Just for context got the 64 GB LCD deck a day before the OLED got released. Loved the experience so much gaming from my bed, couch etc. I immediately sent it in for a refund and waited for the OLED to drop. However the price at 689 CAD for the lowest OLED model got me looking at the ROG Ally which is currently on sale for a comparable 699. At the end of the day I chose the Ally over the deck and heres why.
Steam Deck:
Pros: Good for indie games/emulators, SteamOS is amazing, better battery life at lower TDPs, better ergonomics and trackpads (so underrated), better community support.
Cons: None, its perfect. Maybe if you nitpick the LCD screen but that was fixed with the OLED. Unless you really want the performance boost from the Ally you’ll be fine with the Deck.
ROG Ally:
Pros: Better performance for AAA games compared to the deck (almost doubled the performance of the deck), quieter fans (20 db vs 30db steam deck) + lower temps.
Cons: Worse battery life than the deck, reported issues of SD card failures (haven’t gotten one yet fingers crossed).
Both have good screens Ally 1080p vs Deck 720p OLED. Haven’t gotten any experience to compare with the OLED version what I can say is the ally 1080p > deck 720p LCD. The tradeoff though is battery life.
Went for the Ally simply for the better performance at a similar price range. For me personally and the types of games I would play (cyberpunk, rdr2, elden ring) the performance boost was just too hard to ignore even with all the tradeoffs. I usually use my Ally around my house on my bed/couch with outlets nearby so battery life wasnt really an issue for me.
Shoutout to Steam for opening the doors for handheld gaming with the ROG Ally Legion GO etc. Competition breeds innovation and at the end of the day everyone wins.
TLDR: Ally for AAA gaming and if you generally used it plugged in. Deck for indie games/emulators and if you value the battery life, cleaner OS, ergonomics.
Great breakdown. One thing I will say about battery life between the LCD deck and Ally is that they are much closer than you think. In fact from most tests I’ve seen at identical TDP and usage, the Ally and Deck get extremely similar run times. What benefits the deck is its low TDP performance, this allows the deck to pull ahead in battery life because it is able to get playable performance at lower TDPs than the Ally leading it to last longer.
When the wattage is at 11w and lower the Deck is still the king of performance and this is why it lasts. At 12w and above the Ally begins to pull ahead. This is why I emphasize it’s important to compare similar wattages when comparing battery life as both devices have the same size battery.
Of course this means nothing to the OLED deck thanks to its larger battery and now, even more efficient APU, making the difference even bigger than it already was.