Customer Ratings & Reviews

I was watching the ASUS reveal of the ROG Ally about a month ago and immediately put in a pre-order through Best Buy. I have owned the 'Deck' and had actually sold it back at the turn of the year because it just wasn't living up to what I had hoped, mostly because of limitations with Steam and quite a few of my games that ran really wonky. Now, I'm an older gamer and quite a few of the games I like are of the older sort and were not high on the priority list, but with the ASUS ROG Ally being a handheld Windows PC, I knew things should run just fine. I was right and the Ally has been an absolute joy to play. What I Like: 1. Screen: Gorgeous screen! Even though it is 'only' 1080p, it is sharp and bright with nary a hiccup or motion blur. It is a far superior screen to the 'Deck'. 2. Horsepower: The processor/GPU combo on this thing is impressive! While I might not be trying to run AAA titles at uber resolution, all of the games I have run have run seamlessly. I have a lot more games to add to my library but I have no doubt the Ally will be able to handle it. 3. Keeps its Cool: Despite playing for several hours with the Ally, it has never been hot to the touch, nor has it been ridiculously loud with its fans. The thermals on this thing are top notch. 4. Comfort: Despite being bigger and more angular than the 'Deck', I think I like holding the Ally more. I don't know if it just hits a naturally comfortable posture for me, but it feels like I have an Xbox controller with a nice screen in the middle. The perfect mobile gaming set up. 5. Sound: The Ally can put out some seriously good audio and at a high volume. Now I am mostly using headphones just so I don't disturb my wife, but in my early testing when I was just sitting in my easy chair, it was nice to not have my headphones on and still get good audio. 6. Armory Crate: Still my favorite 'Gaming Management System', and ASUS did a nice job tailoring it for the ROG Ally. I struggled a bit at first with Star Trek Online when I first launched it but that is because I didn't set the game up under the Armory Crate and put it in 'controller mode', which my profile is set up as in the game. Neutral: 1. OS: It's Windows 11. I know lots of gaming purists have grumbles with 11 but having been old school and trying to get games to work on Windows since Windows 1.0, I can tell you that 11 is a relative breeze. 2. Lighting: I don't really care about having lights on my computers and that extends to the Ally. As soon as I got into the settings I turned the lights off. Saves a bit of juice. 3. Battery Life: It's good, but it IS relatively short. I knew that going in so it's a non-issue for me. The fact that it goes as long as it does, (I've gotten over three hours of play time with my relatively lightweight games) is impressive. 4. The 'Stand': In the box is what looks like a plastic bar with a notch that is for holding your Ally while using it hands-free. What it really is, is a compressed piece of cardboard that does its job but probably not for very long. Don't Like: 1. Power Brick: This is meant to be a mobile gaming system and yet the brick that the Ally comes with has fixed prongs on the block. That's inviting some damage to the prongs or whatever is holding the brick. The ROG Gaming Charger Dock is a much better brick and worth the upgrade. 2. SD Card Slot: While I appreciate having the Micro SD slot on the Ally, it doesn't do the 'normal' card insertion/removal with the clicky spring to indicate proper insertion and to help eject the card. I wasn't even sure it was set correctly until I got into the system settings. Trying to take it out again required tweezers. No bueno. 3. Touchscreen Edges: There are a lot of user interface buttons that either naturally reside on the sides of a screen or you will put them there to maximize your playable area, and unfortunately the Ally's screen is pretty 'dead' in those few millimeters around the edge. I'm going to try to find a small fine-point stylus to see if that helps at all. Extras: These don't come with the Ally, but I was able to get them prior to my Ally showing up and I thought I would include them in this review since they are must-haves in my opinion, and if you didn't want my opinion, why are you reading this? 1. ROG Ally Travel Case: The Ally isn't cheap, nor is it indestructible, so do yourself a favor and pick up the case for this beast. I hope another case comes out soon with room to hold the charger, but as it is, I'm just glad I have a case that properly fits the Ally. 2. ROG Gaming Charger Dock: Smaller, foldable prongs, removable cord, and an integrated HDMI/USB-A plugs. Worth it just for the first three benefits, the extra ports make it a must have. Great to be able to output the game to a TV/Monitor when you want. The USB-A port is for a keyboard or other peripheral though I was unable to get my corded controller to work using this port. I need more time to figure out why. Conclusion: I love this thing and it was exactly what I was hoping it would be. I travel a lot and already have a work computer, so I don't want to lug a gaming laptop as well, but I would like something to help pass the time in the airport, plane, or hotel room. Heck, I like just kicking back in my easy chair and playing my games rather than sitting at my desk. The ROG Ally is a blast and is helping to expand gamers options for PC gaming on the go!

