The joke’s on us, apparently. Shortly after being teased on April Fools’ Day, the ASUS ROG Ally has been confirmed by no less than the Taiwanese company through its official Facebook page.
(Update, July 20: The ASUS ROG Ally is priced from P39,995 [$733] in the Philippines!)
(Update, June 9: We can confirm that the ASUS ROG Ally’s regular and Extreme versions are coming to the Philippines!)
As of now, the Best Buy link for the ROG Ally is still live, and you can register with your email to be notified when the Steam Deck competitor goes up for preorder. The microsite also shows a banner that features the Game Pass and Windows 11 logos, hinting that the Ally will run Microsoft’s latest operating system out of the box and supports the Netflix-like game-subscription service at launch.
Based on the ASUS ROG Ally launch trailer posted online, it seems the device will run Windows 11 on a custom AMD Ryzen APU inside, similar to the Steam Deck. It is said to be the fastest AMD APU yet.
ASUS ROG Ally teaser video that was posted on April Fools’ Day. Turns out this is not a joke!
This allows the gaming handheld console to play AAA games on a tablet-sized FHD display that can get bright enough for outdoor use. To keep things running cool under load, the ROG Ally comes with a dual-fan design, which has been advertised to help boost performance while maintaining the device’s quiet operation.
Perhaps the biggest kicker here, though, is that the Ally will support ROG’s XG Mobile eGPU, which will charge the device while streaming games to a TV or large monitor. Other notable hardware features include dual analog sticks, a left-mounted D-pad, four face buttons, and RGB lighting around the analog sticks and at the back.
As to why ASUS chose to make the product announcement on April 1, the decision was likely made to generate more hype and publicity as the ROG Ally inches closer to its actual launch date. Hope the company will make it available in the Philippines.
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