AYANEO’s product-sharing session today is certainly one to remember. The company has been making some heavy swings in the portable PC market, and now they want a piece of the retro gaming pie – move out of the way Analogue!
This livestream was mainly dedicated to showing off their REMAKE series of products, all of which had a retro-focused twist including the Pocket DMG which looked… incredible. One product that they only teased a few days ago (which surprised us) is their new Pocket Micro device, a slim horizontal handheld inspired by the Game Boy Micro. So, it’s obvious AYANEO has seen the mass of handheld emulators coming to market and decided to create something with a far superior feel… and this looks like it could be just that, a modern, premium Game Boy Micro.
Let’s talk about the spec released in the video. The handheld boasts a 960×640 3.5″ display which is 4x the resolution GB Micro’s without the stretch; we’re talking full-screen gaming making use of all that lovely screen.
It also has a G99 Processor hidden away beneath the CNC aluminium frame, a processor we see a lot in Android gaming devices. It’s not the most powerful processor out there, but when it comes to playing GBA games, which is what we’d be using this Pocket Micro for, it can more than handle the job.
The minimal design is something that we’re really digging; the aluminium frame is textured to stop it from slipping out of your sweaty palms. It’s one area of expertise that AYANEO does better than most handheld manufacturers, and that’s quality.
The fact that they’re using blocks of aluminium to create this just goes to show the level of quality control they are going for with this one. Arthur wants it to be one of the most premium “mini handhelds” on the market, with no competition. And by the looks of things… they’re building that.
It comes in four colours; Gold, Red (limited edition), Black, and Silver, and the fact that the screen uses the borderless display inspired by the AYANEO 2 is definitely a plus point.
Speaking of the display, the Pocket Micro uses the same smaller screen seen on the AYANEO FLIP DS, the one situated on the lower half of the console, just to give you a little more context as to how big it will actually be. This thing is small and is almost the same size as an iPhone.
First impressions look like this is going to be the best handheld on the market for playing Game Boy Advance games, hands down. The design is minimal, but that’s because the handheld looks sleek and streamlined rather than being ‘unimpressive and lacking of features’.
I love that it has taken design inspiration from the AYANEO 2S in terms of the glass panel taking up the entire face of the device. Yes, it may attract fingerprints, but with that comes a beautiful design that’s more than worth getting your screen cleaner out once in a while.
Arthur mentioned that this will go on “presale soon”, so if I had to guess, I would say that pre-orders will open in the next month or two. There is yet to be any information regarding price, but if it follows AYANEO history, then it’s not going to be cheap. But hey, we’re a sucker for handhelds, so we’ll pick one up to review for you so you can read/watch our professional opinions before pulling the trigger.
It’s the first time in a long time that I have been genuinely excited about upcoming handhelds, and the days of cheap handheld emulators being thrown onto the market left, right and centre seem to be diminishing. We now have premium devices that will last a lifetime ready to take a slice of the retro gaming pie, and I am all for it.
