ASUS ROG Ally has another advantage over Steam Deck, sort of

YouTube channel iFixit highlights that the ASUS ROG Ally might have much more benefits over the “undisputed champion of PC-based gaming handhelds”, Valve’s Steam Deck. Whereas it’s effectively documented that the Home windows gadget could be extra performant, it seems that ease of restore can also be in its favor.

It solely takes the elimination of 6 Philips screws and a few clips to get entry to the insides of the ASUS ROG Ally, as seen within the current video by iFixit. As soon as face-to-face with the interior parts, they commend the simply detachable 40Whr battery, which is a “direct distinction” to the glued in battery as discovered within the Steam Deck. Additionally they reward the ROG Ally for how straightforward it’s to take away the M2 drive, which could be changed with a bigger 1TB or 2TB drive for those who’re hungry for some additional area.

Not like different well-known handhelds in the marketplace, the thumbsticks are simpler to repair too, because it solely takes the elimination of two screws and a ribbon cable to separate them. Nonetheless, iFixit clarify that as a result of they’re constructed equally to the thumbsticks discovered within the Nintendo Swap, they’re vulnerable to points like drift.

Additional examination of the hand-held reveals the simple strategy of eradicating the followers, which could be taken out individually if needing to get replaced, or all the cooling system could be eliminated simply in a single go. The one main challenge iFixit confronted was with the display screen, which is hooked up with lots of adhesive and could also be tough to take away.

Though the ASUS ROG Ally wins over its rival in ease of repairability, the absence of official assist for replaceable components from ASUS means the hand-held doesn’t but reign supreme over its Steam Deck rival. There’s nonetheless no phrase on when, if ever, ASUS plans to introduce alternative components, however we’ll maintain our fingers crossed.

Try our Asus ROG Ally review for a deep dive into the workings of the hand-held, and see if it’s the appropriate PC gaming handheld for you.

Function picture supply: iFixit.