PROS + If you are a PC gaming enthusiast already, this device is a lot of fun to play around with + Bright & colorful 1080p 120hz VRR LCD display + AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Processor is very powerful for a handheld + Stays surprisingly cool and quiet, even when in Turbo mode + Built-in Armory Crate software makes navigating the device a lot easier as a handheld, with several presets like built-in real time monitoring, power mode presets, AMD RSR & RIS, airplane mode, and more all two clicks away, even when in game + Being a windows device, it runs almost every storefront from Steam, to Epic Games, to Xbox Game Pass, EA, Ubisoft, GOG, & more + Windows also means plenty of custom software can be downloaded, like mods, RTSS, and more for PC tweaking + Lots of tuning if you like to customize things, like joystick & trigger response + Able to easily connect to an external monitor and peripherals + Can set custom power modes for performance/battery tradeoffs, and set an 80% max battery charging limit to extend your battery’s lifespan + Stereo front-firing speakers are surprisingly loud and full for a small device + Built-in fingerprint reader makes signing into windows a lot easier + UHS-II MicroSD card slot allows you to expand storage + Touchscreen is very useful when dealing with Windows 11 CONS - Windows 11 is clearly not built for handhelds or gaming first, so there can be a lot of usability quirks that could take some getting used to if you aren’t a PC gamer already - Speaking of which, an external monitor and/or peripherals like keyboard and mouse are almost required to set-up the device on Windows 11, do all of your updates, download games and storefronts, etc. They make the experience A LOT easier - Armory Crate, while very helpful, is still a software app and not an OS, so while it can make things easier, it is still buggy and needs to play nice with Windows. For example, I could never get the built-in FPS limiter in Armory Crate to work, so I needed to use RTSS or in-game limiters if I wanted to lock the framerate - Battery life is not great. For light games, I could probably get 2-3 hours if I managed power and locked framerate, but for heavier games, or unlocked framerates, 2 hours was pretty much the max for me at most, and could be less if I really pushed it - If you are new to PC gaming, there will be a steeper learning curve accentuated by this device’s early day quirks Even if you aren’t new to PC gaming, there is a learning curve with this device for sure. You definitely need to read the manual and follow the instructions to get the best experience SO-SO * The controller buttons are fine, but feel behind when compared to modern day console controllers. Face buttons and triggers feel a bit mushy, while bumpers and joysticks feel solid * Likewise, haptics/vibration, are serviceable, but again not great relative to most modern controllers * Joystick RGB is nice if you like it, but colors could be better represented and even the lowest brightness preset is a bit too bright, so I tended to leave them off * Ergonomics took a bit of getting used, I found I needed to hold the device a bit looser than I am used to with a standard controller, since the back grips are more shallow * This is still a first gen device, and a new one, so while strong out of the gate, there is still a lot that will live or die based on software updates and support from ASUS THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT I want to make two things apparent right out of the gate. First, I had a blast using this device, more than most other tech in recent memory. It is fun to play my PC game catalog on the go and away from my desktop, and for a PC gaming enthusiast and tech enthusiast like me, I personally really enjoyed exploring the device, finding new ways to use it, tweak it, and make it even better for me. That being said, the second thing is that, while for me this device is amazing, it is not perfect, it has its quirks and flaws, and depending on the kind of person you are, you may feel very differently than me. I am pretty tech savvy, and I have been PC gaming for a long time, so I personally had no issues setting-up or using this device; but if you don’t like tweaking things, going through long set-up screens, reading manuals, or needing to customize settings to get the best experience, then you may not like this device. What can be fun & rewarding for others, can easily be frustrating for others. zI don’t want to imply