The first console with AMD Ryzen Z1 APU released ASUS ROG Ally features Zen4 and RDNA3 architectures. The day has come, says AMD. ASUS has finally launched its ROG Ally gaming console based on AMD hardware. This is the first handheld console developed by ASUS and the first console to ever feature the AMD Ryzen […]
The lack of touch controls was a red flag for me, too. Having a trackpad as a backup input device for menus and things seems like it’d be pretty important, but I don’t have a Steam Deck so maybe I’m wrong.
Exactly this - I play a lot of old PC games on my Steamdeck that assume you have a keyboard attached. A simple touch menu can easily give you 10 more buttons to bind!
There’s definitely a fair few Steam games that are 90% controller compatible but have some little launcher, and trying to get through it without some simple pointer is an annoying challenge.
Performance numbers alone, yes. It’s a newer CPU on a newer node. Absolutely. The screen is also 120hz, and 1080p.
User experience wise, I don’t think so. Windows 11 is barely functioning for me on a desktop, how is it going to handle on a console device? Rog software has been pretty crappy on desktop too, it’s similar here. The videos I’ve seen show a wonky experience.
Its not all bad, but it isn’t a direct competition. I think the Steam Deck delivers a tailored experience, while this delivers a laptop in a small package.
Yeah I think the market for “I will also use this as a laptop” is so small that the vast majority of people wont factor that in, and for the 19 people that will genuinely use this as a traveling computer it will be great for them. But by and large I think 90% of people that wanted a “switch but for my PC games” already jumped on the steamdeck backwagon and there just arent that many more sales to pick up from that market segment
Its a major use, but only for a niche number of people. I think theres Very, very, very few people that would get this that dont already have a main computer and/or a laptop, so the usage of this as a portable computer, while very cool and interesting, is not going to be what millions of people are doing
Will these beat a steam deck do you think?
Performance wise yes, user experience wise no.
I think no, so much of what makes the Steam Deck great is SteamOS. Plus my understanding is that this things battery life isn’t very good.
That being said, still appears to be a competent competitor and I’m here for that.
The lack of touch controls was a red flag for me, too. Having a trackpad as a backup input device for menus and things seems like it’d be pretty important, but I don’t have a Steam Deck so maybe I’m wrong.
It isn’t just for menus, having good mouse input allows you to play significantly more games than with just joysticks.
The touchpads also can act as extra buttons or touch menus, giving you way more input options for games where you don’t need one to be a mouse.
Exactly this - I play a lot of old PC games on my Steamdeck that assume you have a keyboard attached. A simple touch menu can easily give you 10 more buttons to bind!
There’s definitely a fair few Steam games that are 90% controller compatible but have some little launcher, and trying to get through it without some simple pointer is an annoying challenge.
Trackpads are nice for desktop navigation so you don’t have to be tapping on the tiny screen.
Define “beat”
Performance numbers alone, yes. It’s a newer CPU on a newer node. Absolutely. The screen is also 120hz, and 1080p.
User experience wise, I don’t think so. Windows 11 is barely functioning for me on a desktop, how is it going to handle on a console device? Rog software has been pretty crappy on desktop too, it’s similar here. The videos I’ve seen show a wonky experience.
Its not all bad, but it isn’t a direct competition. I think the Steam Deck delivers a tailored experience, while this delivers a laptop in a small package.
Yeah I think the market for “I will also use this as a laptop” is so small that the vast majority of people wont factor that in, and for the 19 people that will genuinely use this as a traveling computer it will be great for them. But by and large I think 90% of people that wanted a “switch but for my PC games” already jumped on the steamdeck backwagon and there just arent that many more sales to pick up from that market segment
Well, some will want to dock it as well and use it as a computer with a keyboard and mouse. I think that’s a major use.
Its a major use, but only for a niche number of people. I think theres Very, very, very few people that would get this that dont already have a main computer and/or a laptop, so the usage of this as a portable computer, while very cool and interesting, is not going to be what millions of people are doing
And that market already does essentially the same thing (sans gaming) with tablet + keyboard stand/case and portable mouse.
And both a tablet set up like that and the steamdeck, depending on use case, is significantly cheaper.