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The Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC is now available for pre-order for $700 and expected to begin shipping in June. With support for up to an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, it’s one of the most powerful handhelds in its price class.

But that chip is also rather power-hungry, which can lead to limited battery life when playing more demanding games. Asus ships the the ROG Ally with a 65W fast charger, which should let you refuel the handheld reasonably quickly. But there’s also an optional ROG HDMI Charger Dock that’s sold separately which not only charges the system but also adds an HDMI output.

We first learned about the HDMI Charger Dock in April, when details were leaked by SnoopyTech, who also shared details about new Asus ROG earbuds and game controllers.

But now it looks like the HDMI Charger Dock is official – it’s listed as “coming soon” on Best Buy’s website, where it’s priced at $65.

Wondering what an HDMI Charger dock does? Basically it looks like multi-port USB wall charger… and it kind of is. Plug your ROG Ally (or any other device that charges via USB-C) into the USB-C port, plug the adapter into the wall and you can refuel your device or keep it running when the battery is dead.

But this little device isn’t just a charger, it’s also a dock with HDMI 2.0 port and USB 2.0 Type-A ports.

The HDMI 2.0 port allows you to connect a TV or monitor. When used with the ROG Ally this will let you play games on a bigger screen. But you can also use it to connect a second screen to laptops, tablets, or smartphones that support video output over USB-C.

And the USB 2.0 port can be used to connect a keyboard, mouse, or other peripherals to the ROG Ally (or any other computer that’s connected).

The charger also allows you to charge up to two devices at once. If you’re only using the USB-C port, it functions as a 65W charger. But if you’ve got devices plugged into both USB ports at the same time, the adapter can deliver 60W through the USB-C port and 5W through the USB-A port.

While this adapter could be used for just about any computer that charges over USB, it’s especially handy for a device like the Asus ROG Ally, which has a limited number of ports. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack and an Asus ROG XG Mobile port that can be used to connect an Asus ROG XG Mobile external graphics card.

So theoretically you could connect an external display by purchasing a ROG XG Mobile GPU, which has DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1 ports built-in. But since those eGPU docks tend to sell for $1000 to $1500, it’ll be nice to have a cheaper option for connecting an external display if you’re playing games that run well using only the ROG Ally’s integrated graphics.

Since the XG Mobile port includes a USB-C connector, it can also be used for charging and data, but that’s effectively the only general purpose I/O port on the ROG Ally, making USB hubs and docks like the Asus HDMI Charger Dock a must-have if you want to connect any wired peripherals.

This article was first published April 23, 2023 and most recently updated May 11, 2023. 

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  1. 280 mm size of a medium keyboard. Wonder why we keep our keyboards on the table and not holding them in our hands? And even with that size battery life is low.

  2. I hope a large company also makes a handheld with a physical keyboard.

    Right now, there’s only one small company that has (another small vendor has announced one but no release yet). I’d definitely jump ship if a larger company with better quality/support makes one.

  3. Genki’s had this two years now. See the covert dock and mini dock. I love them.

  4. “It’s unclear whether that HDMI 2.0 port is for charging or peripheral”

    There’s a typo here, I think you meant USB 2.0.

    Anyway I wonder why one should prefer this thing over a regular Type C dock, is there anything I’m missing?

    1. The thing I love most is that it solves one of my biggest pet peeves: small lightweight electronics that sit on your desk, but don’t have the weight/footing to stay put in one place, due to the tension of the cords connected to it.

      My USB-C hub weighs a couple of grams, and it literally floats in the air due to the tension of the 3 cords that connect to it. Drives me crazy.

    2. Happy to see a large company entering this market.

      Although I’m a keyboard is required user since I use my handhelds as both UMPCs and gaming handhelds so I’m not a target for the Ally. Of course, I do hope largish companies also enter the gaming handheld with keyboard space too in addition to the smaller players.

      For now I’m eyeing the GPD Win Mini/Win 2 Remake especially since GPD said in a comment that it’ll have an LTE option (external attachment though).

    3. In a hurry to get those affiliate links out. Slow down, Brad! 😛
      j/k

      On a serious note, I’m glad to see that the anticipated price for the Rog turned out to be correct. I’ll wait for reviews and forum posts before I make a final decision on buying this or not. I’m really interested in seeing if anyone gets linux running on it.

  5. It looks similar to 3rd party portable charger/docks for the Switch. Same idea probably, I wonder how compatibility goes… as it’s basically splitting the signal isn’t it? USB-C video to HDMI, and then an USB-C port for charging and receiving USB-C video in. The USB-A should also be good for any accessories.

    1. My guess, this is a display port over USB C using all four lanes to display 4K 120fps resolutions in disguise, fitting one hdmi port instead. There is no bandwidth left but for an USB 2.0 part of the display port alt mode specification