A few days ago, I was emailed by a company called Yoniq, informing me of their upcoming products and inviting me to swing by their booth at Gamescom this year (which is happening right now). Unfortunately, I had to decline as I am not attending, but after looking through their website, which is riddled with AI images, I saw a dual-screen handheld being promoted. You now have my attention, Yoniq!
The email also mentioned that this device is coming to fruition and can be seen at Gamescom, even if there's a lot of marketing material and AI-generated images that suggest it's not real. There's not a single real, in-person image of this device as of yet. And they don't even have a real name for it yet, after informing me that they're still working on an official product title for it. Previously, their website called this the Yoniq Duo, but that has now been removed.
"Our website is still being prepared, and a few details—including the final product name—are still being finalised. We will officially unveil the product at gamescom in Cologne on August 26, and everything will be confirmed by then," states Yoniq.
Over the last few days, their website has been on and offline, with minor changes being added to it almost daily. As of today, the latest change shows a new countdown for the two portable handheld consoles with the text "the next way to play is almost here", suggesting that the official release date is near.
The countdown ends on 31st December 2026, suggesting that the newly teased devices could launch on 1st January 2027. Though I have my suspicions that this could just be a placeholder, seeing as they're updating the website regularly, feature AI images, have no official mention of them on the Gamescom Exhibitor websites and have no footage/images of the real devices, even by Gamescom attendees so far.
It could be that yesterday was only the media/press day for Gamescom, and today, Thursday 27th, is the first public opening, so we could see some images be posted on social media of this device over the next few days, but because I am not attending, I cannot confirm this. I have requested images and more information from Yoniq, but they won't be sending any information until "after Gamescom".
"We will officially unveil the product at Gamescom in Cologne on August 26, and everything will be confirmed by then", states Yoniq's representative who has been emailing me. But on my end, I see no official unveiling, no social posts, no emails, no website updates, nothing.
From what I can tell, they have no idea what it's being called, when it's going to release, what specifications it will have and how they're going to price this. This either does not exist, or it's in early development, and they're simply trying to do some market research to see if it's a viable product. Their first product is a silicon gamepad that costs pennies to manufacture, so making a huge jump like this to a complicated piece of electronics is a huge jump, a jump that needs investment and, more importantly, community support.
I'll keep you posted on this one, but as the days go by, my suspicions are only getting greater, even if their team are pretty quick at responding to me and have stated "once our product is officially launched, we will send you a sample at the earliest opportunity so that you can be one of the first to experience it". That said, I am excited by it; the ANBERNIC RG DS needs some competition, and the added stylus is a nice feature that i know many portable DS lovers will enjoy. Be sure to join our free weekly newsletter to not miss our updates on this obscure device.
