AYANEO held a showcase of the AYANEO 3’s full modular feature set.
The AYANEO 3 is one of the most ambitious retro handhelds we’ve seen in recent memory. it capitalizes on an often underutilized aspect of tech and tinkering — modularity.
Modu-what?
Modularity allows for specific pieces of a system to be swapped, replaced, or entirely removed. In a PC build, for example, the bulk of the pieces used to build the computer are modular just by design. The hard drive attaches to the motherboard, which you can attach RAM to, extra USB ports, etc.
As far as we currently know, the AYANEO 3 will feature modular buttons and analog sticks in configurations that allow for different play styles.
Of the known modules, there are two standard sets with different types of action button depths, a touchpad module with assorted buttons and two touchpads, and a fighting module with six buttons on one side and an analog stick with a control pad on the other.
AYANEO 3 Module Choices – White
AYANEO has had a pretty tremendous year if only by factoring in the devices released and their ability to play the games they’re built for. The Pocket DMG, Pocket Micro (and Classic) both fill a sub-niche in retro gaming for premium devices that emulate consoles to the best of their capability. However, the price for these consoles is another hurdle that makes it hard for AYANEO to bridge the gap between gamers’ desires and the company’s commitment to excellent engineering.
AYANEO 3 is Beefy and Modular
The AYANEO 3 will be available in assorted configurations. There will be multiple models: one with LCD, and another with an OLED panel. The screen is said to be 7-inches, with a 1080p resolution, and a standard 16:9 aspect ratio. Depending on the choice between OLED and LCD, the screen will support a 144hz or 120hz refresh rate, respectively.
The showcase from today highlighted the main central feature of the AYANEO 3: its modules. As Zhang showed off the device, he emphasized the abundance of options gamers will have with the aforementioned six sets of modules.
The modules also allow for modularity within themselves. The buttons, for example, can be swapped to change the placement to be more like Nintendo consoles or have the A/B, and X/Y buttons switched to mimic the Xbox layout.
Sick.
During the stream, Zhang showed off multiple different assets of the device, but the key features were focused almost entirely on the swapping of the aforementioned modules.
The idea of modularity meeting gaming is not necessarily new, but at this level with this much expansion is mind-boggling. Every way in which gamers prefer to play their games is covered via some combination of modules.
AYANEO 3 Specs
- Display: 7-inch IPS / 7-inch OLED
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080, 16:9
- CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 / AMD Ryzen 7 8840U
- RAM: Up to 64GB LPDDR5X
- Storage: M2 2280 PCIe 440 SSD (size not shared), MicroSD slot
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3
- Colors: black, white, retro
- Features: Modular, headphone jack, OLED screen optional, AYASpace 3.0 support, two USB4 ports, DisplayPort 1.4, OCuLink
Truthfully, it’s hard not to be excited about the new devices AYANEO shows off. Despite costs, it’s incredibly refreshing to see a company continuously push the bounds of what’s expected in handhelds solely dedicated to gaming.
AYANEO CEO Arthur Zhang showed off the handheld in its full glory today, but the standout feature still remains its modularity. On top of that, the device comes with the same level of high-tier build quality found in all of AYANEO’s products. However, that may mean gamers should expect to fork over a pretty penny to get their hands on the device.
What did you think of this article? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!
This page may contain affiliate links, by purchasing something through a link, Retro Handhelds may earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you.