This morning, we awoke to a surprise, as AYANEO’s CEO was back on another YouTube livestream. Technically, there weren’t any new products announced, as much of the session was basically just to talk about devices that are (or were) already available. This included the Pocket Micro 2, which has been the subject of some rather heated debates.
Throughout the Product Sharing Session, Arthur shared that the company has heard the feedback regarding the botched release of the Pocket Micro 2. He revealed that the reason for the extremely limited supply was due to “soaring memory prices,” and discouraged those from paying the “signifcantly inflated prices” from second-hand stores (i.e. AliExpress).
Arthur stopped short of confirming that the Pocket Micro 2 would be made available again in the future, although it was heavily implied. An accompanying blog post followed that up with the following:
Players who are still waiting for Pocket MICRO 2 are encouraged to stay tuned to AYANEO’s official channels for the latest updates and availability information.
Those who have already purchased and received their Micro 2 might be surprised to see that there’s an OTA update already available. The update focuses on three key improvements, including reduced fan noise, better external display support, and “optimized default shortcut key settings.”
From there, the focus of the livestream shifted to the AYANEO Next 2, with it being stated that “international orders will start shipping in the near future.” For those who missed out on the initial pre-orders and early batches, you can actually still buy one.
Prices start at $2999 for the Ryzen AI Max 385 model with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. A maxed-out Next 2 comes in at an eye-watering $5299 if you want the AI Max+ 395 with 128GB of RAM and 2TB of storage.
After making a surprising appearance at Computex, the AYANEO Pocket Play was also quickly discussed. No, it’s not yet available to purchase or even pre-order. Arthur tried to provide reassurance that its first phone was still in the works, with the company working on “refining every detail to meet our highest standards.”
As we’ve become accustomed to, Arthur did have a “One More Thing” segment of the livestream, saying “Trust me, the second half of the year is going to be busy.” This includes the KONKR Pocket Block, which is said to still be development, but we still don’t know what it means to be the “world’s first AI handheld.”
Beyond that, at least one more product is set to be released under the AYANEO REMAKE segment, although we don’t know what it is yet. This unknown REMAKE device carries a tagline of “The Romance of the Golden Age Returns.” Plus another KONKR device is in the works, but all we were told was that “The Soul of Classic Handhelds Reawakened – Reimagining the Icon of the Golden Age.”
Last but not least, AYANEO confirmed that there is another Windows handheld in development, being touted as a “next-generation compact flagship.” A silhouette of the device was shown, so we don’t yet have anything else to go on, but the company is apparently “bringing back a beloved lineup that many gamers have been eagerly waiting for.”
Not to rain on AYANEO’s parade here, but it does seem kind of weird to start off a livestream by complaining about surging component costs, only to end it by announcing that even more devices are on the way. I guess the company just figures that people will end up buying its handhelds regardless of how expensive they actually become. And then when the supply is constrained, or there’s a hiccup, just blame it on the rest of the industry.
