It was only yesterday that I wrote a news post about Yoniq listing their dual-screen handheld on their website, known as the Duo, and like the Portal today, they also showed off the price of their upcoming ANBERNIC RG DS Plus competitor, coming in at $149.99, but it can't be purchased yet.
Though today, another one of their upcoming handhelds known as the Portal has been listed with a price tag of $199, likely meaning they are preparing the listing page for an upcoming pre-order event before the year's up, though there's still a lot of work to go into the listing as it's filled with copy from an older product, alongside AI-generated images and incorrect spelling.
There seems to be a reduced price that has been set, likely in preparation for an early bird promotion, lowering the device from £162/$215 to £147/$199, which helps a little. There are also a couple of new images that we haven't seen before, more specifically showcasing the top and bottom ports, and oddly I see a "Memory Card" at the bottom. I am unsure, but could this mean you'll be able to insert your own PS1 memory card into this thing? It seems to be sticking out slightly in one image, and not the other, but nothing has been mentioned about this yet.
We have tried contacting Yoniq over the last week or so, but we've heard nothing back, as of yet. The price is certainly on the premium side, which is surprising for a device that has the same aesthetics as a $20 AliExpress clone that we've all been foolish enough to purchase and never receive in the past... right? No, just me?
It's designed to look like the PS1, with a display between the controllers just like the PlayStation 5 portal. The new images also show a look at the ports, such as an SD card slot, a headphone jack, and a USB-C port for charging and perhaps video out. On top, a power button, volume up/down and what looks like a blue button that may be a menu button of some kind; I am still unsure.
It's an odd device that's for sure, but as mentioned before, we have spoken with Yoniq before and although they are "new" in the field, they apparently have over 50 years of experience manufacturing handhelds for other businesses. "We have access to some of the most experienced supply-chain and manufacturing resources in China, and our team has previously been involved in the development and production of a large number of handheld gaming devices on the market. This is the first time we are bringing products directly to consumers under our own brand", states our contact at Yoniq.
So, this is one to keep an eye on; you can take a closer look at the Yoniq Portal here, as we took a slightly closer look at Gamescom, although we didn't notice any Memory Card slots on the prototype units on show.
