The AYN Thor is by far one of the most popular retro-focused handhelds of 2025.
It took the niche by storm thanks to its beautiful dual-screens, incredible power and superb build quality.
It launched in a few different models: Lite, Base, Pro & Max. All with slightly different specs, RAM and storage. The Lite model quickly went out of stock and stayed out of stock for many months.
Which I know for some was annoying, especially if you didn't secure a pre-order in batch 1. The base model, however, has proven worthy with many reviewers and customers because of the PS2 capabilities.
Though there are some out there still waiting for the cheaper $249 Lite version, which comes with a slightly less powerful Snapdragon 865 CPU, an Adreno 650 GPU and 8GB's of RAM, with a choice of just a black colour-way too.
I would personally upgrade to the base model for better all-round performance, but completely understand that this doesn't fit some people's budgets.
Even then, if you do get the Lite model, I still believe you will be purchasing one of the best sub $250 retro handhelds on the market.
I love my AYN Thor, and it's good to see AYN opening up pre-orders for this cheaper device.
