Well well well, look who just could not resist making themselves a clamshell device. The premium-priced, high-quality, easily-confused-with-AYN company known as AyaNeo. This announcement comes hot on the heels of their last…maybe five or six SKUs? Honestly it’s too tough to keep track. They are adding to their arsenal of handhelds by reaching for that ever-vigilant group of handheld fans that call themselves “clam lovers.” They may not call themselves that, but there certainly is a large market for foldable devices a la the Retroid Flip. So what information do we have about this unique entry into the AyaNeo catalog? Sadly not much as of yet, but I will lay out the details we do have and you can decide if it’s something you’d like to keep an eye on, or just another SKU in the sea that is this company’s devices.
Thanks to renders released by Aya the hardware side of things has a bit more to chew on for the moment than the software side. Sure, some think the Flip will be a Windows-based device akin to the GPD Win Mini, but of course we have also seen Android as a popular OS for the clamshell design. Smart money is on Windows, but don’t take it as a fact.
Beyond that, we also do not know which chipset it will run, anything about the interface, or even what color schemes will be offered, though the renders show the shell in white (black is also likely). Speaking of the shell, it looks to have a common “playing card” shape, square with rounded edges. The lid has a basic oval design and some branding in the center, while the underside houses a vent and slightly bulging grips. Stacked shoulder buttons are a welcome sight, as is the full keyboard that lies on the face upon opening the handheld. That’s right, there is a full-blown QWERTY on this sucker (yeah, Windows). That is certainly interesting. It also adds to the overall cluttered look of the device. The face alone has staggered analog sticks, a dpad, four face buttons, start/select, menu/back, two function buttons, a power button, AND what may be a fingerprint reader. Needless to say, it is BUSY.
Beyond that there is a distinct lack of solid facts. We have our eyes and ears open for other specifics and will certainly be doing our best to keep you all up to date on this conundrum of a gaming machine. Whether it be a video on our YouTube channel speculating the future, or a discussion in our Discord about the viable options of the final product, you can always join us for news and updates on this device and more.
No pricing is available, but if you know anything about AyaNeo, you know it is not going to be cheap. The ordering/shipping information will come out later as well. For now, they seem to be aiming for a release somewhere in the first quarter of 2024. Until then, it will be a bit of a guessing game as to what the AyaNeo Flip will be capable of. I know we excited to find out!