If you think the Asus ROG Ally changed the game just wait for the Standard
After the success of the Asus ROG Ally Extreme, the Standard edition could completely break the handheld gaming market when it drops later this year.
The Asus ROG Ally Extreme launched back in June and shook up the gaming handheld industry, finally putting a reasonable option on the table for those who want to play PC games portably. Prior to the launch of the Asus ROG Ally, the Steam Deck seemed like the front-runner in the handheld PC gaming world, however, it has a somewhat limited library, only allowing you to play games on Steam.
Instead of running a dedicated operating system, the Asus ROG Ally actually runs on Windows 11, meaning you can play games from any storefront which runs on PC, including EA, Epic Games, Ubisoft and many more. This set it apart from other gaming handhelds on the market.
In its first month alone, the Asus ROG Ally Extreme sold almost 500k units (via Retro Resolve), which is a pretty major achievement when compared to the 1.62 million units of the Steam Deck sold across the entire of 2022 (via Omdia). The Asus ROG Ally Extreme managed this feat despite the fact it comes in at a relatively high price point of £699 / $699 / AU$1299 compared to the Steam Deck, where the cheapest model is just £349 / $399 / AU$599. And, you can get one even cheaper if you want a refurbished model.
Considering the Asus ROG Ally made this big of an impact on the handheld gaming market, despite coming in at such a high price point, it makes me even more excited for the release of the Asus ROG Ally Standard edition which we should be expecting to release later this year.
Steam Deck could be done for with new Asus ROG handheld PC coming soon
Asus has previously announced that its Asus ROG Ally Standard should only set you back £599 / $599 (Australian pricing is unconfirmed but roughly converts to AU$910). In the US, this is actually cheaper than the most expensive Steam Deck, which costs £569 / $649 / AU$975.
There's nothing holding me back
The one thing that is holding me back from picking up the Asus ROG Ally myself, even though I gave it a glowing five-star review, is the price point. It feels hard justifying spending so much money on a handheld device which wouldn't even be my primary gaming device.
However, I feel like the Asus ROG Ally Standard coming in at a lower price point might be the push I need to just bite the bullet and pick it up. Despite the processors in both of the devices being different, the fact that the display is the same gives me high hopes for the performance of the Asus ROG Ally Standard edition.
One of the main reasons I adore the ROG Ally so much is because of the operating system, rather than performance alone, and being able to get Windows 11 on a gaming handheld for a lower price point would be a huge deal. And, it could blow the handheld gaming market wide open.
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