ROG Ally review – ASUS in the business of gaming laptops – review

It’s a powerful Windows 11 PC that fits in the (large) pocket and follows the user anywhere. Since it’s Windows 11, its compatibility is impeccable, so it can run practically anything, from any era. Now, the new console is also available for sale in our country, so we have secured one for testing.

We start with the design that comes with…the ROG signature. The console is pure white with some color splashes in a few places. Initially, the ABXY keys on the right side are blue, gray, green, and red respectively, without being particularly intense. On the left and right, in the lower corners, there is a small ROG logo on an iridescent silver sticker.

There is a similar diagonal stripe on the back, thin and silver with an iridescent effect. In addition, there is an RG color in a light ring around the two levers, which in turn have various effects and customization options.
Aside from those, two of the joysticks are black and, accordingly, the D-pad is also black, as are the four keys on the top and the keys on the back. The device’s speakers are located in front of, to the left, and to the right of the screen. At the back are the air intakes, one of which is shaped like the ROG logo, while at the top are the two air outlets.

At the top are a headphone port, a microSD card slot, and an external graphics card input jack, and next to it is a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port for charging or connecting to other devices (such as monitors). To the right, the volume keys and next to them, two LEDs (charging and powering status). Finally, a little further to the right is the activation button, which even includes a fingerprint reader, so that fast connectivity and security are combined without delay for the user. Let’s not forget to mention the connection port for the external GPU, specifically the XG Mobile port, the same port that supports ASUS’ ROG Flow laptop, which boosts performance with the RTX 4090 GPU inside. Was there a reason why ASUS would support something like this in the ROG Ally? We do not think that it concerns very few users (the additional cost exceeds 2000 euros) but in any case the company believes that there is a benefit.

Read the full review