Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on laptopmag.com.
We love the Asus ROG Ally, but one burning question can make or break its success: how much will it cost? Well, thanks to a recent leak, we have an answer to that question that is sure to put the Steam Deck in deep peril.
In the Ally announcement, the word on price was a guarantee it would be “less than $1,000,” which had us managing expectations at up to $900. So imagine our shock to see that the higher-end model with AMD Z1 Extreme chip will cost just $699!
Steam Deck vs Asus ROG Ally: Price and specs
The Steam Deck Killer
Let’s just take a second to compare that price to Valve’s current pricing — I say “current” because if this is true, I’m confident this will force the company’s hand to reduce that retail price to compete.
https://twitter.com/_snoopytech_/status/1651251864908754944?s=20
For $649, you can pick up a 512GB Steam Deck. Of course, you get the faster M.2 SSD storage, anti-glare etched glass, a free carrying case, and some Steam profile goodies for that additional cost.
Meanwhile, for $50 more, you can snag the ROG Ally which also comes with 512GB of storage and a whole lot more horsepower under the hood. Let’s draw up a table to show you what you get for that additional money.
I don’t know about you, but that looks like the best fifty extra bucks you could spend when it comes to a portable gaming machine.
Outlook
Uh oh. Asus came to play, and the Steam Deck has some serious competition. Not only in terms of superior hardware specs but a mightily enticing price that would make this an insanely easy decision to make.
In the ROG Ally, you’re getting a system that is up to twice as powerful as the Steam Deck, with a display that is 2x smoother, and thanks to Windows 11, you’re not just limited to playing your Steam library.
And you get all of that at just $50 more… Yeah, Valve needs to work hard on bringing the Steam Deck 2 to market sooner rather than later.
About the Author
Jason England brings a decade of tech and gaming journalism experience to his role as a writer at Laptop Mag. He takes a particular interest in writing articles and creating videos about laptops, headphones, and games. He has previously written for Kotaku, Stuff, and BBC Science Focus. In his spare time, you’ll find Jason looking for good dogs to pet or thinking about eating pizza if he isn’t already.
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