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The ROG Ally is a 7.0 inch 16:9 Windows handheld that plays everything up to Wii U well, made by Asus. It came out in June 2023 at $599. Inside is the AMD Ryzen Z1 with 16 GB of RAM.
Who it's for
Buy it if
- You want to play everything up to Wii U, plus some Switch.
- You want a 7.0 inch screen and carry it in a bag or a jacket.
Skip it if
- You want something light: it weighs 608 g.
- You only play up to PS1: handhelds under $60 do that.
ROG Ally videos
What it plays
Plays up to: Wii U. Chip: AMD Ryzen Z1.
Scores out of 100. 100 means the system runs at full speed with no known issues on this device. 80 or more plays well (green), 50 to 79 plays partly (yellow).
What owners say
“My ROG Ally micro SD card slot is still broken, like many other Ally users, ASUS refuses to even recognize the issue.”
“The day I got the ROG Ally, I started playing it and loved it.”
“The only device I actually regret getting is my rog ally z1 extreme.”
What the specs mean
16:9 screen
PSP and Switch games fill it. 4:3 home consoles show bars at the sides, and Game Boy games look small.
Based on: Display math: native screen shapes of each system
Sharpest fit: GBA
At 6x, GBA fills 67% of the screen with even pixels. Filling the rest means stretching, which some people smooth with a filter.
Based on: Display math: largest whole-number scale that fits the screen
Small battery for its class
Only 1 of 59 Windows handhelds in our database have a smaller battery than this 40 mAh (the middle one has 65 mAh). The heavier the system you run, the sooner it runs out.
Based on: Our handheld database: battery of 59 Windows handhelds
DS on one screen
DS games show both screens shrunk side by side, or one big screen you swap. The touch screen stands in for the stylus.
Based on: Layout data: single screen with touch
Rating
How we score: what it plays 30%, how many players own and recommend it 20%, screen 15%, price compared with handhelds that play as much 10%, controls 10%, size and weight 10%, battery size for its chip 5%.
Good
- Plays everything up to Wii U well
- 120 Hz screen
- Video out to a TV
- Analog triggers
Not so good
- Heavy at 608 g
- High-end price
- Small 40 mAh battery
Screen fit
Screen: 7.0 inch, IPS, 16:9, 1920 x 1080.
| System | Original | Sharpest scale | Screen filled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Boy | 160 x 144 | 7x (1120 x 1008) | 54% |
| GBA | 240 x 160 | 6x (1440 x 960) | 67% |
| NES and SNES | 256 x 224 | 4x (1024 x 896) | 44% |
| Genesis | 320 x 224 | 4x (1280 x 896) | 55% |
| PS1 and N64 | 320 x 240 | 4x (1280 x 960) | 59% |
| DS, one screen | 256 x 192 | 5x (1280 x 960) | 59% |
| PSP | 480 x 272 | 3x (1440 x 816) | 57% |
Whole-number scales keep every pixel the same size. Screen 1920 x 1080.
Size
280 x 113 x 39 mm, 608 g. Too big for a jeans pocket
- ROG Ally (280 x 113 mm)
- iPhone 15 (71.6 x 147.6 mm)
True scale, front view. Jeans pocket = front no bigger than an iPhone 15 Pro Max in a case (160 x 82 mm).
Specs
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Chip | AMD Ryzen Z1 |
| CPU | AMD Zen 4 |
| Cores | 6 |
| Clock speed | 3.3 GHz - 5.1 GHz |
| GPU | AMD Radeon 780M |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR5 |
| Cooling | Yes |
| Screen | |
| Size | 7.0" |
| Type | IPS |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz |
| Pixel density | 314 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Dual screen | No |
| Controls | |
| D-pad | Disc, Lower placement |
| Analog sticks | Yes |
| Stick layout | Double, asymetrical |
| Hall effect sticks | No |
| L3 / R3 | Yes |
| Shoulder buttons | Stacked |
| Analog triggers | Yes |
| Rumble | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes |
| Connectivity | |
| Storage | 512 GB M.2 2230 NVMe SSD |
| SD card | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes (6e) |
| Bluetooth | Yes (?) |
| USB-C | Yes |
| Video out | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes |
| Build | |
| Form factor | Horizontal |
| Dimensions | 280 x 113 x 39 mm |
| Weight | 608 g |
| Battery | 40 Wh |
| Shell | Plastic |
| Speakers | Front |
| Software | |
| Operating system | Windows |
| Windows version | 11 |
Questions
Can the ROG Ally play PS2 games?
Yes. PS2 scores 100 out of 100 on our emulation scale.
Is the ROG Ally good for GBA?
GBA runs at full speed. At 6x it fills 67% of the screen with even pixels.
Does it have a headphone jack?
Yes.
How big is the battery?
40 mAh. The middle Windows handheld in our database has 65 mAh.
Can it connect to a TV?
Yes, it has video out.
How much does the ROG Ally cost?
It launched at about $599 in Jun 2023. Prices on the used market change, so check current listings.
Price and newer models
$599 at launch $250 and up
The newest in its line in our database, out since Jun 2023.
Compared with
Similar handhelds
Specs and emulation scores from the retrocatalog.com handheld database. The score out of 10 is our own.