What you need to know
- The new and improved ROG Ally X gaming handheld with significantly larger battery life, more RAM, a 1TB SSD, and an updated user interface (UI) launched today.
- Original ROG Ally owners are also getting a free update in the form of an improved Armoury Crate SE 1.5 UI.
- This update make the program easier to navigate, provides more customization options, and a slightly different layout.
Today marks the launch of the ROG Ally X, ASUS’ improved refresh for the original ROG Ally. The new gaming handheld boasts more than twice the battery life, roughly double the SSD capacity, and significantly more RAM (check out my ROG Ally X review for more information). Additionally, the Ally X features an updated version of it’s user interface (UI) and game library launcher in the form of Armoury Crate SE 1.5. However, anyone who owns the original ROG Ally is also getting access to this updated UI just as long as they install a pretty significant update to their system.
But just what does Armoury Crate SE 1.5 do that the original launcher doesn’t? Let’s go over the differences and discuss whether or not it’s a good update.
How to update ROG Ally to Armoury Crate SE 1.5
- Open Armoury Crate.
- Go to Content.
- Click on Update Center.
- Click Check for Updates.
- Click Update on anything that needs to be downloaded and installed.
Note that the update that brings Armoury Crate SE 1.5 to ROG Ally is titled, “UWP App & Core Service.” After you’ve updated the ROG Ally, you’ll want to restart the gaming handheld in order to allow the device to work properly. Once it’s restarted, you can check out the new UI for yourself.
What is new with Armoury Crate SE 1.5 and is it a good change?
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Top ROG Ally recommendations
Armoury Crate SE 1.5 brings a number of new features to the ROG Ally. One of the most useful, in my opinion, is the fact that the game library page now has a sub-tab that separates your games from game services for a much more organized layout. For instance, my tab that reads “All Games” features Baldur’s Gate 3, Back to the Dawn, Cyberpunk 2077, and other titles, while the tab that reads “Game Platforms” features Steam, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Ubisoft Connect, and more. This layout makes it far easier to find the exact game or service I’m looking for. As was previously the case, any new services or games you download on the device will show up in one of these two fields.
The new Armoury Crate allows me to filter my games in either a grid or list view, which the previous UI didn’t allow for. What’s more, I can change the game art that appears on any game’s launch box or add a game to a list of favorites for faster access. When sorting your games, you can now do so alphabetically (A – Z or Z – A), by platform, by recently added, by genre, by playtime, or by installed location. There’s even a search feature, if you find that’s the best way to look through your library.
As with the previous version of Armoury Crate, players can choose to set game profiles, meaning, they can specifically choose control layouts tied to specific games. This will make it so you don’t have to adjust controls each time you launch a different title. What’s more, you can now save your button mapping profiles and share them with other players. As such, if someone found the ideal setup for playing a specific game that you just bought, you can try that controller scheme and see if you like it.
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Meanwhile, the Settings menu has been condensed and tidied up to give you more helpful options on one screen. This is where you’ll go to update the system, add options to your Command Center quick menu, recalibrate the joysticks, check performance, or adjust GPU settings (such as VRAM).
That all said, the Command Center side menu itself basically looks the same as it did before, but this is a good thing given that the side menu was already very easy to use. You bring it up pressing the lower button on the left side of the screen. From there, you’ll have options for adjusting the TDP (thermal design power), toggling Control Mode, adjusting screen brightness, changing volume, and more.
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Outside of the game library tab and Settings tab, there’s also a tab for the latest ASUS ROG campaign where you will find the Help Center, Game Deals, Recommended products, and can even redeem promotions from ASUS ROG events. You likely won’t find yourself using this tab unless you encounter a problem or are bored. But it’s there if you need it.
After that, there’s a tab for displaying your screenshots. By default, game screenshots are listed from newest to oldest. However, you can filter by game or media type (all screenshots or screen recording). It’s not best sorting capabilities we’ve seen in a menu, but it’s not the worst either. The most annoying thing is that it seems that you cannot select multiple screenshots when attempting to share. What’s more, you’re limited in that you can only send screenshots to Twitter, Instagram, or Discord. I’d much prefer it if email was also an option.
Lastly, the final tab in Armoury Crate takes you to Global Services. If you want to, you can create an ASUS account and use this tab to back up your Game Profile settings. It is by no means necessary, but it can provide piece of mind for ROG Ally owners.