Customer Ratings & Reviews

Basically the ROG Ally is like one of the lower end gaming laptops based off an AMD APU put into a handheld form factor. Bonus is that it’s using AMD’s most powerful APU yet with the latest CPU/GPU architectures, and it has the most GPU CU’s ever in an APU outside of gaming consoles. It’s impressive. Depending on the game and settings you can get 60 fps with setting maxed out or close to it at 1080p or 720p, or 120 fps with low sometimes medium settings. Battery life is not that great considering the power this device has but I expected that going into this purchase so I’m giving 5 stars. It really is a windows PC and it can be tuned like one, flip side is you have to know your way around windows, drivers and updates to get the most out of it. If I had to nitpick I’d like better joysticks, these ones are good but not great.

Dont get me wrong I would recommend everyone to get this. The fact that its a portable pc and works great! The only reason why I didnt give this 5 stars is because of the battery life.

Pair this thing with a dock and a high refresh rate monitor and you got a decent PC gaming set up. I got this device thinking it would be a great companion to my main PC and it surpassed my expectations. The only drawbacks really are the loose feeling analog sticks and battery life. Ordered the Ally X today to see if it completely eliminates my concerns. If you're use to gaming with low-mid graphics settings this would be a fire set up for the price.

What’s not to love about a handheld gaming pc that you can play tripple A title games. The pros are you can take this thing anywhere and the performance is amazing. Even the Rog with the standard Z1 processor is pretty good and is a great price. Although the Z1 extreme just a performance beast. The cons to this device is the battery life isn’t that great so you need to carry the charger. I’ve never had a problem with the micro Sd but evidently the fog melts the cards. I can’t say anything about that because o have not experienced this problem. Anyway this is a must buy!

I had my doubts, but I'm glad I was proven wrong - for the most part. I debated between the competition, but I went with the Ally solely for the FreeSync Premium screen. It's pretty. With that said, the cons of the handheld are: -capacity for only 2230 NVMe -a meager 16GB of shared RAM -one USB port?? -mushy, unresponsive, sluggish d-pad unsuitable for precise, fast rolling moves in fighting games; 3 or 4 out of 10 here... -white These are not small 'cons'. Sure, it's only a 1080p screen, but more is sorely needed here, in my opinion. I feel 32GB should be the standard right now if it's to be shared between the system and GPU, especially when we consider the games that are right around the corner. Textured super-white plastic for a handheld gaming machine? Um.... The pros: -lightweight -CPU performance (wow!) - GPU is impressive as well, just not as the CPU's performance given total package power -ergonomic (well designed chassis in terms of comfort) -gorgeous screen; Freesync is a game changer on handhelds -speakers/sound (very impressed) -USB4 + XG (hi-bandwidth I/O) port -quiet -face buttons, trigger, back buttons, shoulder buttons, and analog sticks all placed very well and feel good -effort at improving software/updates. I hope this will be an ongoing thing in the long term. I do like the Ally, but I think I would have liked it much better with those changes. Also, a black variant would have been nice, as it would have been much easier to keep clean. For me, it's kind of a love/hate thing with this device. I love it for the screen and its current overall performance, but I "hate" it for not having more RAM, and for not being able to take 2280 sized drives for longevity reasons. Also the sub-par d-pad is.... a pretty large let down for me. They definitely have room to improve here. Finally, the first-party accessory scene is an utter joke and clearly cash grabs. They are very poorly designed and would leave me wanting so much more than they unfortunately are. Third-party is, unfortunately, the only option for now. 3/5 stars for the Ally, but keep in mind that there is no other handheld that I would score higher.

The only issue that I have had is needing a bigger SSD. The ROG Ally is by far my favorite piece of tech that I own. Being able to take your PC games with you wherever you go is a must. I have played Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart, Cyberpunk 2077, BG3, Hitman 3, Balatro, Slay the Spire, and quite a few more. It has yet to have any issues for me. Even modding works with it really well.

Not too heavy and works great so far. Very fast and nice screen. I purchased a few more accessories like carrying case, bumber case and screen protector. This is my #1 must have to travel.