this is a difficult device to use. It isn’t. But this is much closer to a PC than it is a game console, despite the appearance, and so I would not go in expecting it to function out of the box like a game console. But once you have your expectations set, it is so much fun to use! Unfortunately, most of my negative impressions with the ROG Ally came in the first couple of hours, as set-up is really the most tedious process. My tip would be, if you can arrange it, connect the ROG Ally to an external monitor and peripherals, and set it up like you would a new desktop or laptop. It will make your life a lot easier, rather than trying to move the mouse with a joystick or use the touchscreen. The touchscreen is really nice for little usability quirks in Windows 11 (like dismissing notifications when booting a game or confirming sign-in), but for set-up, having dedicated peripherals makes a HUGE difference. This being said, once you are all set-up, all updates made, accounts connected, and games installed, then things get a lot better. You can use the Armory Crate software to maintain your system settings, shortcuts, hardware tweaking, and game library. It isn’t a dedicated OS for gaming, but as a software suite built for the ROG Ally, it does work surprisingly well. This being said, certain things were buggy for me, like the built-in FPS limiter not having any effect in games when I enabled it. These are all things that can improve with updates, but will require support from ASUS to ensure these patches come through. Thankfully, when it comes to gaming, this is where the ROG Ally really shines. It is very powerful, and I was surprised just how many games I could run at 60 fps with some setting teaking. I personally love playing classic games, and that is where this device shines most. Playing Batman Arkham Origins was great, Portal 2 felt completely at home on a handheld console. I haven’t started doing any emulation with the device, but I imagine it will be an incredible experience. I could also play less demanding more modern games like Cuphead & Inside at 1080p 60 or 120 fps with minimal setting tweaking. For other modern games, like Hi-Fi Rush and Hot Wheels Unleashed, I could also play at 1080p, but with a bit more setting tweaking to get the right performance to visual balance. If you are really concerned with playing modern AAA games, I would not prioritize this device first. You can make many work with low settings, lower resolution, and FPS caps. But you do need to spend some time tweaking things, and even then, you might not get the best experience. For classic games, emulated games, or less demanding games, this thing is incredible. I only ran into 1-2 game crashes during my testing, and by and large, the ROG Ally was able to play almost everything in my catalog with surprising confidence. This is helped by the performance profiles, which allow you to increase how much wattage the APU uses, in exchange for lower battery life. Turbo at 25 watts will suck the life out of the device quickly, but you get noticeably better performance as a result. In general, I kept it in the 15 watt performance profile, and the device performed way above my expectations. This is a supercharged handheld, no two ways about it, and for so much power, it really does stay cool and quiet. Now, this being said, as mentioned above, the battery life is really one of the biggest hardware cons. Your mileage will vary depending on how much you tax it, but in general, expect 90 minutes to 3 hours depending on how much strain you are putting on it while gaming. It isn’t great, but for me was never really too much of a hindrance, as I did keep the power supply at hand when needed. Other than that however, the hardware here is really solid. It feels well built, sturdy, decent ergonomics, great screen, and truly feels like a device that a lot of R&D went into designing. It isn’t perfect, but as a first attempt at this kind of device from ASUS, it feels like a really strong offering. All-in-all, I really loved using this device, and have since bought expandable storage, a carrying case, and screen protector to really allow me to take this device farther than before. It is a lot of fun to use, and for me, is going to be central in my preferred gaming devices for a while to come. It may take more work to use and maintain, but once you adjust and get comfortable, you are going to find a really powerful piece of PC gaming. Highly recommended if you are a PC gaming geek like me.

