No trackpads and Windows 11. That's a double no from me.

It has to be a more expansive than the Steam Deck since they don't have the ability to sell games to compensate for a low markup.

I'm going to get some flak for this, but I'm just going to say it:

I never use the trackpads on my Steam Deck. I'm sorry, but I just don't. I actually went so far as to configure the desktop mouse pointer to use the right-sided stick instead :unsure:

With that said! I do make heavy use of the back buttons (L4, R4 etc). Now those, they come in real handy! Whether for combo buttons, or in-game console open buttons (as in, to enter game commands) etc.

Although, I fully agree on the no Windows thing. Every time I use it I just become full of rage, so I'd be afraid of getting angry and throwing the device because of some stupid thing Windows is doing :unsure:

I'm glad I only have to use Windows extremely rarely at this time for all of about 5-6 minutes a month. (Which is still more than it used to be.. but.. yeah.. I have no choice at the moment.. boo!).

I constantly use the trackpads - I've just re-played the first two Blackwell games. And Runaway. I can't stand joystick mouse control.

And for the keyboard as well. At first I mainly used the touch screen, but I hate the fingerprints on the screen and after getting used to the dual trackpad control it feels faster.

The back buttons are a must as well. But for some games there are not enough buttons without touchpad menus even with long press/short press double bindings.

Edit: Now I've managed to forget mentioning that I don't like the look of that D-pad twice. I prefer the SNES/Steam Deck variant without a connecting circle.

Last edited by Klaas on 3 Apr 2023 at 7:22 pm UTC

Oh, fingerprints on screen, don't get me started! Like you, I do my best to avoid touching it! I showed a friend my steam deck, and they touched the screen, after I took it back, immediately started wiping the prints off.. should have seen the look I got! I'm like a classic car guy if you put your hand on his freshly polished car.

Although, I wasn't aware of the trackpad menus? I'm going to Duck that now :grin:

Anyway, back on Topic the "Ally" in theory should have much better game compatibility, and Windows users will be happy (well sort of, you should see them in the Steam forums over Win 7 atm, it's quite comical).

But without the extra buttons and trackpads will the games be controllable enough? And how much will Windows limit the gameplay (in terms of performance loss, features?).

It seems that only games with full controller support will work in a usable fashion.

And setting them up will probably be a pain as well without an external keyboard and mouse. Is it possible to control Windows 11 with a gamepad?

In theory, the steam controller settings could be used on it (just like they can on desktop)

I'd assume it has a touch screen which you could control Windows with, Isn't Windows is perfectly touch friendly now since Windows 8 went all touchy? And I'm also assuming Asus would add some kind of controller configuration to control it all? in theory? right?

Last edited by BlackBloodRum on 3 Apr 2023 at 7:43 pm UTC

There's a touch screen. You can see a little bit of the software in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drLZxyv79Oo

The Deck is sort of a budget-premium device, and so they can keep the prices down by making a few compromises. Once you start ramping the specs up though, the price will jump quite significantly. My guess is that the Ally would cost at least 1400 USD.

Quoting: whizseThere's a touch screen. You can see a little bit of the software in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drLZxyv79Oo

I can't help but think: Expensive, expensive, expensive every time I see the video.

The interface looks simple enough, except that weird part with the middle task bar that looks a bit like a mac, but not mac, not sure what's going on there, I'm sure that'll get ironed out though.

Although, from a concept point of view it is interesting, and competition is always good (it stops businesses from relaxing and failing to progress).

Not so keen on the idea of the left thumb stick being right at the edge like that though.

Quoting: LinasThe Deck is sort of a budget-premium device, and so they can keep the prices down by making a few compromises. Once you start ramping the specs up though, the price will jump quite significantly. My guess is that the Ally would cost at least 1400 USD.

That's possible! But we'll see.

With that said, the Deck isn't exactly an incapable device as it is, and still has fair amount of power for what it is.

I'm reviving this discussion just because we know a little more. Asus is saying it's "under $1000" and it seems like Microsoft is really partnering with them to try to make it a useable device (not surprising since Asus is such a huge company).

My concern, as a Linux user, is not having hardware competition but that people who were warming up to Linux through SteamOS and even switiching on their desktops will be swayed back to Windows mediocrity by this device. Am I wrong? I hope I am.

Quoting: melkemindI'm reviving this discussion just because we know a little more. Asus is saying it's "under $1000" and it seems like Microsoft is really partnering with them to try to make it a useable device (not surprising since Asus is such a huge company).

My concern, as a Linux user, is not having hardware competition but that people who were warming up to Linux through SteamOS and even switiching on their desktops will be swayed back to Windows mediocrity by this device. Am I wrong? I hope I am.

To be honest, I can see your concern. But I don't think this is an immediate issue for us. I mean you only have to see the outrage on Steam forums about Windows 7 support being dropped to see there's more than one reason people are switching over to Linux.

And you know what they say about polishing a turd. I feel people are just getting sick of Windows as a whole.

I will say however that I am biased towards Linux. There's nothing Windows could offer to ever convince me to switch, as such I may be unintentionally biased against the Ally device here.

So, I'll say I hope you are wrong too, however it's important to see people's reactions as it seems to paint a picture of users who are unhappy with the way Windows is going overall.

I am seeing it more and more where people are saying "Once Windows 10 support is dropped, I'm switching to Linux" because they want to avoid Windows 11/12. It's still a set of small numbers now, but hopefully those numbers add up to a bigger number over time.

I have no interest in either. Handhelds and portables aren't really my thing.

Going on the previous topic, one thing that has caught my eye is this conversation with the "normal" gaming crowd:

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/12/3821910251184686466/

There doesn't seem to be a big demand for it so far? Trying my best to stay out of the topic as to avoid skewing the results here.

Quoting: BlackBloodRumGoing on the previous topic, one thing that has caught my eye is this conversation with the "normal" gaming crowd:

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/12/3821910251184686466/

There doesn't seem to be a big demand for it so far? Trying my best to stay out of the topic as to avoid skewing the results here.

It's hilarious how completely disinterested all those people are in general, but good info nonetheless.