I still own a Steam Deck, but I prefer the ROG Ally. Having said that, I think console-only gamers will prefer the Steam Deck because, in a strange reversal, the Linux-based operating system "just works" as a prepackaged experience while the Windows-based ROG Ally requires frequent tinkering (this is literally a desktop version of Windows, after all). Tinkering isn't easy with fat fingers and a tiny screen, which is another point in favor for Steam Deck and its unusually precise dual trackpads. ASUS's Armoury Crate is a preloaded application that attempts to simplify the front end experience, but I often find myself avoiding it because it isn't as slick as SteamOS and requires updating far too often. I think most PC veterans will prefer ROG Ally as well, especially those who frequently emulate older consoles or plan to use the device for anything other than Steam-related activities. Yes, you can also emulate games on Steam Deck, but I just don't like jumping through the hoops Emudeck requires (such as constantly switching between Gaming Mode and Desktop Mode) and I've had no issues running Fightcade on the Ally either. I find it's a lot easier for me to set up shared folders for ROMs and save states to get a more seamless transition from desktop gaming and portable gaming. Having said that, Steam Deck probably scores yet another point for even having the option between Gaming and Desktop mode, whereas the Ally is pretty much Desktop mode only (unless you count Armory Crate as its gaming mode). I even prefer the Steam Deck's face buttons, battery life, and speakers just a TINY bit more, but the 120hz display is enough for me to look past those barely perceivable shortcomings. The display is also 1080p, but let's be real: 720 and 1080 look pretty much the same at this size. Yes, Windows is awkward to get the hang of in a touchscreen interface, but doing anything outside of Steam Deck's Gaming Mode is also awkward without a keyboard and mouse. Which brings me to another point: either one of the devices is improved by a USB dock ($40-100) for peripherals. I find that these "extras" are more necessary than optional in the long run, so there's another expense you can look forward to. You should also plan on a case as well; D-Brand just came out with theirs, but I had already purchased the Skull & Co. GripCase for $20 which massively improves the grip and has a simple solution to requiring a dorky kickstand. I can think of quite a few features I like better in the Steam Deck than in the ROG Ally (I haven't even mentioned the Ally's overheating SD card issue, which is frankly a ridiculous oversight in this day and age), and yet I still prefer the ROG Ally overall.

Battery life isn't great, but otherwise it's very good for gaming on the go without spending a lot more on a gaming laptop

Good system. The display is excellent. Windows OS is clunky as always but has great advantages on a powerful machine like this (PC Gamepass, for example). It's not as comfortable to hold as the Steamdeck and can get rather hot. The SD card reader damaging is a real concern and happened to me almost immediately. Does not come with a case. I would suggest paying up to the LegionGo, but this is a serviceable machine.

Was excited to see more handled PC's being launched and with gaming centric companies taking the helm at the latest chipsets and improved screens? Sign me up. On paper the ROG Ally has a good set of internals going for it, a more advanced AMD Chipset than that of the Steam Deck (at least this version) 512GB of storage by default, and a more vibrant faster refresh display that supports FreeSync. From my limited testing the audio also was pretty good from an indoor test; In Red Dead Redemption 2 it seemed to take advantage of that Dolby Atmos virtual surround and I was impressed since I don’t expect it much. To add to that; If the Steam Deck’s positioning on your palms felt too bulky, the Ally has a more sleek profile and it’s a smidge lighter (without feeling cheap) so extended play sessions wont cramp your hands and tire your arms. On Windows; Yes, Windows isn’t there yet for handheld computing at least in a way to get everything set up seamlessly. You’ll definitely want to get this set up in a docked mode or at least get a BT keyboard and mouse synced up when you’re logging into your accounts and getting everything downloaded. Its not so much the cursor controls with the right joystick was an issue (but a tutorial through armoury crate would have been appreciated on what functions in desktop mode) but more so the software keyboard is awkward to use at times and you can’t tell if you’re typing in a text box that you need to. Only to click on it to make that keyboard go away and… then try to awkwardly swipe up to bring it back and hope you still have your entry open in the other window. Aside from that, armoury crate does a good job of grabbing your games when you install those and adding custom control profiles is intuitive enough. I just wish that the software would work when it needs to concerning going back to the desktop (there’s a dedicated hotkey but it works 25% of the time if it does at all) so there’s suqicks here and there but its not terrible especially for a first gen product. However, there’s a glaring issue at least in my unit; The left joystick suddenly stopped working on the X-Axis. I wasn’t sure if this was due to a firmware update or BIOS update, but I noticed this while testing out some games and thought it might just be because they were older ports (was trying out non-native games the Deck could not run) – After testing it out in calibration tools, its just the joystick is bad. No combination of BIOS & Firmware rollbacks or wipes fixed it. I’ve yet to hear back from ASUS after 48 hours so I’m assuming that I need to return this and swap, and as of June 2023 I see there’s a lot of other people with similar issues that ended up returning. Overall? Good showing from ASUS on getting Windows wrangled to a usable option especially with Gamepass – Once you initially get everything set up it’s a cinch to get into your games. Plus you have the added bonus of having a ultra portable PC if you need to drop into your NAS or get your media all under one unit for travel. However I’m going to be keeping my Steam Deck for a while, the hardware issues leave a bad taste. If you’ve already got something similar I’d wait out for Gen 2 – Otherwise if this is your first handheld gaming PC you can’t go wrong with this, just keep in mind you might have an issue down the line, or right when you unbox it.