Overheats really badly. It does not compare to the Ayaneo 2.

Battery life is awful, maybe an hour play time, it can handle triple a games at all. I wouldnt waste money unless you wont to play plugged in the whole time

Let me start with this, regardless what device you get the future for these handheld gaming pc is extremely bright, and having so much competition always ends up benefiting the consumer. That being said I want my review to be about the Rog Ally and not compare it to anything else. Let me start with this The ROG Ally is amazing and having this amount of power and flexibility in my hands is amazing just playing some games I would usually play on the big tv be able to play them on a handheld with very few concessions is awesome, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect or without faults. The hardware is amazing from the comfort to the build quality it looks and feels good the sound is unbelievable for the size and that fact that the handheld is generating so much heat but you never feel it is a testament to the design. The screen looks gorgeous, yes 720p on a handheld is fine but there is definitely a difference you can see when you have the games running at 1080p. Being that is runs windows give it so much ease and flexibility to run all the games and programs you want. I have yet to run into an issue where I couldn’t play a game, but that leads me to my first issue with the device. Being a windows pc is a gift and curse yes I can run pretty much anything because it’s just a pc bad news is sometimes it takes messing with settings to get it running well, which makes it hard to recommend to anyone that does not have familiarity with playing games on pc. It’s also not the easiest to mess around with your settings on out without plugging it to a monitor and use a mouse and keyboard to go in and adjust things. Battery life is also not great but at this point in the cycle for these handhelds it’s also not unexpected. Armoury Crate is good but not great at this Point, but even with these issues I am loving my time with Ally and even more excited for the future, I know things will get better with more updates and while I never recommend something based on the future this is good enough now to warrant a recommendation. The future is here and the future is bright come join in on the fun and pick up an Ally.

It was really good but my right joystick stopped working

Terrible, the device is poorly optimized, the battery, they should do tests before

The ROG Ally is probably the best Windows handheld you can buy at this price point. It's not perfect but it is worth the asking price in my opinion, especially compared to more expensive options with the same Z1 Extreme chip. First off, the good things: 1. It's powerful for a handheld. It runs most games well @ 1080p. Even more recent titles run at a decent framerate with a little settings tweaking. One note though, I would not buy this thinking performance is going to be far greater than the Deck. It beats the Steam Deck in most games but we're talking single digit difference in framerate in most cases. 2. The screen looks great. It's definitely no OLED but colors are vivid and accurate. It has VRR support so it really helps with screen tearing. 3. It's very easy to take apart to replace the SSD. I put a 2TB SSD in mine and the process is fairly simple compared to my Steam Deck OLED. 4. Since it runs Windows game compatibility is great. The Armory Crate software is good for mapping the controls for games that only support mouse/kb but it can be buggy at times. 5. It is light and hand fatigue is fairly minimal. It is noticeably smaller and lighter than my Steam Deck OLED and definitely lighter than the Legion Go I returned to get my Ally. Now for the bad: 1. The SD card problem is real, hence my 4 star review. I would not save anything to an SD card that you care to lose, chances are it will be corrupted or stop working altogether like mine. I ended up putting a bigger SSD in my Ally to compensate for the dead SD reader. 2. As it runs Windows I will say that Windows 11 was not designed for the handheld form factor. Navigating Windows can be quite awkward at times without a mouse. Also the Armory Crate app is buggy and I find myself forcing closing and restarting it often. The user interface is the one thing that the Steam Deck really does well. The Steam Deck is like a console that can also be a computer whereas the Ally is a computer with a built-in controller. If you're computer savvy it's great. But if you don't like messing with settings or you're buying it for a small child I'd get a Steam Deck OLED instead. 3. The USB-C port is not USB 4 or Occulink so it does not support external GPUs over USB-C. Asus' proprietary GPU connection only supports their extremely expensive external GPUs. Overall the Ally is great little Windows handheld. It has quirks as any Windows PC has but if you're a computer nerd you'll likely love it. The SD card problem is a bummer but with a big SSD I don't really mind it so much. It regularly goes on sale for $100 off and at $599 its basically the cheapest and most powerful handheld around.

