Asus ROG Ally with Ryzen Z1 and 256 GB could cost $599 and the model with Ryzen Z1 Extreme and 512 GB $699

Asus will reveal the release date and price of ROG Ally, the wearable with which it hopes to offer a more powerful alternative to competing with the Steam Deck, on May 11, but the leaks aren’t waiting for anyone. Multiple sources, including materials you have had access to The Verge and a screenshot from Best Buy’s pre-order page, state that the base model of ROG Ally with Ryzen Z1 processor will retail for $599, while the Ryzen Z1 Extreme variant will go up to $699. Missing to know the change to euros.

For its price and specifications, the most ambitious Asus ROG Ally model is possibly the most interesting. This variant hides inside an AMD Z1 Extreme chip, 16 GB of LPDDR RAM and 512 GB NVMe M.2 SSD in exchange for $699, that is, only $51 more than the Steam Deck model with 512 GB that equips a bottom hardware. The price is very important in any device, but in a laptop it is also the autonomy and it remains to be seen how long Asus ROG Ally lasts running games at 1080p.

For its part, the Asus ROG Ally base model with an AMD Z1 Extreme chip, 16 GB of LPDDR RAM and 256 GB NVMe M.2 SSD for $599, compares to $529 for Steam Deck with 256 storage. GB NVMe SSD (with the option reserved for handymen to install a module with higher capacity). The difference is $71. The rest of the features are the same for both ROG Ally models, including the 7-inch screen with 1080p resolution, 500-nit brightness, and variable refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. In addition, the Asus device is thinner and lighter than Steam Deck.

We’ll see if with these specifications and price Asus ROG Ally can compete with the Steam Deck. It is true that Valve’s device has inferior hardware and the price difference compared to its competitor is small, but Steam Deck has other benefits, including the name and reputation of the company that supports it. SteamOS has given Steam Deck users a lot of joy and as the latest update shows, this operating system is increasingly linked to the Steam client and Big Picture mode. ROG Ally uses Windows 11 without customization and has a launcher that brings together clients (Steam, Game Pass…).