Last week, we caught wind of a new vertical handheld from AYANEO, dubbed the “Pocket Block,” and while there was definitely some skepticism, we won’t have to wait long to find out. AYANEO announced a “Product Sharing Session” for tomorrow (May 21) at 8 AM EST with a promo banner that says “New Products Unveiled,” “Classics Reimagined,” and “The Future Begins.”
Not long before the official announcement was made, supposed promotional images appeared, promoting not one, but two handhelds. The Pocket Block was the only handheld in one of the images, but in the second, there’s a candybar-style handheld, also carrying the BITWAVE branding.
Beyond what we learned about the Pocket Block courtesy of the manuals.plus appearance, the second promo image seemingly shared a few tidbits about one (or both) of these upcoming handhelds.
- Ultimate experience with flagship performance
- High refresh rate gaming screen for a smooth and fluid experience
- Ultra-long battery life for extended gaming sessions
- Master-level feel and precise control
- AYASpace’s brand new system
To a certain extent, the appearance of the BITWAVE candybar-style handheld kind of throws out the notion of the Pocket Block being a “budget sibling” to the Pocket AIR Mini. And provided that the promo images are real, then “flagship performance” and a 120Hz display aren’t exactly signs of more budget-friendly devices.
Perhaps this is AYANEO’s way of exploring the $150-$300 market, something the company hasn’t done since the AYANEO Pocket Micro and Pocket Micro Classic. Both of those handhelds were priced between $200 and $300, and the Pocket S Mini started at around $320.
Unfortunately, no other specs or details have yet been shared or leaked, beyond what we saw previously. The only exception comes courtesy of the RH Discord, with one user discovering that BITWAVE is actually “a trademark registered by the company behind AYANEO.”
From the screenshot provided (and with Google Translate), we can see that the trademark application was dated for May 5, 2025, with the “Registration announcement date” set for December 21, 2025. With the approval of the trademark application, AYANEO’s parent company has the rights to the BITWAVE branding for the next 10 years, until December 20, 2035.
We don’t have much longer to wait before the veil is pulled back for these two rumored/leaked handhelds. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that AYANEO doesn’t go crazy and try to toss the Snapdragon G3 Gen 3 in either of these stick-less handhelds.
