Despite its April Fool’s Day reveal, the Asus ROG Ally is no joke. In fact, it’s shaping up to be a serious Steam Deck competitor, and we now have more information on the hardware powering this pocket rocket.
At the heart of the Asus ROG Ally specs sheet is the new AMD Ryzen Z1 APU. This Zen 4 chip packs six cores, 12 threads, and is the first chip to boast RDNA 3 integrated graphics, all of which should offer a comfortable performance lead versus the Steam Deck’s innards.
Here are the ASUS ROG Ally specs:
| Asus ROG Ally Specs | |
| APU | AMD Ryzen Z1 / AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme |
| Cores | 6 / 8 |
| Threads | 12 / 16 |
| Graphics | RDNA 3 |
| RAM | 16GB LPDDR5 |
| Display | 7-inch IPS 1080p/120Hz |
| Storage | Up to 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD / microSD |
| Weight | 608g |
There’s even an enthusiast option for those that need the best gaming CPU in a compact computer, the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which ups the ante to eight cores and 16 threads. We doubt you’ll need more than the standard APU for most games, but it’s certainly nice to have the option.
Combined with everything we already knew about the device, such as its 1080p display with 120Hz refresh rate, the Asus ROG Ally will easily be the most powerful handheld out there. Naturally, with high performance comes high prices.
Asus ROG says the Ally will be priced at “less than $1,000”, so don’t expect it to be cheap. We should know more come May 11 during the device’s global launch event, but we don’t expect it to undercut the Steam Deck by any means.
You can expect our Asus ROG Ally review to follow shortly after the release date, so stay tuned!
Sticking with Valve’s portable powerhouse for now? Check out the best Steam Deck accessories and enhance your handheld experience.