Not enough ram to run/play Call of Duty MWIII. Starfield working

The reality is that this handheld gaming is much more than that, in fact it is practically a pc that can fit in the palm of your hand. Since this is something recent, and being this the first version of this device -I hope there will be new versions in the not too distant future- there are some things that are not completely convincing. However, I consider that there are many more positive things in favor of this device. Well let's start with the first thing, the unboxing. The gaming handheld comes in a relatively small box along with its charger, quick start guide and warranty documentation. You need to charge the battery and in the meantime you can start with the setup of the device. Setup - Regarding setup, and pretty much everything else, keep in mind that this device is running Windows 11, which means that, excluding the Armoury Crate SE app, any configuration or manipulation of the device and apps will be like setting up a PC. This is important to know because I believe that you need to have a minimum of knowledge about the Windows operating system to solve the various problems that may arise. One of the first things to do is to check and install all available updates for windows, as well as update the app that serves as a control center, Armoury Crate SE. Pre-installed is an asus app, "My Asus", which allows you to download the specific updates for the ROG Ally (In the app go to Customer Support-> Live Update-> Available Updates > Update All), this part is essential because from there you can update the BIOS, a necessary update that fixes bugs and make the device perform better. Once you have installed the necessary updates, you can start downloading games and apps you want. This is done from the Armoury Crate SE app, from there you can download both the platforms and their games (you can also create shortcuts to already installed windows apps). This brings me to the memory section, which despite having a relatively large storage of 512 GB, falls short if we consider that the device can run AAA games that usually use more GB. In my case, having 8 games installed, the available memory is just over 100 GB, the good side of this is that you can replace the memory for a larger capacity (NVMe M.2 SSD), and also has a slot for UHS-II MicroSD memory, something very convenient. Connectivity - The device can connect to the internet via WiFi and is compatible with WiFi-6 for faster download speeds. It also has bluetooth connectivity that allows you to connect headphones, keyboards, mouse, etc., to the device. It also has the option to connect an external graphics card - ROG XG mobile eGPU - in case you need to increase the graphics power of the console and use it as a gaming PC. Audio - The device has a 3.5 jack input for headphones that works without a problem, and the audio quality, whether using headphones or the console's speakers, is outstanding. Mainly the audio of the speakers has left me impressed, normally in this kind of mobile devices the built-in speakers lack power and sound not good at all, but with the RGO Ally is not the case. Screen - The screen is really good, 1920x1080 full HD Touch Screen with a refresh rate of 120Hz, which is perfect if we consider that this console can run games at high frame rate, although this will also make the battery consumption higher. The image quality in games or multimedia content is phenomenal. It has a maximum brightness of 500 nits (many times I do not use more than 60% brightness), which in my opinion is sufficient. Autonomy - Regarding the battery, I consider this is one of the least favorable points of the console, because being a device that is made to take it with you everywhere, you have to carry the charger with you all the time because the autonomy leaves much to be desired, in turbo mode just over an hour, in other modes about 2 hours. It is understandable because of the kind of operating system that uses, where the amount of processes that are necessarily running in the background is enormous, as well as the battery consumption. What somehow balances this, is that if used with the charger connected, although the temperature increases, it does not affect the gameplay or the use of the console, that is, even if the temperature rises, the heat doesn't feelin the hands, this is because of the fans position, the heat dissipation system is very well designed. Design - The design of this portable console is superb, I love it, white color inspired by the Xbox controller, ergonomic design that allows you to play without it slipping out of your hands or being uncomfortable, a well positioned crosshead, good sized joysticks that feel very smooth(arround them theres a RGB light tha