Today AYANEO held a product-sharing session livestream that focused mostly on their “REMAKE” series of products, a livestream they have been teasing for a few weeks now. One of the most exciting reveals was their new Pocket DMG handheld, a vertical format gaming device inspired by the Game Boy, and one that looks similar to the Analogue Pocket thanks to its modern sleek design.
CEO of AYANEO Arthur Zhang opened up the show while revealing their new classic takes on the retro consoles we love. Personally, out of all of their product announcements, the Pocket DMG has my utmost attention, because I am a Game Boy kid at heart.
AYANEO also revealed their new Pocket Micro, a Game Boy Micro inspired handheld made with metal and glass that can play GBA games in 4X resolution!
AYANEO Pocket DMG Specifications
- 3.92″ OLED Display (1240 x 1080 @ 419dpi)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon G3X or T618 CPU
- Dual Joysticks (Right is Touchpad)
- Powerful Cooling System
- Ergonomic Design
In terms of power, the Pocket DMG comes with an impressive Qualcomm Snapdragon G3X CPU. Arthur made it clear that he wants to create a handheld powerful enough to play retro games of the future that may require more CPU usage.
With that in mind, AYANEO has coupled their device with a stunning 3.92″ OLED Display boasting a resolution of 1240 x 480 and a crispy DPI of 419. Admittedly, this isn’t as high as the Analogue Pocket, but it is the first time we’ve seen an OLED display in something like this.
Below that, you will find that AYANEO has kept to the ethos of sleek design, offering a black-and-white version for future customers to choose from. The most unique part of the front of the device is the fact that it has dual joysticks.
“But Brandon, I only see one” I hear you cry. Well, if you look closer, there is one joystick, but next to that is a high-tech touch-sensitive pad, just like the Steam Deck, allowing you to turn this on and off depending on what games you are playing.
I can imagine this will also be used to explore the AYANEO OS that has likely been custom-made for this. It’s the first time I have seen something like this on a handheld of this size, and I am incredibly excited about it. It’s as if AYANEO has one upped Analogue and somehow has an unlimited budget to truly create something that is out of this world.
Keeping to the face, you will notice the console does have small bezels to keep that ‘DMG look’, alongside an AYANEO button to quickly jump into the OS, and buttons on the side, featuring an on/off switch that feels like it has been taken straight from 90’s tech, crafted in a bright colour to put emphasis on the big job it has with turning this beauty on.
Arthur couldn’t stop talking about the sheer amount of work that went into making this device as ergonomic as possible while keeping close to the OG handheld’s design.
The back features high-quality, curved shoulder buttons that look incredibly comfortable, and from someone who has complained many times about handheld emulators using bad shoulder buttons, I am happy to see these look somewhat comfortable.
Above that, you will find the cooling system and a large ventilation system that pumps out the hot air, again it looks sleek and is pointing in the right direction because let’s face it… nobody wants hot air blowing at their crotch. I am intrigued to see how this cooling system reacts to large games.
One feature that is underrated in handhelds is how quiet they are; my partner always complains about having big handhelds in the bedroom… not like that, but because they’re loud at night!
It’s very clear to me that AYANEO is not holding back with how they create their devices; they are looking at every single way they can make this a device that competitors cannot compete with. Yes, this will likely come at a premium cost, but if customers know there’s going to be nothing around that can out-value it in a long time, then I think this will do well.
There are many things that Arthur and the AYANEO team did not discuss and areas that are left to our imagination, for example, the button above the yellow power-on button – my bet is that it’s a sleep/wake button with fingerprint recognition.
Arthur did mention that they have come across some areas of the Pocket DMG that they would like to change, however, meaning it will push the release date back a bit. There was no announcement regarding the date or the pricing, but my bet is that AYANEO will open up the pre-sale over the coming few months, with a Q4 release, but that’s just me guessing.
I am incredibly excited to get my hands on this; as someone who has reviewed hundreds of handhelds over my career here at Retro Dodo, this looks like a handheld that is pushing innovation forward, and for that reason, I just have to try it!
