The ROG Ally handheld PC is not only pretty good, but unlike Valve's Steam Deck, Asus is actually bothering to bring it to Australia. Barely a month after hitting other markets, the ROG Ally's Australian release date is June 13. The company announced today that it'll be available through JB Hi-Fi for AU$1,299 (opens in new tab), and that you won't have to jump through hoops to get it. Hooray.
That price puts it slightly above the $699 price in North America (which equates roughly to AU$1,080 at the time of writing), but it's still very competitive and, even better, it's possible to buy a unit without risking various third-party dealers of wide ranging repute.
Detecting a sour tone, Valve? Yes, we've been waiting for the Steam Deck to release in Australia for over a year now, so it's nice that a readily-available and demonstrably great PC handheld will be purchasable in local shops within weeks. Dave James sang its praises in his ROG Ally review last week: "The ROG Ally is the best handheld gaming PC on the market, and probably the best budget gaming PC full stop," he wrote. You hearing this, Gabe? You can still release the Steam Deck in Australia, if you want. But don't strain yourself!
JB Hi-Fi is currently taking pre-orders (opens in new tab) for the ROG Ally, with a limit of one unit per customer. It looks like JB is the exclusive local retailer, but I've emailed ASUS to double check, though you can buy a unit direct from ASUS (opens in new tab) if you like, with a 90 day Xbox Game Pass sub thrown in.
Unlike the Steam Deck, which has three models determined mainly by storage, the ROG Ally has one 512GB model for AU$1,299. If you're in New Zealand, the price is NZD$1,499.
