Asus ROG Ally Review: The Gold standard for handheld gaming, but is it ahead of its time?

India is one of the world's biggest markets for mobile gaming. However, the smartphone is undoubtedly the most widespread device used for mobile gaming in the country. And while handheld gaming consoles are gaining popularity in international markets, they are still a relatively new concept to Indian audiences.

But is all that about to change with the recent introduction of the Asus ROG Ally. The Ally was unveiled back in July as the company's first handheld gaming console running on the Windows platform.

PROS

• Superb Performance for Handheld Console
• Smooth and Vibrant Display
• Ergonomic Design
• Convenient & Customisable Software
• Excellent Speakers
• XG Mobile E-GPU enables 4K Gaming

CONS

• Windows 11 needs fine tuning to adapt to this form factor
• Battery Life could be Better
• Could use a second USB port

However, with a price tag of Rs 69,999, the ROG Ally doesn't come cheap. In fact, it is the price of a flagship smartphone. But just what does it offer at this price tag and will help usher in a new era for handheld gaming consoles in India? Let's find out:

Design

The ROG Ally features an intriguing design, built from hard plastic to keep the weight of the device down and avoid causing any fatigue while playing. The Ally weighs little over 600 grams and measures around 11 inches wide. It features a reinforced polycarbonate chassis, making it incredibly comfortable to use over long gaming sessions.

The ROG Ally gets a white finish, while the only RGB lighting on the device sits under the two analogue sticks in the form of two rings. The speaker grille on the Ally is positioned on the front, while there are air vents on the back and top of the handheld console.

The console is modelled on Microsoft's Xbox controller with a textured grip on either side, making it easy and comfortable to use. On the back of the console, there's a reflective strip and two macro buttons. There are two intake grills for the one, one of which resembles the Asus ROG logo.

Controls and Connectivity

Now, let's talk controls. Considering the Ally is modelled on the Xbox controller, there are the standard "ABYX" buttons on the right, a D-Pad on the light, although with the two analogue sticks There are two shoulder buttons and trigger buttons on the left and right, while the two macro buttons sit behind the grips.

It didn't take long to get accustomed to the Ally's controls, primarily down to the effort put into the design and the emphasis on convenience. The sloped sides on the handheld console also offer a wide surface to rest your hands while gaming. However, the Ally could have done with a grip on each of the two thumb sticks.

There's a dedicated button on the ROG Ally that can be used to bring up the Armory Crate software and one to open the Command Centre. The controls didn't always work properly with every app, and I quickly realised the importance of having a responsive touch screen.

Wireless connectivity options on the ROG Ally include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. All the ports sit on the top of the Ally. These include a USB Type-C port (USB 3.2 Gen 2 and DisplayPort 1.4), a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD card slot.

The USB Type-C port on the Ally sits inside the proprietary ROG XG Mobile port which allows you to connect Asus' XG Mobile E-GPU to the Ally to enable 4K or high-fps gaming on an external display. Two volume buttons also sit on the top of the ROG Ally. Additionally, users can also enjoy haptic feedback and gyroscope support on certain titles on the Ally.

Display & Audio

For the display, Asus has equipped the Ally with a 7-inch Full HD (1080p) IPS LCD screen. The panel boasts a 16:9 aspect ratio and offers a 120Hz refresh rate. Asus claims that the display features a peak brightness of 500 nits and supports 100% sRGB colours.

The screen is perfect for gaming, striking the right balance between resolution and refresh rate. In my experience, colour reproduction was good, although the viewing angles were bang-on average. The panel's touch response was accurate for the most part, although the Ally's form factor makes navigating on it rather difficult.

Considering the uses of a non-OLED screen, the 1080p display here is top-notch and does an excellent job in highlighting the details in titles like Forza Horizon 4 and Death Stranding. It also makes colours in titles like Hades and It Takes Two pop.

Additionally, the GameVisuals option allows you to choose from different colour modes, depending on the title you are engaged in. The panel was also easily visible outdoors and I didn't have any trouble using it when on the move. The touchscreen on the ROG Ally is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus.

The ROG Ally is equipped with dual front firing speakers with Smart Amplifier technology to ensure the fan noise doesn't drown out the audio. The speakers also support Hi-Res Audio and Dolby Atmos support.

The speakers output crisp and rich sound that can get quite loud. Additionally, you can push the audio to high levels without worrying about distortion.The Ally also features built-in microphones with AI noise cancellation to chat with friends or teammates when gaming.

Performance

Asus has only introduced the top-end version of the ROG Ally in India, which comes with the more powerful AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU. It features an 8-core Zen-4 based CPU with a max clock speed of up to 5.1GHz and an integrated Radeon 780M iGPU with 12 RDNA 3 compute units with a max clock speed of up to 2900MHz.

The Ally also comes with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD storage. There's not a lot you can do in terms of upgradability, although Asus does allow you to add a standard M.2 2230 SSD size to the Ally, although considering its size and the space constraints, we'd recommend using an external drive.

I tested quite a few titles on the Ally on medium settings at 1080p resolution, including Horizon Zero Dawn, which managed around 50fps on average. Forza Horizon 5 managed to reach 60fps on average, while DIRT 5 averaged at around 50fps. Shadow of the Tomb Raider also managed an average of 60fps. Another title that just about averaged 60fps was Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Wild Hearts and FIFA 23 hit around 50 fps on average on medium settings at 720p resolution. Death Stranding ran at 60fps on medium settings at 720p resolution. Battlefield 2042 also struggled at 1080p but showed a promising 50+ fps on average on low settings at 720p resolution. And the last single-player title tested on the Ally was Shadow of War, which managed 70fps on average with medium settings in 1080p resolution.

