It’s taken too long to address, but Asus may finally be changing the ROG Ally design to move the microSD card slot away from the heat vents, preventing further card deaths due to heat exposure. This issue has already triggered the extension of warranties, but now a more permanent fix may be on the way.
This is good news for the ROG Ally, which we consider to be the best handheld gaming PC on the market that uses Windows as its OS. It looks as though a new model of the ROG Ally will now relocate the microSD slot, which has been causing Ally owners and Asus some trouble.
According to Videocardz, a new Asus ROG Ally 2024 is in the works, which fixes these issues with the microSD slot, and could even make its debut as soon as next month at Computex in Taipei. It’s hoped this new model will relocate the microSD card slot away from the heat vents, solving one of the biggest problems the ROG Ally has faced since its release in June 2023.
Asus admitted the irregularities with thermal control pertaining to the microSD card slot just a month after the handheld was released, but introduced a firmware update to try to alleviate the strain on the slot.
However, this update did little more than delay the inevitable as microSD cards and entire slots are still reportedly being rendered useless today, forcing Asus’ hand with a possible redesign of the existing ROG Ally. Asus also recently extended the warranties of existing ROG Ally models by 12 months and even offered to cover the cost of microSD cards that were destroyed.
This redesign or 2024 model could also be the reported ROG Ally 2, which was all but confirmed earlier this year when Arnold Su of Asus India was quoted saying Asus would “most likely will launch a second generation [handheld gaming console] this year.”
Only time will tell whether this new handheld is a true generational leap when it comes to performance, but it looks as though Asus at least won’t be repeating the same mistake twice with the positioning of its microSD slot.
If you’re looking to buy a handheld gaming PC but aren’t sure where to start, read our Steam Deck OLED review and Lenovo Legion Go review to get an idea of which one is right for you.