can be configure at taste, I deactivated so is a distraccion for me), the A, B, X, Y buttons feel very good, so far none of the four buttons have been stuck or have not worked, rather they work properly that really seems that you are playing with an Xbox controller. It has their respective bumpers and triggers, plus two rear buttons that, personally, I do not use much because I find them a little hard to press, however, in some games I prefer to assign some function that allows me to play more easily. The two speakers are placed at the bottom on the sides of the screen, which allows for a better experience in this area. It has dedicated buttons for certain functions, such as direct access to Armoury Crate and access to the Command Center, where you can change the display settings, refresh rate, fps rate, resolution, Operating Mode, etc., the volume buttons are at the top, near the screen lock button, which in turn is the power button and the fingerprint scanner, which by the way works extremely fast, I was really surprised. In general I consider that everything is very well distributed, it is a very well thought out design. Performance - Regarding gaming performance, something that many of us are on the lookout for, it doesn't disappoint, in fact it surprises. Sometimes I wonder how we got here, I never thought to play the same games I have on my PC, in such a compact device. All the games I installed run smoothly, however, it is important to mention that I experienced this in turbo mode and with the charger connected, in performance mode the games run well but you have to lower the quality to medium, and in silent mode you will have to lower the refresh rate and fps to play smoothly. I have spent several hours testing games, epic games, xbox game pass (the console includes 3 months free), EA. Games like Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Battlefront I and II, Metro 2033 Redux, Telltale Batman, Need For Speed MW, Star Wars Squadrons, Hot Wheels Unleashed, Fornite, Rocket League and the list will go on because I have a lot left to play XD, all without any problem, honestly I have spent very good hours of fun playing with this console. Regarding performance outside of gaming, unless you connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse, I do not recommend using this device as a substitute for a tablet or laptop, although it serves to play multimedia content, surf the internet, download office software, perform tasks of a PC itself, the screen is too small for these tasks and the operating system (Windows 11) is not really intended or designed for this device (although it sounds a bit exaggerated we could say that this ROG Ally is almost unique in its class). This can be noticed in some errors that occur from time to time, such as when rebooting the console, or using applications and then freeze and close on their own, when configuring or customizing the operating system itself. Although sometimes it seems that this also happens due to the fact that the RAM (16 GB) is shared with the graphics, this due to the fact that it is an APU (CPU with integrated graphics). What is also important to mention is that Asus is constantly working on updates, just today morning I downloaded the new BIOS update, which is improving with each update the performance of the console and therefore the user experience, so again I recommend keeping an eye on updates. I didn't want to be too incisive with this part, because I think we are witnessing a very important moment at a technological and gaming level, being this the first version of this console that we haven't really seen yet what it can be capable of. If there is a second version in the future, then there will be a more stringent critical benchmark. Prediction - Being a powerful device in many ways, it seems to me that the trend of turning devices like this into powerful computers will be adopted. This device makes it look that way because if you get the ASUS - ROG 65W Charger Dock, you can practically turn it into a desktop PC, as it allows you to connect a monitor via HDMI, a keyboard via USB, and, if you so desire, a wired mouse via USB-C. Unfortunately for this moment this accessory is sold out, you will have to wait to buy it: (goos news: it is cheap and very convenient). Without going any further and in conclusion, this ROG Ally handheld is an excellent choice for that price. For gaming, as I mentioned above, it works excellent, you can play high quality PC games from the comfort of your couch, bed, living room, etc.,. It has an Xbox controller type design, a well distributed button panel and a high quality 1080p full HD screen, excellent sound and image quality. I can definitely highly recommend this devices. Great product!.