While this may lead you to question the validity of a 120Hz display, the Esports title put those doubts to rest for me. CS: GO, Valorant, Overwatch 2, and Rocket League, all managed between 90 and 130 fps on medium settings at 1080p resolution. All the games I tested on the ROG Ally were tested with the device plugged in.

There is a minor performance drop when running the Ally on Turbo mode using the device's battery. It can fall anywhere between 5% to 10%. However, in most scenarios this results in a minor dip in performance that is not noticeable on a game's recommended settings.

You can run the console in 'Performance' mode as well, although there is a noticeable dip in frames, particularly when dealing with high-end titles. But running games in this mode will result in slightly better battery life, around 15 to 25 minutes more than "Turbo" mode. And unless you are playing an Android title or a very casual PC game, I wouldn't recommend running the console in "Silent" mode.

There's a Command Centre to switch between the different power modes, including Turbo, Performance, Silent, and Manual. When charged, the Ally has a TDP of 30W in Turbo mode. On battery, the Ally features a 25W TDP in Turbo mode, 15W in Performance mode, and 10W in Silent mode. Moreover, the Manual mode can be used to customize the fan speed and power profile.

Battery Life

In terms of battery life, the ROG Ally delivers around five to six hours of browsing the web and watching videos or movies. This comes courtesy of a 40Whr battery. However, for gaming that time is significantly reduced to little over an hour on the Ally's Turbo mode and around 90 minutes on Performance mode.

It is worth noting that I only ran AAA titles to test battery life while gaming and less demanding games could garner you a little more juice. While I was disappointed considering the Ally is a handheld console that can be picked up and used on the go.

But this is a persistent problem with PC gaming on the move. Gaming laptops also deal with the same issue, only able to deliver 60 to 90 minutes of playback on a full charge. On the plus side, Asus has bundled a 65W charger in the box, which can fully power up the Ally in little over 90 minutes.

Software Experience

The Asus ROG Ally runs the Windows 11 operating system, which makes it more of a handheld gaming PC than console. The Armoury Crate gives you complete control of the Ally, allowing you to access both the settings menu and all your titles in one place.

While operating the Ally using the touch screen isn't very convenient, the Armoury Crate software is what completes the gaming experience. You can use it to save multiple controller profiles on a per game basis. The Armoury Crate also acts as a game library for all the titles you've downloaded on the Ally, so no need to switch between the different launchers.

The experience feels a lot like a console than a gaming PC though. Asus also offers a free three-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. The Games Library in the Armoury Crate can store games from the Xbox app, Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect 2.0, EA App, and more.

The Settings section allows you to access all the controls on the Ally and offers in-depth customizations. Users can choose between "Gamepad Mode" and "Desktop Mode", while further customizations of these modes can be accessed in the "Control Mode". You can also set limits on fps, change the screen's resolution and refresh rate, and turn on AMD's upscaling technologies through the settings.

Asus has designed the software on the ROG Ally to make the overall experience as convenient as possible. While the 'Settings' gives you complete control of the Ally, the Command Centre offers quick access to the most important settings to improve and monitor gaming performance in real-time.

Beyond a handheld gaming console

Unlike a console or PC, Asus is pitching the ROG Ally as your secondary gaming device. However, with the aid of a dongle, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and a monitor, the ROG Ally could very well be utilised as a make-shift PC.

Because the Ally runs on the Windows 11 platform, it can do just about anything a PC can, including running MS Word, Photoshop, Chrome, and more, with the added benefit of being able to run games. You will have to cut the resolution down to 720p on the latest AAA titles and some extremely graphic-intensive games may not run on the Ally.

However, even when hooked up to an external monitor, the Ally should be able to run a vast majority of titles with playable frame rates. It is worth noting that you will need a dongle to hook up the ROG Ally to an external monitor if you want to use it over a long period due to the single USB Type-C port for charging.

Another example of the ROG Ally being an excellent primary gaming device is for those working at sea. Carrying a console simply isn't feasible, which makes the Ally the perfect gaming companion for those long voyages.

Asus ROG Ally Review: Final Thoughts

Whatever our thoughts are on the Ally, it is safe to say that Asus has done an excellent job for a first-generation handheld gaming console. The Asus ROG Ally has several advantages over the Steam Deck, primarily the higher resolution display and better performance.

But beyond the excellent hardware on display here, it is the software that ties everything together. When it comes to handheld PC gaming, there isn't a device that can rival the Ally. Moreover, it offers even more utility beyond just a handheld gaming console. Asus has incorporated a vibrant display, quality audio, and optimal cooling to deliver a top-of-the-line gaming experience on the Ally.

Additionally, the overall design and build ensures comfort over all else. However, the ROG Ally isn't without its drawbacks as the battery life is mediocre, while the Windows 11 operating system does feel like it is preventing the Ally from reaching its full potential.

However, if you could overlook these two caveats, you are left with an extremely fun device that redefines the concept of mobile gaming. For a secondary gaming device, the ROG Ally is almost perfect, due to its compact size and powerful hardware. But it doesn't quite fulfil the potential of a handheld gaming console and does seem to be slightly ahead of its time. That being said, the future of handheld gaming has never been brighter.