We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Asus is a well-known name in the PC gaming world and a leading manufacturer of motherboards, GPUs, CPU coolers, PC power supplies, PC cases, monitors, and networking equipment like routers. It also offers a range of laptops and gaming handhelds, rounding out its PC-focused lineup with some of the market’s most powerful gaming laptops. But you may not realize that the company also makes plenty of cool gadgets, including lightweight mice, portable monitors, wireless gaming buds, and even mobile gaming controllers. So rather than retreading the familiar territory of Asus’s PCs and components, we’ve gathered together four of the best Asus gadgets you can buy that aren’t laptops or personal computers.
Whether you’re interested in gaming on Twitch, an extra workspace on the go, wireless headphones with minimal latency, or tactile, button-based gaming on your phone, Asus offers a solution. Better yet, these are well-reviewed products, so they’re among the best options in their categories. These choices can even complement one another when a smartphone is in the mix (do you guys not have phones?), thanks to their portability, which helps you work and play on the go.
But make no mistake: each of these products serves a different need, and we chose each for its quality. We’ve pored over professional reviews and user testimonials across storefronts, and we’ve also leaned on our own tech expertise to uncover which features matter, what trade-offs to consider, and which gadget suits each person best.
Asus ROG Harpe Ace Extreme
What started as a trend from boutique ultralight gaming mouse manufacturers has now evolved into a highly competitive market, with even the likes of Asus tossing its hat into the ring with its ROG Harpe Ace Extreme mouse, which clocks in at 47 grams while sporting an Asus-branded sensor based on the PixArt PAW3950, a flagship optical sensor. So you get up to 8,000 Hz polling with the included Polling Rate Booster, plus up to 42,000 DPI, 750 IPS tracking speed, and 50g acceleration.
The ROG Harpe Ace Extreme has an ambidextrous design, which means it’s a symmetrical shape with a centered hump. This hump supports your hand and is one of the key factors in how the mouse fits your grip, whether fingertip or palm. Thankfully, Asus has crafted a fairly unobtrusive shape with a gentle slope, which should appeal to more people than designs with an extreme slope. Of course, this mouse’s biggest claim to fame is its carbon fiber body, known for its rigidity, strength, and low weight. The goal of combining low weight with a high-polling-rate sensor is to make the mouse easier to move while keeping pointer movement highly responsive, without sacrificing the rigidity that gives the body its premium feel.
As for how the Asus ROG Harpe Ace Extreme holds up in practice, Tom’s Hardware found it comfortable with a great sensor, while several Amazon user reviews praise the low weight and premium material. Yes, the price is high at $250, but sales are more frequent now that the mouse is two years old. Thankfully, it’s still highly competitive with brands like Logitech despite its age.
Asus ZenScreen MB169CK
The Asus ZenScreen MB169CK is a portable monitor, handy for mirroring or extending the display of your phone, laptop, or tablet (though there is a likely reason why Asus stopped making tablets). Plus, it can double as a secondary screen at home, perhaps for a dual-monitor setup with your desktop PC. You can connect it with a single USB-C cable if your device supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, or use mini-HDMI for video, but you’ll need a separate USB-C connection to power the monitor. Connectivity aside, its 15.6-inch Full HD IPS screen offers a 60Hz refresh rate and an anti-glare finish, while the laptop-like footprint makes it easy enough to carry around; it’s not exactly a hyper-compact peripheral.
Of course, with a portable screen like this, how it stands up matters, so the included kickstand isn’t just removable; it supports a 360-degree swivel, letting you position it for both landscape and portrait use. The stand is limited in how much it can tilt, though, and the screen’s modest 250-nit brightness can make it difficult to read in direct sunlight. Removing the kickstand also frees up the quarter-inch tripod socket on the back, letting you attach the screen to a compatible mount instead.
Ultimately, the MB169CK has earned its spot in this roundup as a practical and affordable option for anyone who needs extra workspace on the move, clocking in at $109. IT Pro has praised its portability and connectivity and recommends it for everyday productivity, and Amazon reviews are positive, with one reviewer calling it a powerhouse for remote work. So if you tend to find yourself juggling windows on a single screen, the extra workspace is the main reason to consider this ZenScreen.
ROG Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova Gaming Earbuds
With a portable, lightweight mouse and a portable monitor, you may want to round out this setup with wireless earbuds that keep latency low. The ROG Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova Gaming Earbuds fit the bill, thanks to an included USB-C dongle that provides a 2.4GHz connection using Asus’s SpeedNova wireless technology. They also support Bluetooth for everyday listening on your phone or other compatible devices, though these gaming buds don’t support Xbox consoles through either connection.
Beyond keeping latency low, these earbuds feature adaptive active noise cancellation, with an automatic mode that can adjust to your surrounding noise levels. Bone-conduction sensors also pick up vibrations from your voice, working alongside noise-canceling microphones to help separate your speech from background noise — a useful feature for taking calls or chatting with teammates while you’re on the move. Asus rates these earbuds for up to 46 hours of use, including the charging case, but reaching that figure requires Bluetooth mode with noise cancellation and RGB lighting switched off. This figure drops to 30 hours with noise cancellation enabled.
Unlike much gear that oversells its usefulness, the Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova Gaming Earbuds deliver on their noise-canceling promise, with Rtings’ review finding the buds effective against background chatter and PC fan noise. An Amazon reviewer also praises the battery life, noting that the buds last a full gaming session.
Asus ROG Tessen Mobile Gaming Controller
When it comes to portable gaming and Asus, most people may first think of its ROG Ally line of PC handhelds, including its next-gen OLED handheld available at a premium price. But Asus also makes mobile gaming peripherals. In particular, the $129.99 ROG Tessen Mobile Controller uses a telescopic design that extends to hold your phone in landscape, turning your smartphone into a gaming device with physical controls.
Like mobile controllers from Razer, GameSir, and Backbone, Asus uses a direct USB-C connection, so you don’t have to pair the controller via Bluetooth; you just attach it. Plus, a middle hinge lets you fold it back-to-back, similar to the original Gamevice, making the controller more compact for travel. Asus combines these familiar mobile controller features into a package that’s easy to connect, play with, and pack up. It also features a premium design, with mechanical face buttons (rather than rubber domes), two programmable metal paddles on the back, and passthrough charging so you can power your phone while you game.
The Tessen’s physical controls also earn praise in practice, with TechRadar’s review noting that its tactile buttons and springy triggers suit twitchy games like first-person shooters. One downside is that the controller works only on Android. Given the many positive Amazon reviews (where the controller is often on sale for less than MSRP), one pleased reviewer calls it a must-have for mobile gaming, thanks to its unobtrusive hardware that makes changing keybinds easy. This makes it one of the better Asus gadgets you can buy that isn’t a laptop or PC.
How we chose the best Asus gadgets you can buy
BGR has years of experience reviewing all kinds of gadgets, including many from Asus, so we leaned on that expertise to research and uncover the best options for this roundup. We also considered professional reviews from sites like TechRadar, Rtings, IT Pro, and Tom’s Hardware, along with user reviews on storefronts like Amazon, to gain more insight and build a consensus on which products earned their place.