Not what u think it is. It is more for a casual gamer.

I’m very happy with the ROG Ally. Overall, it’s a great portable gaming device. What ultimately convinced me to buy this over the Steam Deck was its versatility (can play any game that works on Windows from any site) and the fact is has more computing power. What I love: - It performs better than I expected. While of course, it can’t compete with a dedicated gaming rig and some graphics settings might need to be scaled back to improve performance, it runs intense games on average settings just fine. Better than I expected. - It is truly portable, and playing handheld is a great experience. It’s light, the screen is very clear and bright, and resists glare well. Speaker sound is pretty decent, and headphones (wired or Bluetooth) are easily connected. - It is extremely easy to connect wireless accessories. Keyboard, mouse, headsets, controllers can all be paired in a matter of seconds and work great. - With the adapter (not included, purchased that separately), it is extremely easy to connect to a monitor or tv to use the Ally as a mini PC. - It’s just like using a Windows PC. Can download any program you need, install mods for games, etc. - The built-in Armoury Crate SE software is really solid. It’s easy to use once you learn its features, and it makes running games from any site and adjust settings very simple and quick. - The touchscreen is great. Things I love less: - The number 1 complaint I would imagine people have is the battery life. I’ve never used the power saving mode, but on the middle setting, you get about 2 hours of battery life when playing a moderately intensive game. This isn’t too much of a problem for me, as we really just use it sitting in the living room close by outlets, or docked and connected to the tv (which charges it), but I could imagine that if you were trying to use this as a portable device to travel and game, the battery just really doesn’t last a very long time. - Storage. Base, it comes with 512 Gigs of SSD storage. Enough for a decent collection of games, although Baldur’s Gate 3 alone took up about a quarter of the hard drive by itself. Replacing the SSD with a larger ones seems relatively easy, and the storage is ample enough for a handful of games. But it certainly won’t store your whole collection. - Windows. While the familiarity and flexibility of it being a Windows PC is a net positive, it can be a little clunky on a handheld. Using the sticks to move the mouse is fine, but for some reason, it doesn’t always appear when certain apps are open. And even though a controller works perfectly when playing games, I can seem to get it to control the mouse cursor. You can always use the touchscreen, but this is a little cumbersome, particularly when docked. The Armoury Crate SE app definitely helps with navigation, at least with games and settings. - Not the most ergonomic. Playing handheld is great, but I’m used to the PS5 Dual Sense Edge. That is just miles ahead in terms of comfort. The Ally is a little chunky, and reaching the buttons on the back requires a little stretching (again, I’m a little spoiled with the comfort and accessibility of the dual sense edge). I would say it’s a little more comfortable than the Nintendo Switch in handheld (although I have an ergonomic case that goes around the Switch making it more comfortable, in my opinion). The joysticks are a little loose for my taste, but all buttons are responsive. I think it just comes down to personal taste. I’ve used it handheld for several consecutive hours and didn’t have any fatigue or cramping issues. Overall, I’m really happy with the ROG Ally. It was much more affordable and is more portable than a mid to high-end gaming laptop, and I don’t really feel it sacrifices too much in terms of performance in comparison.

So many bugs, hope you have a good exterminator you can call.

Product it’s amazing but quality of refurbish from Best Buy was not so good, component come with sticker buttons, with Scratches on screen. Broken core and erased stickers

I can't charge the electricity in less than a month, what quality is this, I am so disappointed.

