Review of the $700 Asus ROG Ally: fast performance and smooth variable refresh screen, but Windows is hard to use on a handheld and the UI has major glitches
if you can wait till Q3 Sean Endicott / Windows Central : ASUS ROG Ally unleashed: Price and release date revealed today for pre-order Brady Snyder / XDA Developers : The ROG Ally gaming handheld arrives in June for $700 to battle the Steam Deck, preorder now Joel Loynds / Dexerto : Asus ROG Ally review: Incredible hardware marred by Windows Mike Minotti / VentureBeat : ASUS ROG Ally launches on June 13 Anyron Copeman / Tech Advisor : Best Prices Today: Asus ROG Ally Jacob Roach / Digital Trends : Asus ROG Ally review: goodbye, Steam Deck VideoCardz.com : ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming console with Ryzen Z1 Extreme launches on June 13, costs $699 Jeff Rubenstein Xbox Wire / Xbox Wire : ASUS ROG Ally Hands-on: This Is Game Pass Portable John Callaham / Neowin : ASUS ROG Ally launches June 13 for $699.99, with cheaper $599.99 version due later in 2023 Peter Holden / TalkAndroid.com : The Asus ROG Ally costs $699/£699 - pre-orders are live Jason England / Laptop Mag : Where to buy the Asus ROG Ally — Pre-orders open now Eric Ravenscraft / Wired : Review: Asus ROG Ally Windows Blog : Xbox gets hands-on with ROG Ally, which goes portable with Windows 11 and Game Pass GFreeman / TechPowerUp : Meet the ROG Ally, the Perfect Handheld Companion for Any Gamer Ben Sledge / TheGamer : ROG Ally Review: The Steam Deck's First True Competition Brad Linder / Liliputing : Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC goes up for pre-order for $700, available starting June 13 James Archer / Rock, Paper, Shotgun : The Asus ROG Ally's price is £699 / $699, will release in June Dave James / PC Gamer : Asus ROG Ally Steve Vegvari / iPhone in Canada Blog : ASUS ROG Ally Handheld Launching June For $899 in Canada Matthew Wilson / KitGuru : The ASUS ROG Ally will be available in June, Z1 Extreme version starts at $699 Dennis Patrick / Gameranx : Asus ROG Ally Price Has Been Confirmed With Preorders Now Open Fraser Gilbert / Pure Xbox : Xbox Shows Support As ASUS ROG Ally Pre-Orders Go Live Cameron Faulkner / Polygon : The Asus ROG Ally is coming June 13 for $699.99 Hassan Mujtaba / Wccftech : ASUS ROG Ally Handheld Official: Steam Deck Rival Powered By AMD Ryzen Z1, Starting At $599 On 16th June GameSpot : Asus ROG Ally Preorders Are Live Now Justin Kahn / 9to5Toys : Powerful new ASUS Ally Windows 11 handheld gaming PC pre-orders set to kick off today
Context & Ripple Effects
Asus entered the handheld-PC contest with a device whose early hands-on suggested it could challenge Steam Deck if its price and software landed well. This review says the hardware side largely did, but the Windows interaction layer did not.
That split became a durable product issue rather than a one-off launch blemish: Microsoft later presented a full-screen Windows experience for handhelds, while a later ROG Xbox Ally X review still identified Windows optimization as a weakness.
First-order effects
- Buyers get high performance and variable-refresh display quality, but must tolerate a touch-and-controller experience in Windows that is poorly suited to handheld use and affected by major UI glitches.
- Asus' immediate competitive case against Steam Deck is constrained: component performance alone cannot make the device feel as cohesive as a purpose-built handheld interface.
Second-order effects
- The review raises the value of software integration in handheld-PC competition, pressuring Asus and Windows to prioritize launcher, navigation, and system-level controller usability over incremental hardware specifications.
- It also gives Valve's Steam Deck a clearer differentiation point: a more tailored software experience can matter at least as much as raw performance for portable play.
Third-order effects
- If Windows handhelds continue to pair strong silicon with desktop-first controls, the category will reward vendors that control—or closely coordinate—the hardware and interface stack.
- Microsoft and Asus' later move toward Xbox-branded handhelds that support multiple PC storefronts suggests the industry response is not to close the PC ecosystem, but to make an open ecosystem usable through a console-like front end.
The trend: Handheld gaming PCs are shifting from a hardware-specification contest toward a battle over who can make open PC game libraries feel frictionless on a small, controller-first device.