One of the most surprising handhelds to be announced this year is the Pocket Air Mini from AYANEO, and it just reached its crowdfunding goal in just 5 minutes.
AYANEO are renowned for premium handhelds, recently launching the world's first dual-screen clamshell Android handheld, but now they want a piece of the budget pie.
The Pocket Air Mini will start at $69.99 for early bird backers on their now-launched Indiegogo campaign; it will then retail for $99.99 upon release.
Do I believe this will be worth $69? Heck yes. Do I believe it will be worth $99, most likely.
It apparently features the world's first 4.2" 4:3 display (1280 x 960), and comes packed with an MTK Helio G90T octa-core and a Mali G76 GPU, 2/3GB of RAM paired with 4500MAH of battery.
This means it may likely be able to emulate up to and including PlayStation 2 games, but that's not confirmed yet. We have a review sample on the way, which will be put to the test.
It's going to be a serious contented in the sub $100 handheld market, especially with the lovely display, great build quality which takes from the original Pocket Air, alongside a well-rounded spec sheet...
I think this could be one of the best budget-friendly handhelds to come out of 2025 if it lives up to the hype, and if you are looking for a new retro handheld, I think it's a great opportunity to save a few bucks and grab one early during their crowdfunding campaign.