I’ve been gaming with the Asus ROG Ally for the past 5 days and I’ve had a lot of fun gaming with it. Handhelds aren’t new to the market, but technology is getting really good for portable PC’s and laptops and the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor in this machine is proving to be quite powerful. I say it makes me feel like a kid again, because I remember how much fun I used to have playing with a game boy when I was a kid. It was large, clunky and it was so cool to just pick it up and start playing instantly, And the batteries die almost as quickly lol. The Ally has run every game I have tested quite flawlessly. Just to name a few.. Days Gone, Fortnite, Rocket League, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Ultra Street Fighter IV, Tiny Tinas’s Wonderland, Red Dead Redemption, Destiny 2. 😅 They all ran pretty well in performance mode. I did have to turn down the resolution to 720p for Tiny Tina’s and Red Dead but they still looked great and played good. Battery life is about what I was expecting, I’m averaging about 1- 2 hours of gameplay in performance mode. I keep it in performance mode about 90% of the time. I find it to be the best mode for gameplay and battery life. If you are playing older games or the classic style indie games you might be able to play in silent mode. The Ally is definitely larger than I was expecting but it is very comfortable to hold for extended gaming sessions. My hands never really cramped or fatigued with it when gaming for more than an hour. The joysticks are comfortable and I didn’t find them to be in an awkward position. My only complaint about the joysticks is that they seem a little “loose” and they seem to have some deadzones / not the most responsive joysticks. They are definitely perfectly fine for casual / single player games but I would not rely on them for competitive gaming where you will want faster and more accurate response from your joysticks. Yeah, you could always pair or connect a Gamepad with a cable but in my opinion, that defeats the purpose of playing handheld. I haven’t gotten to buy / try the charging / hdmi dock that Asus makes for it but I am definitely going to grab one. I think the coolest thing about it is that you can bring it with you anywhere and just bring a couple cables and controllers and play on a TV or monitor. My nephews love playing Fortnite and rocket league together and I quickly jump in with them with my Ally. There is so many cool use possibilities with this and everyone I’ve showed it to so far is amazed by it. Back to the controls.. the buttons have been fine, they are tactile and responsive. The shoulder triggers are great, they’re really good to be honest and they are comfortable also. The two buttons on the back kind of get in the way and I tend to accidentally press them often, but they don’t cause me too much trouble. I have fairly large hands though, so they might not be a problem for most people. The screen is beautiful and vibrant and the speakers are impressive. I keep them below 40% cos they are loud. The fans are pretty silent and do a great job at keeping the machine cool. I haven’t had any frame drops because of heat. The fans and vents blow the air up and away from you, so I can never really feel any heat from it. Only when I reach up to press the volume or power button I’m like Oh, it’s toasty. Anyway, I’m just rambling now.. but all in all, I love this handheld gaming PC. Yeah.. windows isn’t really optimized for a handheld, but Asus did a great job with amory crate, it’ll boot up straight to that screen, and you can launch your games from it without having to bother with other launchers or shortcuts. The 512gb SSD is very fast and is enough storage for me. I am going to get a micro SD card later, and drop it in the slot for bonus storage. ASUS has been dropping updates pretty much every day, so I can see it only getting better as time goes on. I’m excited for the future of the Ally and looking forward to playing my favorite games on it. My only complaint is about the joysticks, I wish they were a little more accurate and responsive. They aren’t terrible, but I won’t be winning any tournaments online with them. Would I recommend it? If you love gaming and have the money for it, yes. It’s really cool, and it’s great for couch gaming with friends and family.

Have had it less than 2 weeks , crashed multiple times, now in a permanent bootloop. Research on the internet says likely from windows update. Diagnostics show the wifi adapter is not working. Cloud update attempt 7, if it doesnt work, ill be returning it tomorrow. Bestbuy, stop selling unproven garbage.

This machine is full of trouble, only after several week the trigger button is no working and they refuse to exchange or provide server to my machine all of those make me feel really bad for this buying expensive I won’t buy anything from this best buy again

After a week of updates it dies whenever I start playing

I've had the ally for a few months now, and it's fantastic. There are a handful of problems, but it offers something nothing else does right now. Pros: The whole point of this handheld is to deliver a real PC gaming experience in a portable form, and it delivers impressively well. Forza Horizon 5 looks and plays fantastic, as do most other graphics intensive games I've played. There's a decent size online community too that shares optimized graphics settings to get the most out of the device. The fantasy of the Ally is basically "a steam deck that can play anything", and that is, in fact, what you get. The upgrade to a 2TB mini SSD was easy with the right screwdriver. Watch some youtube videos before you do it and double check that you're getting the right drive, it's not a normal NVMe. The cons are non-trivial, however. 1) the SD card slot is unusable. At the very least it will fail and corrupt your data, at worst the insane heat the Ally puts out will actually kill your SD card. Don't expect to use an SD for storage, period. 2) Battery life is quite short if you want to maintain a high level of performance. I have plenty of places where I'm happy to play this plugged in to the wall - if you don't, I'd skip it. Be aware that if you want to charge it from a power bank, you'll need a special high wattage one, normal ones won't work. 3) The joysticks keep shedding black plastic around the rim, which makes me worried about their lifespan. 4) it'll cook your fingers if you leave them in the wrong spot, she runs HOT. In addition to all that, people have had trouble with ASUS support, and there are concerns about the manufacturer's long term support of the device. You can see more on the subreddit. All that said, I truly don't care about any of the cons. I love this little device, and if you're an early adopter who thinks they might be interested in something like this, you probably will too.