This month, Asus introduced an updated range of its Republic of Gamers (ROG) laptops in India, equipped with Nvidia’s latest GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs, just ahead of Computex 2025. Although gaming is at the forefront, the new ROG Strix, Zephyrus, and Flow laptops also enhance AI capabilities, powered by Intel Core Ultra 9 and AMD Ryzen processors. The Taiwanese company has consistently aimed to lead the market with new hardware advancements, a trend that continues with this release.
At Computex Taipei 2024, Asus was a pioneer in unveiling AI-integrated Copilot+ laptops featuring Snapdragon X Elite chipsets. Over the last year, as AI-driven PCs have proliferated across various market segments with decreasing costs, demand for AI-ready laptops among Indian consumers has surged. The company’s recent ROG lineup has also benefited from this trend, evidenced by more than 100 pre-orders in the initial two weeks of May—the highest volume seen in the last two to three years.
New GeForce RTX 50 Series ROG Laptops
Arnold Su, Vice President of Asus’ consumer and gaming PC division in India, remarked on the positive market reception to the company’s refreshed ROG lineup. “It’s encouraging to see consumers eagerly anticipating the new graphics cards and laptop designs coming to market,” Su stated in an interview with Gadgets 360. He discussed the strategic direction of Asus in the gaming and AI sectors in India, the reception of the ROG Ally handheld, and additional insights during their conversation.
Despite a minor decline in consumer notebook shipments in 2023 and 2024, Su noted that the graphics card market in India continues to thrive. He attributes this growth in “gaming machines” to their multifunctionality. “Approximately 20-30 percent of buyers utilize these laptops for content creation or graphics design,” he added.
Asus launched the high-end models of its GeForce RTX 50 series ROG laptops on May 2, featuring the GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070Ti, and recorded over 100 pre-bookings, with an average selling price around Rs. 2.5 lakh. Recently, the company expanded its offerings by introducing ROG Strix, ROG Zephyrus, and TUF gaming laptops equipped with entry-level GeForce RTX 5060 GPUs, set to retail under Rs. 2 lakh. “We didn’t want to delay our launch until we had the full 50 series available because our premium models are already ready for select customers in India,” Su explained.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) comes with a price tag of Rs. 2,79,999
AI PCs
Asus currently leads the gaming PC market in India but has also set ambitious goals for its AI PC segment. With increasing interest in AI-ready devices, Asus has developed three categories: “everyday AI,” “next-level AI,” and “advanced AI.” Su explained the benchmarks, stating, “For everyday AI, the benchmark is 10 TOPs (trillions of operations per second), while next-level AI requires 45 TOPs, akin to Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs.”
The advanced AI PCs, including the ProArt, ROG, and TUF series, are equipped with dedicated Nvidia graphics capable of delivering up to 321 TOPs. While the demand for AI PCs is on the rise and their prices are decreasing—evidenced by the launch of the Vivobook 16 Copilot+ PC at Rs. 65,990—widespread adoption among everyday users remains limited.
Su noted that with the integration of AI features into Microsoft applications, more users would gradually leverage AI capabilities on their PCs, although they are not yet maximizing the potential of AI neural processing units. “For professionals like graphic designers utilizing Adobe—an application already enhanced with AI—upgrading to a next-generation AI PC could be beneficial,” he observed. Conversely, he advised students to opt for standard AI PCs, arguing they would suffice for their needs without the additional expenditure.
Currently, Asus holds a 40 percent market share in the AI PC sector in India. However, AI PCs accounted for less than five percent of the company’s consumer notebook shipments in 2024. The goal for Asus is to increase this segment to 10 to 15 percent by the close of 2025.
The ROG Ally X handheld was launched in India last year
What’s Next for Asus ROG Ally
Beyond gaming PCs, Asus has also made notable strides with its ROG Ally handheld console in India, despite its niche market. Following the original Ally’s debut in 2023, the company released the ROG Ally X last year. Su shared that sales of the handheld have remained steady, achieving monthly sales of about 400 to 500 units. This figure encompasses both the standard ROG Ally and the enhanced ROG Ally X, with the latter commanding a smaller percentage of total sales due to its higher price.
Su elaborated on the segment’s performance, stating, “Selling 400 to 500 units monthly translates to roughly 6,000 to 7,000 units annually. While this isn’t poor, it also hasn’t translated into a substantial market presence.”
While Su provided no details regarding plans for the next-generation ROG Ally in India, he confirmed the company intends to continue exploring this segment. “Given that we consistently sell 400 to 500 units monthly, it’s clear that there’s a customer base, and we’ll keep investigating new opportunities in this area,” he asserted.
Reports suggest that Asus is developing the next generation of the Ally alongside a second handheld termed “Project Kennan,” in partnership with Xbox. Speculation surrounding the Ally 2 and the Xbox-branded handheld emerged recently from a leaked FCC listing. However, Su refrained from disclosing specifics about upcoming handheld devices, stating, “I, like our customers, am also eagerly awaiting new announcements.”