Asus ROG Ally Gets Prompt GPU Driver Update, Quelling Ryzen Z1 Extreme Deprecation Rumors

The driver release, version 32.0.22029.13001, landed on Asus’s download portal on Tuesday and is the first GPU update for the ROG Ally since the August 2025 rollout of driver 32.0.21013.11001, according to Tom’s Hardware. The new package carries the same branch identifier (22029) as the November 2025 minor update that added support for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, suggesting the change is incremental rather than a wholesale overhaul. No release notes accompany the download, and the main Radeon driver line has already migrated to the 23 xxx series, leaving analysts to infer that the patch is likely a maintenance‑only build rather than a feature‑rich upgrade.

The timing of the update is significant because it follows a wave of speculation that AMD was winding down support for its Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU. Reports in recent weeks indicated that Lenovo’s Korean division had told customers the Legion Go and Go S, both powered by the same silicon, would no longer receive firmware or driver updates. That narrative left owners of the ROG Ally—along with a small cohort of other handhelds using the Z1 Extreme—facing an uncertain future, especially as Windows 11 continues to evolve. By delivering a fresh driver, Asus signals that it has not yet abandoned the platform, even if AMD has not publicly confirmed a long‑term roadmap for the chip.

Industry observers note that the ROG Ally remains one of the few Windows‑based handhelds that can still leverage the full DirectX 12 and Vulkan stacks, a capability that hinges on up‑to‑date GPU drivers. The device’s market relevance, however, has been eroding as the Steam Deck’s Linux‑based software layer matures and competitors such as the Lenovo Legion Go push aggressive pricing. The new driver therefore serves a dual purpose: it preserves performance parity for existing users and buys Asus additional time to assess whether a successor—potentially based on AMD’s upcoming Ryzen Z2 Extreme—will be necessary to stay competitive. No comment was obtained from AMD, and Asus declined to elaborate on its product‑life‑cycle plans, leaving the update’s strategic intent open to interpretation.

Reddit threads that surfaced after the driver’s appearance show a palpable sense of relief among ROG Ally owners, many of whom had been bracing for a rapid decline in software support. While the community’s optimism does not resolve the underlying question of the Z1 Extreme’s longevity, it does underscore the importance of even modest driver maintenance for niche PC‑gaming form factors. As Tom’s Hardware points out, the lack of detailed changelogs makes it difficult to quantify the exact performance impact, but the fact that Asus continues to publish builds indicates that the handheld will remain functional—and at least marginally optimized—for the foreseeable future.

In the broader context, the episode illustrates the fragile equilibrium that handheld PC manufacturers must navigate between hardware refresh cycles and the expectations of a gamer base accustomed to rapid software iteration. Without a clear statement from AMD, the industry will watch closely for the next driver release; a prolonged silence could finally confirm the deprecation rumors, while a steady stream of updates would suggest a longer, albeit low‑key, support window for the Ryzen Z1 Extreme platform. For now, the ROG Ally’s latest driver is a modest but meaningful reassurance that the device has not been written off.