In the world of portable entertainment, outside of mobile, the options are not many. Nintendo is the only console manufacturer with a device that can be taken everywhere (the Switch) and the alternative for those looking for a more extensive or different catalog from Nintendo is the Steam Deck, a Valve device that is actually a Very portable PC and optimized for several of the games that are distributed through the Steam store.
Soon this second alternative will have competition. Asus took advantage of last April Fool’s Day in the Anglo-Saxon world -on April 1st- to announce a product that is not much of a joke: ROG Ally. It will be a portable console with the same philosophy as Valve’s, but with the advantage of not being tied to a specific store and with a familiar operating environment.
Details are still scarce, but the company has confirmed that it is working with AMD on a proprietary processor that is more advanced than the Deck’s, using the Zen2 architecture. The screen will be 7 inches and with Full HD resolution, but the company will also launch an external graphics card that can be connected as an accessory to use the console on external screens with higher graphic quality.
Ally will have two internal fans to keep the machine cool to the touch, but the company claims it will be quieter than the Steam Deck. The main advantage, however, is that unlike its competitor, it can also run games from other platforms, such as Origin, Xbox Game Pass or Epic Games.
Other accessory manufacturers, such as Logitech or Razer, have also tried to enter this market, although with less powerful devices and focused only on cloud gaming platforms. Ally will also be compatible with these services, but the biggest draw is being able to play games installed locally on the device.
It will also probably be a more expensive machine. Sources that have had access to the device believe that the final price will be around 650 euros for the basic version and it will hit the market in October of this year.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
