Last week we learned a lot about the different gaming handhelds, laptops, and peripherals that will be launching over the next few months. Much of that was to be expected, with the exception of a few surprises here and there. One of those surprises happened to be the AYANEO Pocket Play, which made a surprise appearance at Computex 2026.
The folks over at PCWorld managed to get some hands-on time with what’s expected to be AYANEO’s first phone.
Adam Patrick Murray of PCWorld, who also cohosts with Russ from RetroGameCorps on the Expedition: Handheld podcast, gave us about a four minute overview of the Pocket Play. In the video, Murray shares a few keypoints about what the phone has to offer, namely the actual controls.
For example, the dual touchpads are described as “being more like a trackpoint,” while still having the ability to be pressed down if necessary. He also reaffirms some of the specs of the phone, such as the 6.8-inch OLED screen and the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset.
From there, he shares that the biggest trade-off is the actual size of the entire Pocket Play ensemble. Although there aren’t any width comparisons made with other smartphones, it’s pretty apparent that the Pocket Play won’t win awards for being svelte. After making mention of the lack of front-firing stereo speakers (they are placed on the top/bottom or left/right, depending on orientation,) Murray touches on another major disadvantage to the Pocket Play.
Smartphone cameras have pretty much replaced point-and-shoot cameras for just about everyone, that likely won’t be the case with the Pocket Play. On the back of the phone, there’s a rather basic dual-camera setup, with an LED flash at the bottom of the module. That might not seem like a big deal to some, but it’s not like the Pocket Play will have Apple or Google’s software prowess to turn even the worst pictures into something great.
Arguably the most surprising aspect of the Pocket Play’s appearance at Computex was that AYANEO wasn’t even at the event. Instead, the phone was found at the AMobile booth, which is apparently the company that is actually manufacturing AYANEO’s first phone.
Murray even reveals that the Pocket Play wasn’t even designed by AYANEO, with it being said that AYANEO approached AMobile and MediaTek about it. Essentially, it seems like this is just the result of AYANEO wanting to release a smartphone, but is paying another company to handle the design and manufacturing.
Lastly, it would appear that the Pocket Play is a China-only release, and there was no mention of that changing. It’s unsurprising, to say the least, as AYANEO would have had to deal with regulatory bodies in hopes of the phone being approved for launch in other countries.
While it’s definitely disappointing that AYANEO won’t actually be releasing the Pocket Play for global use, at least we know that the company’s first phone didn’t just turn into vaporware. Unlike a certain tablet that is seemingly never being released.
