much competition from hardware sold at scale to do that.

Even having this argument is a waste of time, because you're so far from reality that you can't be helped.

There exists hundreds of gaming laptops that see annual releases/updates. So why would a handheld be any different?

Why would a manufacturer who makes gaming laptops that don't exactly light the world on fire with 100s or even 10s of millions of sales, yet release them annually change the equation for their gaming handhelds?

New tech comes out, people want that tech in their devices, someone will make devices that use it, many people will. It's that simple. The console market is irrelevant to the PC market.

To me a device being primarily a gaming device is a weakness, not a strength. Why wouldn't I want my device to be able to do other things? I certainly don't need a device to only be able to play games and nothing else. I've been gaming on PCs for most of my life, so I don't really care if the device is multipurpose or not.

I don't even really see what you're trying to say anymore, which I guess isn't helping. I think your mistake is assuming each PC handheld is trying to become its own mass market device. That's not how these PC devices work. No one expects ASUS's latest laptop or MSI's gaming handheld the "Claw" or Alienware's gaming desktop to become a mass market device like the Switch. They simply exist in a vast ocean of similar devices that when combined are every bit as large as a mass market console, and they are iterated upon all the time.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Might as well grab the OG Ally when it gets on a clearance sale........

Don't

It's a waste of money

I know since I preordered mine and can't return it due to not knowing that the warranty is void if you mess around with the systems internals. I installed a higher capacity SSD. My mistake I know but still

Get a Steamdeck OLED instead, so much better

 

[CobraAB]

Same chip? DOA.

So what chip then?

 

[Jinzo Prime]

So what chip then?

They could have waited on the Strix Point APUs coming out this July or been the first PC handheld with the Snapdragon X Elite, or wait for Lunar Lake later this year. Don't know why they wanted to push this out now, unless they are afraid of the competition.

 

[Ozriel]

They could have waited on the Strix Point APUs coming out this July or been the first PC handheld with the Snapdragon X Elite, or wait for Lunar Lake later this year. Don't know why they wanted to push this out now, unless they are afraid of the competition.

Strix point isn’t coming until October 2024. Lunar Lake won’t arrive earlier that this too, and after Meteor Lake massively underwhelmed with the MSI Claw, there’s a lot of Skepticism for Intel.
Snapdragon X Elite will bring some compatibility problems. Best to wait until we get a clear picture.

But more importantly, the Ally is compromised with a bad SD reader and really bad PR from returns. This allows them fix the issues with modest update.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Looking forward to watching these two videos. On the surface it looks like Ally X solved a lot of problems with the OG unit curious to see why they think otherwise.

I have a Steam Deck OLED and I love it, primarily for silent + long battery life (but that only works with older games; less power draw = less heat generated = more silent running, etc.). Sometimes I wish I had a more powerful device, however it the increase is barely 5-7 FPS I don't think it's worth it.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

So I saw both videos and Dave2D take is ridiculous. In short: ASUS slashed the price of OG ROG Ally to compete with the Steam Deck and they didn't budget in the Customer Service...

This is a super bizarre spin, especially since warranty coverage is required BY LAW, so insinuating a company was like 'fuck it, we are not making enough money to be held by a legally binding contract (you buy an item = you get covered by the warranty) is strange and dubious.

 

[Minsc]

Are all these videos ignoring what they just announced/posted yesterday from their facebook page where they are admitting they screwed up and going to be providing a full 2 year warranty now?

Sounds like everyone is still just bitter to me.

"Don't buy this great handheld which is really great for all these reasons but don't buy it because *thing that isn't true anymore*"

 

[THE DUCK]

I've been pretty negative for reasons already stated, but thinking back just a few years ago as to what we had in this market and it's exciting to see an evolution of these types of products. I can just imagine how ergonimically sound and powerfull these things will be in 10 years, since they are already at a pretty high level.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Are all these videos ignoring what they just announced/posted yesterday from their facebook page where they are admitting they screwed up and going to be providing a full 2 year warranty now?

As someone mentioned in the YT comments, you can have 15 year warranty and it won't mean jack shit if the company will use any microscopic fault from usage to deny you your warranty. The length of the warranty is not an issue, it's the company's stance of denying claims that is.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Open box z1 extremes going for pretty cheap on best buy right now. I guess theyll only get cheaper when this drops.

