As things stand right now, the Steam Deck holds on to the throne as the top handheld gaming PC in the market. Plus, the release of a mid-generation refresh simply dubbed the Steam Deck OLED reportedly sold rather well even with minor upgrades in tow. So far, the closest competition comes from ASUS, which is why the upcoming reveal of the ROG Ally X could prompt Valve to release its planned sequel earlier.
The Taiwanese company dropped hints about the new hardware in a stream last week but scheduled the official unveiling on June 2, 2024, at Computex. With barely a month to go, leaks were bound to surface sooner or later. Unfortunately, those of us eager for a next-generation machine might have to wait a little longer.
It seems ASUS took some cues from its rival and opted to extend the development of its next-generation installment. This positions the ROG Ally X as a revamped variant of the current model, which is still sadly plagued by some engineering issues. To this day, the microSD slot remains unusable as any card inserted purportedly ends up fried due to thermal stress.
Almost every major brand has shipped their handheld gaming PCs in black or dark gray except for ASUS. However, it’s about to change as the ROG Ally X will be available in black. They’re also bumping battery life by about 40% and internal storage to 1 TB. Screen size and refresh rate is still the same.
Many speculate the ROG Ally X will drop in time for the holiday season. Meanwhile, rumors are still swirling about Microsoft’s entry into portable PC gaming with a first-party platform of its own. According to an insider, the starting price for ASUS’s latest SKU should be around $799. We only have a little over two weeks to find out.
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