Annoyingly, I just finished writing a new post about the potential launch date of Yoniq's dual-screen handheld, then a few minutes later their team emails me with exclusive images of their handheld at Gamescom, which, if you are attending, you can experience for yourself!
So, this thing is actually real! And Yoniq are showing off their upcoming products in person, while giving away some of their silicone gamepads to attendees who visit their booth. Their team has also confirmed its name, which was only finalised recently; this dual-screen handheld will be called the Yoniq Duo.
The Yoniq Duo will likely feature their upcoming PantasOS, a custom "open gaming ecosystem designed to connect your devices, games, and experiences in one seamless platform. With a powerful interface and intelligent game management, it brings a unified way to discover, organize, and enjoy your games across different devices" states Yoniq.
If you read the sign next to it, you'll notice it reveals for the first time that this will be an Android-based retro games system, similar to the ANBERNIC RG DS that this will be competing with once it launches in January (this may not be true, but there is a countdown on their website which ends on 1st Jan).
Yoniq has also informed us that this will have "4x upscaling" but didn't provide any more information on what exactly that is upscaling, likely GAME BOY Advance or Nintendo DS, seeing as the display is possibly 4" and 4:3 ratio.
What's interesting is that they shared an image of their booth with us, and I spotted yet another handheld, one that has not been advertised on their website or their social channels; it's called the Yoniq Lite, a vertical form factor that suggests Yoniq wants to be a bigger player in the handheld niche than I originally expected.
Though if you're a retro handheld enthusiast, you'll know this looks like the R36S, a design renowned for being white-labelled. A low-quality device, overused in the space and one we do not recommend purchasing due to its low build quality. This may be different upon launch, but again, it shows you the type of company Yoniq is if they want to launch a handheld that has been launched many times under many different names. I am trying to get more information on this device while you read this, so stay tuned.
I am glad that the Yoniq Duo is real. We need more competition in the space, and the fact that they're adding in a stylus shows there's some form of unique selling point to this, but it all comes down to pricing and how much power it will pack. We're talking closely with Yoniq and will update you with more information once we have it, so be sure to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to not miss out.
Update 27th August 11:36 BST - A new email from Yoniq: "At the moment, Yoniq Lite has only just reached the prototype stage, and there are still a few specifications and details that we need to refine. Because of that, I’m afraid I’m not able to share too many specific details about the device just yet. I’m very sorry about that.
Our company has access to some of the most experienced supply-chain and manufacturing resources in China, and our team has previously been involved in the development and production of a large number of handheld gaming devices on the market. This is the first time we are bringing products directly to consumers under our own brand.
While our handheld devices are deeply developed in-house and designed to offer a highly competitive experience, our marketing team is still being built and is not yet as mature as our product and engineering side. There are definitely still many areas where we can improve, which is also one of the challenges for a team that has traditionally been very product-focused.
We’re especially grateful that you have been sharing information about us and our products on your own initiative. It genuinely means a lot to us. Once the prototype has been refined and upgraded to the version we’re fully satisfied with, we’ll make sure to contact you as soon as possible and send you a sample so you can experience it firsthand".
