Today, the ASUS ROG Ally began shipping to everyone and anyone who preordered it, opening up a new world of handheld PC gaming goodness. We gave the ASUS ROG Ally a pretty glowing review, while noting some of its chief downsides, mainly revolving around software and battery life. Indeed, if you push this baby too hard, you're not going to want to be too far away from a power outlet for long, but that wasn't a particularly huge concern for me.
Indeed, a few weeks ago, I wrote a piece about why I would be sticking with my Windows-baked Steam Deck instead of grabbing an ASUS ROG Ally. One of the issues I have with the Ally is the omission of touchpads, which are an invaluable addition on the Steam Deck for navigating Windows 11, which is wholly not designed for handheld PC gaming. It's hardly ASUS' fault here, and Microsoft has hinted at its plans to improve the situation at its end, but I figured the Steam Deck would prove to simply be a better device overall. I had imagined I would miss the Steam Deck's absurd low-power states for 2D games and longevity, and those touchpads for scenarios where Windows doesn't like navigating using touch or a joystick.