Very capable and fun gaming machine. It's easy to navigate and use and downloading games is easy. The battery life is fairly short so I typically have to plug it in and occasionally it freezes and I can't exit a game without force closing it but it's a Windows machine so that was expected.

Beautiful design,strong performance,short battery around an hour,setup issues take some time for new machine,storage only 512 not really enough for me,micro sd not work properly!I will give 8/10 marks for this machined overall.

With one exception I am absolutely happy with my purchase of the ASUS ROG Ally. It is a very powerful machine that plays almost anything you throw at it with ease. The display is a great size for a handheld and has very accurate color with great contrast. Color saturation is superb. The one area of contention is that there is a high incidence of SD Card Reader failure. ASUS is still trying to identify the issue and deliver a fix. The user forums, Reddit and Discord are filled with users who report the issue. I am using a USB SD Card Reader in the mean time and it works very well. Hopefully ASUS delivers a fix soon.

Best gaming handheld in my opinion in terms of build quality. SD card issues of course. Poor battery life.

Pros - the versatile nature of this handheld is awesome inspiring. Power of a windows gaming laptop in your hands! You can connect this to a TV or monitor to use it as a portable computer or as a gaming system on the run. I haven't tested it on AAA titles other then assassin's creed origins (which was fun to play on a handheld) Cons - the controls take something to get use to, going from a controller (ps5 and a Xbox PC controller) it's difficult to maintain a grip of the device and maintain that level of control (for me). overall - this was a fantastic buy, and I enjoy it more as I spend more time with the rog ally!

Best handheld gaming experience I’ve had. The Ally runs all my games and the screen is absolutely amazing. Something you really have to see to believe. Battery life could be better, but I’m never too far from an outlet to charge up!

Powerful, light, comfortable to hold. Only complaints are the battery life is pretty bad, and storage is a bit small.

The size and feel of this system is perfect. Big or small hands, the system grips in well and the buttons are very easy to use. I also love the performance of this thing. Once you tune out Windows 11, you're able to run modern PC games with high settings and still average 40 to 60 FPS. The screen is clear and sharp. But the colors really pop. I was surprised it was not OLED. You can mod the system really easy and maintenance like replacing the thermal paster is done in just a couple of minutes. I was able to upgrade my system to 2TB and set the GPU to 7gigs and this thing ran like a beast! I was able to max some settings out in Cyberpunk 2077. I'm Very happy.

Got my first Ally in the mail, delivered to me but the LB was squishy and weird(even had a squeaky spring or something going on beneath the shell that felt like it was making it mushy), nothing at all like the RB. Returned it, but when I did so, it was on the 11th, device wouldn't be properly released til the 13th so had to wait some more. Picked up the new device and LB feels *better* but still kind of feels a little off(I'm just not sure why on two separate devices the LB feels off compared to the RB, it doesn't make sense) but still after a few presses it goes to feeling normal. So I can deal with it. But the B button... it presses down and if you're not that sensitive to the buttons you're pressing, it'll feel normal. I'm hyper sensitive to good controllers and pressing buttons and such(have mechanical keyboards and 100+ dollar controllers, I'm really picky). The B button specifically feels like there's just some slight misaligning of the button itself so the left side of the button doesn't press all the way down. If you roll your thumb over the face buttons and all around the edges of each, A, X, and Y feel as flat and unobtrusive as they should but the B feels like something's preventing it from going all the way flat on just the left side of it. It's very odd... but regardless, I had already set it up so much and downloaded so much that I don't even care anymore at this point. I bought the accidental in case one day the buttons decide to completely break apart or the analog sticks die from not being hall-based sensors. Besides THOSE issues, this device is honestly insane. If it's not able to handle 60 at medium or high at 1080p, it'll most definitely handle it on 720 with punchier colors that blow the steam deck's washed out colors out of the water. The speed and silence of the machine is super nice as well, I didn't think I'd care that much but they're great in comparison. Windows 11 is... windows 11, it doesn't surprise me as a long time user of the operating system but I like how it's slowly attempting to realize that it's being used on a touch screen handheld device(by making touch based gestures and such more user friendly and what have you, you'll see what I mean when you first turn it on compared to something like the OneXplayer or Ayoneo). Emudeck runs perfectly on it and it plays switch games even better than the actual switch so that's a major plus for me honestly(along with PS3 classics). Battery life is abysmal but for playing less intensive games, you could easily run it on "silent" profile and still get a solid 40-60fps on most 2d titles(bastion, disco elysium, etc) and preserve your battery life. I was already prepared to play this thing constantly connected to a power supply of some sort but yeah. All in all, it's an amazing device and I can't wait for the predecessors to blow it out of the water in the future. I could easily see this device(assuming the bottons and sticks don't start dying on me) lasting a good 2-3 years with more and more optimizations and updates to the system.