 

[StereoVsn]

Yeah. Strix Point later this year should be a meaningful jump.

Also reports Intel will hope their new Lunar Lake chips are much better for handhelds than the Meteor Lake that flamed out in the MSI Claw.

Yep, there should be some interesting stuff toward year’s end and/or early next year.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Don't

It's a waste of money

I know since I preordered mine and can't return it due to not knowing that the warranty is void if you mess around with the systems internals. I installed a higher capacity SSD. My mistake I know but still

Get a Steamdeck OLED instead, so much better

Yeah, I'll probably wait for the next iteration of the Steam Deck to arrive before considering another handheld (aside from the Switch 2 which will be a day 1 buy).

 

[Diseased Yak]

Looks like they certainly corrected most everything with the OG Ally. I'm tempted to get one but I think I'll stick with my Legion Go + Steam Deck for now.

 

[Minsc]

As someone mentioned in the YT comments, you can have 15 year warranty and it won't mean jack shit if the company will use any microscopic fault from usage to deny you your warranty. The length of the warranty is not an issue, it's the company's stance of denying claims that is.

Yes, that is very true. I do wonder if all the backlash and their change in policy is resulting in a more honest/faithful handling going forward. Either way, if I buy the Ally X it will be with the very small possibility that if I need to warranty it, it may need additional fees to be warrantied.

I know I personally have no intention of replacing the SSD or opening it, so that may help my personal use case, but I do understand that many find it not acceptable. Personally, this version fixes almost all the issues I had with the original, so I am excited to see impressions when it's out in the wild.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Yeah, I'll probably wait for the next iteration of the Steam Deck to arrive before considering another handheld (aside from the Switch 2 which will be a day 1 buy).

I hope the Steamdeck 2 comes out in 5 to 7 years

That would be perfect since by than Valve can do a big jump in specs especially graphical capabilities

 

[Ozriel]

I hope the Steamdeck 2 comes out in 5 to 7 years

That would be perfect since by than Valve can do a big jump in specs especially graphical capabilities

5 years?
We’ll most likely see the next Steamdeck in the next 2 years.

This isn’t a console, and certainly won’t have console release cadence.

 

[Hohenheim]

I hope the Steamdeck 2 comes out in 5 to 7 years

That would be perfect since by than Valve can do a big jump in specs especially graphical capabilities

That would be terrible in my opinion. It's already starting to struggle to play new games. In 5 years it wouldn't play any new releases, which Valve would not be ok with. A new on in 2026 seems likely, and I sure hope they don't wait any longer than that.

 

[Klosshufvud]

They could have waited on the Strix Point APUs coming out this July or been the first PC handheld with the Snapdragon X Elite, or wait for Lunar Lake later this year. Don't know why they wanted to push this out now, unless they are afraid of the competition.

Strix Point is way longer off and I'm not certain we'll see huge performance gains. I feel like diminishing returns is starting to hit these low-powered chips pretty substantially now. Intel is worse in terms of iGPU low wattage performance and non-x64 handheld is a no-go zone for a lot of people who want to use a high end handheld PC.
The biggest obstacle to performance in these 7840U/Z1E chips is power draw. By equipping a handheld with 80W battery and supposedly way better fans, you're gaining ton of performance for the same battery/noise/heat generated. This is way bigger leap in performance than a supposed Strix Point APU with the same battery size. I don't know if you own any of these 7840U devices but once you're in that 18-20W territory, you can pretty much blast through everything on a handheld suitable resolution. Like even modern AAA games run more than just well at those types of power draws. With the 80W battery, you pretty much are at that level of performance no matter where you are.

 

[Minsc]

That would be terrible in my opinion. It's already starting to struggle to play new games. In 5 years it wouldn't play any new releases, which Valve would not be ok with. A new on in 2026 seems likely, and I sure hope they don't wait any longer than that.

Yup, I expect Deck 2 to be better in specs than the Switch 2, so releasing with new tech from the subsequent year or two makes the most sense to me. 2030 or beyond for a Deck 2 seems way too much even for Valve.