It would seem that AYANEO are not quite satisfied being one of the best manufacturers of handheld PCs… they now plan to enter the Android game console market with the AYANEO Pocket Air.
AYANEO’s “2023 Annual Strategy Sharing” presentation covered their upcoming Air Plus in great detail, and touched on the Slide a bit (certainly not as much as we had hoped).
But the biggest surprise was the portion dedicated to something new for AYANEO… Android gaming devices.
AYANEO Pocket Air Presentation
This part of the presentation came after a long pause, where it seemed that the presentation had ended. Luckily I kept it running, and AYANEO’s CEO Arthur Zhang returned to talk about their love of retro games.
What was most striking to me about this reveal was that AYANEO clearly had a love of classic gaming with all of those original consoles on display.
This love culminating in the release of a retro game themed console (ie an emulator): the Pocket Air.
The new Pocket Air will continue with the familiar design aesthetic of the AYANEO Air and the new Air Plus, but just in a smaller (more pocketable) form factor.
The main stats mentioned for the Pocket Air were a 5.5 inch OLED display and Hall joysticks and triggers.
Clearly AYANEO intends to keep with the trend of making premium devices that do not cut corners.
OLED and Hall are things we should expect from the best devices in 2023.
They also indicated a Q2 2023 launch for the Pocket Air. So this thing is already in the works.
Our presenter even had the motherboard on hand. God, aren’t black circuit boards just gorgeous?
Sadly, no console in hand though.
AYANEO Operating System
AYANEO also covered their updated AYASpace 2, the AYANEO OS, and an upcoming mobile app.
So we should anticipate that they plan to deliver premium devices in 2023 that have equally impressive operating systems.
This puts AYANEO a giant step above some of the current makers of the smaller emulation consoles we cover here on RetroDodo.
And with their track record, we entirely believe AYANEO’s promises.
Conclusions
We are very excited to see AYANEO take a step into Android gaming devices.
For many, a Windows based game console is a bit intimidating. And it can be quite expensive relative to some of the gaming devices we are used to.
But for a company like AYANEO, who is known for the highest quality game consoles, to offer a premium Android device… we are entirely on board!
I also wanted to say: this is one of those situations where hearing from the people behind the product makes you like the company and products even more.
Arthur Zhang was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and very likeable. Oh, and something pretty important when you plan on investing your money in a product… he was believable.
I believed in the promises and I believed in the vision that AYANEO presented. So you can count me as a supporter of team AYANEO from here on out.
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
