They may only have just started shipping, but the AYANEO Pocket Air Mini has been lauded as a great budget option by a number of creators on the internet. That being said, I’ve heavily overspent on mine to get it early, and to see if, in a first impression, I can tell whether or not it’s worth your money. Has AYANEO finally made something good for a “cheap” price? Or are there just too many compromises?
AYANEO Pocket Air Mini Specs
At a retail price of either $70 or $80 before shipping, you’re not spending a lot on this AYANEO handheld, and to me, that’s the most impressive thing about the device. That being said, is it even worth the asking price? It could be, but it could also be a pain in the butt for the long run.
- CPU: Mediatek Helio G90T
- GPU: Mali-G76 MP4
- RAM: 2GB/3GB
- Storage: 32GB/64GB
- Screen: 4.2-inch 1280×960, 4:3 IPS
- Battery: 4500mAh
- Colors: Aurora Black, Retro White, Retro Power
- Connectivity: USB-C, microSD, 3.5mm Audio Jack, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 5.0
- OS: Android 11
- Dimensions: 166 x 83 x 27.6mm
- Weight: 274 grams
AYANEO Pocket Air Mini at (Direct)AYANEO Pocket Air Mini at AliExpress
The Controls and Ergonomics
Coming into it, the ergonomics have a similar bump to that of the original Ayaneo Pocket Air. That means it’s not huge, but it’s seriously comfortable. On the Pocket Air, my thumb would land perfectly on the left stick; here, it lands fairly well on the D-pad instead. Overall, the ergonomics get a pass.
As for the controls, light is the best word to describe them. The shoulder and triggers are light and clacky. The sticks are the same ginful style on Retroid or AYN products, and are light and easy to move. The D-pad membrane is also, say it with me, incredibly light, and while it has a pivot, it’s not one you’ll notice too quickly. Last, the face buttons are humorously small and are quietly clacky. When you’re pressing them down with almost no force. If you need something that’s easy to press, this is it. But it can also be too easy at times.
The Display and Software
The display on the Pocket Air Mini is surprisingly nice. It’s a high-res, 4:3 panel that allows for scaling in your games, and overall works well. I don’t know if it’s me in the winter or what, but it feels like the screen picks up more smudging than usual.
As for the software, Ayaneo did surprisingly well with the 2GB they put into my unit. Their stock front end is kind of trash; however, the pop-out performance menu is great now. And overall, they really stripped down a lot of the included apps to just what you need.
I did notice at least one “Go” version of an app, which means it’s a lightweight version. However, that was the only one like that. My only qualm is it feels like we’re going backwards with Android 11, but if it plays your games…that’s okay?
The Performance
With this being a “first impressions” article, I haven’t had the most time to experiment with battery life or performance; that being said, my early impressions are doing quite well so far. Obviously, everything PSX and below is going to perform well. They do even better when you consider they fill the entire 4:3 display.
Compared to my current favorite, the Mangmi Air X, the Helio G90T does have more power in it compared to the Snapdragon 662. Which in turn has meant my performance in N64, PSP, and Dreamcast has been surprisingly good. That being said, I would still pick the Mangmi for PSP due to the aspect ratio differences. Touching on GameCube and PS2 off the bat, I wouldn’t recommend it for either of those specifically. That being said, with some work, you can certainly get some gameplay from it. If you’re fine with native resolution.
Android Gaming
And as a quick aside, focusing specifically on native Android games, it seems to work overall. If you’re looking to play any Google Play games, this is a decent way under $100 to do it. Games boot and run well.
Things like Dadish or Brotato are always good. That being said, Android 11 limits compatibility, with a number of games being unavailable on my system. And the 32GB or 64GB of storage limits you to what you actually want to install.
The Final World
AYANEO did a surprisingly good job for its first sub-$100 handheld. It looks good, it feels good, and it manages to handle most of the retro systems you can throw at it. If you’re fine topping out just below GameCube and PS2, this is a solid recommendation based on first impressions. The sub-$100 market has been gaining a lot more performant options, and this isn’t the only one.
The Mangmi Air X, the TrimUI Smart Pro S, and the GameMT E6 Max are the three main competitors at this price right now. The MagicX One 35 and Helegaly Action Pi don’t really count if you can’t buy either. If you want a wide screen, don’t get this. If you want Linux, don’t get this one.
But if you want the most performance, it’s either between this and the Mangmi, and that decision comes down entirely to whether you want 16:9 or 4:3. Once you have that decision, the answer is obvious. But you can’t really make a bad decision right now, and that’s my favorite part about it.
Also, I want a full Pocket Air again. Someone hit me up so I can buy it.
AYANEO Pocket Air Mini (Direct)AYANEO Pocket Air Mini at AliExpress
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