Much to the surprise of many people, including the author of this article, AYANEO has announced a new device that is remarkably affordable. The Early Bird pricing for the device will start at $70.
The Pocket Air came out in 2023 and managed to retain a little bit of a cult following due to the impressive OLED screen. Despite the good points, the device ended up getting lost in the shuffle as it was announced just before the significantly more powerful Odin 2 was introduced.
The new Pocket Air Mini initially looked to be no more than a squished version of that device, having a 4.2-inch LCD 4:3 screen rather than the 16:9 OLED in the Pocket Air; however, the actual device has targeted a much more budget audience.
AYANEO Pocket Air Mini: The Good News
The Screen: The second half of 2025 seems to be dominated by devices with screens far more suited to Retro Gaming than those used in earlier devices. The Mini has continued this with its 960p screen. While the screen is smaller than that in the recent Anbernic devices like the RG477M & RG476H, it shares the same resolution, which means it will be equally as good as integer scaling for 4:3 home consoles. In fact, having the same resolution on a smaller screen will lead to improved PPI (pixels per inch), which, in essence, means it will have a sharper image.
Build Quality: AYANEO devices have always been made to look and feel premium. While we haven’t seen anything other than renders yet, the Mini looks to follow that trend, meaning it might feel like a much more expensive device
Price: The early bird pricing has been announced as $70 for the 2GB RAM / 32GB storage option and $80 for the 3GB / 64GB version. It’s not clear how much shipping and any applicable tariffs will be on top of that.
Colors: The Device will be launched in Retro White (likely the same off white used in the Pocket Air), Aurora Black, and Retro Power. There is no news whether all colorways will be available at the advertised price.
The Bad News
The Chip: While the RH community wasn’t expecting a powerhouse of a device, I think there will be some surprise in AYANEO’s choice of the Helio G90T. This is less powerful than even the Helio G99 used in the AYANEO Pocket Micro & Pocket Micro Classic. Following a quick bit of internet research (since I wasn’t previously familiar with this chip), the expected performance seems to be the exact midpoint between the T820 used in the recent Anbernic RG476H and the T618 from the old Retroid Pocket 3+.
While this will give more than enough performance for all other 4:3 devices, I wouldn’t expect PS2 or GameCube to be particularly playable on this device. However, AYANEO takes pains to compare it to the H700 used in the Anbernic RGXX range, a chip is significantly outperforms, and this might be an indication of the market they’re targeting.
Operating System: The mini will run Android 11, which was introduced in 2020, is now end of life, and will likely not be able to run the latest versions of many applications and games.
Other Specs
- 4500mAh Battery
- Wi-Fi 5 & Bluetooth 5.0
- USB-C port, headphone jack, and microSD card slot
- Dimensions 165.9 x 82.5 x 18.7mm
- Weight 269g
When Can You Buy One?
The AYANEO webpage has the device listed as “coming soon,” and no information is given about the launch date or how to buy.
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