I guess AYANEO wasn’t ready to let the year come to an end without giving us at least one more thing to (hopefully) look forward in 2026. After first teasing it months ago, the company has released the first teaser trailer for the AYANEO Pocket Play. Once released, this will be AYANEO’s first attempt at releasing a smartphone, putting a modern twist on the Xperia Play.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but AYANEO didn’t share very many specifics in terms of the specs for its first phone. However, the video does give us a look at the Pocket Play from every angle, which includes close-ups on the controls.

As expected, these controls are hidden until you slide the upper portion with the screen upwards. From there, we have the full gamut of controls, which includes ABXY, a D-pad, Start, and Select.

However, those aren’t all of the controls, as the Pocket Play has dual built-in touchpads. The official name is “Smart Dual-Mode Touchpad” as these can work as either a virtual joystick or trackpad. I presume it will be similar to the touchpad implementation found on both the AYANEO Pocket DMG and the upcoming Pocket Vert, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Beyond that, there are a few more buttons, including the patented AYANEO button on the right side. One button in particular has me intrigued, as there’s a red button on the left side between the D-pad and touchpad. The video doesn’t actually state what that button does, but there has to be a reason why it stands out, unless it’s being done purely for aesthetics

Based on the video and having a pretty good idea about the company’s design philosophy, it’s probably safe to say the Pocket Play will be feature a combination of aluminum and glass for the build. I would also go so far as to say that the rear cameras are probably nothing to write home about, and there’s a good chance they won’t match up with the latest Samsung Galaxy or iPhone.

Although it’s awesome to see a smartphone with a slider design in 2025/2026, we still have plenty of questions. Not just in terms of specs, but other things such as price, region availability, and when it will actually be released.

As soon as we find out more information, we’ll be sure to let you know.

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