AYANEO has just announced their new insanely beautiful Android-based handheld, the AYANEO Pocket S.
And as you can see, this is perhaps one of the most unique and aesthetically pleasing handheld designs in quite a long time.
So, while this is yet another AYANEO console on the horizon, this is one we are actually incredibly excited about.
Update September 23, 2023: AYANEO has been showing off the Pocket S at the Tokyo Game Show 2023 event, and also posted some new images on Twitter. As you can see, they have made some changes to the DPAD, something they did say was still in consideration. It's nice to see something a little more familiar and comfortable looking. The room is still divided about the look of the Pocket S, but I think it looks gorgeous. I'd happily take one of each.
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AYANEO Pocket S
I really don’t wanna give it to AYANEO, because they have been overloading the scene with new handhelds lately. But they absolutely knocked this one out of the park.
Perhaps they heard something about the incoming Playstation Portal news and said “we know you guys actually wanted a new PSP. Well here it is!”
We also know that AYANEO wants to bank on some of the AYN Odin2 hype.
Once AYANEO heard that AYN was launching a new handheld with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, they knew they needed to make some fast changes.
The already confirmed the S8G2 “or better” in their upcoming Android handheld, the Pocket Air.
But we certainly didn’t expect to see a brand new device with such a unique design.
And frankly, one of the most beautiful handhelds we’ve seen in a very long time.
Pocket S Details
Behind the scenes, we’ve been told quite a lot about AYANEO’s collaboration with Qualcomm to create new devices leveraging Snapdragon G series chips.
And the new Pocket S will use a Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen2. Perhaps this is the “or better” chip also coming to the Pocket Air.
We know that this will be an Android-based device, and it will be a very capable emulation monster.
You should absolutely expect to be able to play things like Game Cube, Wii, PS2, and Switch on this upcoming device.
More Details
Taking a close look at the Pocket S reveal images, we can see some incredibly beautiful details.
The device does use the aesthetic of a modern cell phone as its base, with a single piece of glass covering the entire front of the handheld.
The buttons that appear on the face of the device are actually cut out from the display glass as well.
Seeing the white model clarifies the question of whether or not we’d actually see gaming content around the button area. There will be a traditional framed content area set between the buttons.
We do not know the screen size yet, but I’m really hoping that this isn’t too big.
Ideally it would be something between 5 and 6 inches, making the entire device similar in size to many of the current cell phones.
The Pocket S also looks surprisingly thin for a device that will pack X86-level active cooling and hopefully a hefty battery.
Impressions
So much intrigue has been introduced in one reveal image, and I absolutely cannot wait to hear more solid details about the Pocket S.
Surely AYANEO will do what AYANEO does, and they will start trickling out information over the next few months. We know them to put out new devices quite quickly.
Interestingly, their press release states: “AYANEO is set to officially launch the flagship Android gaming handheld, the Pocket S, based on the Snapdragon® G3x Gen2 platform, in December of this year.“
I think it’s safe to say that we’re gonna hear a lot about this one before the year is over.
