AYANEO Pocket Micro 2 First Impressions: A Surprising Sequel

Despite having to navigate some logistical controversy, AYANEO has managed to start getting the Pocket Micro 2 into the hands of retro gamers everywhere. My personal device was in the second batch of devices released, which was only available in the 6GB/128GB configuration, and only in Stardust Purple.

I’ve had a little time to sit down and mess with the Pocket Micro 2, so I’m sharing my initial thoughts with the retro gaming community.

AYANEO Pocket Micro 2 Specs

A Micro Comparison

It feels appropriate to go ahead and do an initial comparison of the Pocket Micro and the Pocket Micro 2, as there will be references to their differences throughout the article (and in the subsequent review). I will be looking at the Pocket Micro 1, not the Pocket Micro Classic (which removed the analogue sticks), which feels like a better comparison anyway. We’ll go ahead and start with the differences:

Pretty much everything else, from the 3.5″ 960 x 640 screen, to the 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB RAM and storage configurations, to the Android 13 operating system, are all the same between these two devices. The improved CPU, GPU, and Connectivity options should allow the Micro 2 to be quite a bit more performant when it comes to emulation and streaming, but we’ll dive deeper into that in the review.

What’s most noticeably different about these two devices is the controls. The Pocket Micro 2 is a bit taller and wider than the Pocket Micro 1, while having the same height. This allowed AYANEO to move the D-Pad and ABXY buttons up and out a teeny bit more, which gave some room for these recessed pockets in which the analogue sticks now reside.

I don’t have calipers, but the D-Pad and ABXY buttons also seem slightly larger, and the shoulder buttons are certainly larger and better situated. The Pocket Micro 2 also has more curvature to the edges of the device, making it more pleasant to hold, especially for longer periods of time.

Where It Shines

Okay, we have to talk about those sticks. I wasn’t sure if recessing the sticks further than the original AYANEO Pocket Mini would really make that big of a difference, but it absolutely does. The Pocket Micro was somewhat notorious for having excessively high analogue sticks that made the device incredibly inconvenient to attempt to pocket, or even put in a slim case. The ones on the Pocket Micro 2 sit much lower, essentially even with the D-Pad and ABXY buttons. They also feel better to actually game with, as they have a better range of motion.

The additional curvature of the Pocket Micro 2 also makes this one feel quite a bit better to hold in the hands. While the Pocket Micro 2 is about 14 grams heavier, that weight feels better distributed. Holding the two devices without a scale, I thought the original Pocket Micro was heavier. The buttons are also relatively quiet on the Pocket Micro 2, which is always appreciated for those of us who game in bed next to a significant other.

Unsurprisingly, I’ve spent most of my time playing Game Boy Advance games. Given that the Pocket Micro 2 uses the same Snapdragon 865 found in the Retroid Pocket 5 and Pocket Flip 2, we know that the chip is capable of playing up into PlayStation 2, GameCube, and even some light Switch games, with some additional tinkering needed depending on the title.

Same as with the Pocket Advance, I threw Socket on here as my frontend. It is just really fun to use with these Game Boy Advance-centric devices, and the developer continues to churn out updates and bug fixes on a regular basis. It also works with disc-based systems, and has the same tactile feel of inserting a disc as it does with the cartridge systems, which just gives it that little extra bit of nostalgia.

Where It Stumbles

As I mentioned in my KONKR Pocket Advance first impressions, I’m a sucker for Game Boy Advance. It’s my favorite handheld console, and any device that comes out with a 3:2 aspect ratio instantly catches my attention. Having said that, and having just spent time with the KONKR Pocket Advance, $300 is really steep for a device that truly specializes in playing one gaming console, while lacking the extra juice in something like the AYANEO Pocket Ace.

I am not a fan of inline shoulder buttons, and while the ones on the Pocket Micro 2 are certainly an improvement over most that I’ve interacted with, they simply don’t cut it for me. I understand this helps to make it more pocketable and slim, but I’m not about to take my $300 all-glass-front gaming device around in my pocket anyway. Especially coming from the widened, stacked shoulder buttons on the Pocket Advance, this felt like a downgrade.

Now, this one feels a bit like nit-picking, but that’s the name of the game with a premium device. When first firing up the Pocket Micro 2, I was greeted with Chinese text. No biggie, changing it to English was easy enough. However, I noticed through setup that certain things still remained in Chinese text; the “what to do with your SD card” prompt, the name of the SD card in the files app, and some settings options were still showing Chinese text.

While having Chinese text on a handheld that comes from China certainly doesn’t sound weird, it was the first time in recent memory I recall receiving a device from AYANEO that was sold to a domestic audience that didn’t have English as the starting language. Again, nit-picky, and it disappeared after a couple of full shutdowns and reboots of the device, but it was odd enough for me to notice.

Logistical Hiccups

On a separate note, an annoyance here is that the Pocket Micro 2 is still suffering from logistical issues; the only SKU available on the AYANEO website is the 12GB/128G configuration, and many people still haven’t gotten their pre-orders yet. AYANEO continues to stumble over itself when it comes to launching and shipping devices, and the Pocket Micro 2 was another in a seemingly out-of-touch series of decisions made by the company.

KONKR Pocket Advance shipments keep being delayed, and then AYANEO turns around and releases the new KONKR Pocket Block while many are still waiting on other devices. They could really use some tightening up of their logistical and communication channels. They said they would, yet here we are…

I do recognize that those of us who continue to purchase and cover these devices aren’t really dissuading AYANEO from continuing to make these mistakes, but they also continue to churn out some of the best handhelds on the market, including several of my personal favorites. Brilliant hardware, baffling execution.

What’s Next?

If you’re wanting a portable, premium device that is especially good for Game Boy Advance, then the Pocket Micro 2 certainly fits the bill. However, in a market also crowded with much cheaper devices like the Anbernic RG SP and AYANEO’s own KONKR Pocket Advance, is the Pocket Micro 2 worth the current $300+ that it commands?

While some more testing and comparisons will shed some additional light on the capabilities of the Pocket Micro 2, I will say that I’m impressed with what I’ve seen so far. This is definitely an improvement over the original Pocket Micro in terms of hardware and controls, and has the capabilities to stretch its usefulness beyond that of its predecessor.