The AYANEO Pocket Micro was (and still is) one of my most loved retro handhelds of 2024, and is one of the most beautiful gaming devices I have ever used. All thanks to the minimal design, metal shell and high quality materials, combined with a crisp, high PPI border-less display.
One of the only negatives I had about the original Pocket Micro was regarding the analogue sticks that felt out of place, they portruded out of the shell which made it awkward to slide in and out of my pocket daily.
It seems like AYANEO has listened to reviewers and its customers and has revealed their new "Classic" version which removes the analogue sticks to create a truly "Game Boy Micro-like" form factor.
However, it keeps the same specifications, the same screen and the same body alongside a $179 price tag, which is $20 less than the original's current price tag.
This may seem high, but from previous hands-on this is an incredibly well made device that can emulate GBA in 4x resolution, jam-packed with enough power to emulate Gamecube and some PS2 games flawlessly, all for $179.
Though the screen is quite small for those consoles, which limits the experience slightly, however everything up to PS1 and Dreamcast looks and performs beautifully.
The current Micro has been reduced to a starting price of $199 and as mentioned in my review, it's worth it if you appreciate design and quality, the same will likely go for the classic too.
I do think they would have had more success if they lowered the specs and the price tag slightly, so that there's two choices for customers, those who want the classic without sticks and less power, and those who want the original with more power and more sticks, the only real difference between them both is the sticks, the $20 and the the classic being 6g lighter...
I think AYANEO did the right thing here in creating a new version, but I can't imagine many of their audience "waited out" for this change and for a $20 price reduction, hence why I think they should have made a less-powerful version, but hey, I am not going to complain this is still an incredibly stunning device and it's AYANEO's cheapest device as of yet.
If you want to explore AYANEO's craftsmanship, this is one of the best handhelds to jump into and to experience their OS which is certainly unique even if it has a few bugs still.
