Your Asus ROG Ally gaming handheld is brilliantly white, and that won’t stand: you’ve determined your devices should be black. Or… possibly you simply need a rugged case that’ll survive a drop or three? Both manner, Dbrand thinks it’s obtained what you want — a $60 Killswitch case just like the one it makes for the Steam Deck that’ll ship early subsequent yr.
“However wait,” I’ll fake to listen to a few of you considering, “Didn’t Dbrand royally screw that up? Didn’t The Verge set off a million-dollar recall whenever you of us found it interfered with a Steam Deck fan?”
Sure — however Dbrand did quickly recall them, admitted its mistake, then shipped a alternative Killswitch 2.0 that I’ve been testing for months with no problem. It’s nonetheless an impressively rugged, form-fitting shell with a great deal of grippy texture, even when I personally desire the naked Steam Deck with out the additional materials.
For the Steam Deck model, Dbrand changed its unique magnetic accent mount this spring with a twist-to-lock bayonet model as an alternative. Not solely does it properly safe the included kickstand however Dbrand additionally sells and allows you to 3D print your individual common mounts so you possibly can connect the Steam Deck to different objects or strap on a giant exterior battery:
The brand new Asus ROG Ally model doesn’t have that accent mount, although — as an alternative, it’s obtained a hard and fast kickstand above an enormous mesh grille to let the Ally vent correctly.
“After final yr’s magnet debacle, we needed to keep away from any mishaps with the ROG Ally. As such, we’ve been working immediately with the Asus ROG engineering workforce to make sure compatibility with their {hardware},” CEO Adam Ijaz tells me.
Asus instructed Dbrand which vents are purely ornamental and that are wanted for airflow, in line with Ijaz — and paid Dbrand to design the Ally model, for that matter. He additionally says it’s obtained loads of clearance for “all charging cables” and Asus’ XG Cellular exterior GPU connector. (Dbrand’s Steam Deck case, by comparability, requires a brief USB-C extension to accommodate the official Steam Deck Dock’s low-profile cable.)
The Killswitch doesn’t make your ROG Ally flip black all by itself, BTW — there’s additionally an included two-piece matte black pores and skin that covers the components that aren’t lined by the case. It is best to have the ability to swap it out for a Verge pores and skin at launch, in case you’d reasonably, or some other pores and skin the corporate sells — together with an unreleased “teardown” pores and skin that allows you to “see by” not less than a part of the hand held.
Just like the Steam Deck model, the Ally kickstand has built-in slots to retailer your additional microSD playing cards in its foot. And just like the Steam Deck model, you possibly can add a inflexible snap-on “Journey Cowl” for an additional $15 so you possibly can throw the entire thing in a bag with out a lot concern for its display screen or sticks. It’s also possible to purchase the case, journey cowl, and a pair of grippy thumbstick covers as a set for $75.
