Handheld Makers Need to Stop Turning Every New Handheld Into a Month-Long Reveal

Do you remember the good ole’ days when Anbernic would announce a new handheld, and by the end of the week you could order one? Pepperidge Farm remembers. These handheld companies have seemingly taken the idea of “building the hype train” to the extreme, and no, I’m not just talking about AYANEO this time around.

Every single OEM out there is guilty of it to some degree, it just so happens that AYANEO is quite a bit more egregious than others. The idea itself is simple enough: Tease a device, release a few pieces of information here and there, drop the full specs and pricing details, then open up pre-orders. Rinse and repeat.

The Idea is Fine, The Execution is Not

The problem isn’t even in the idea, it’s all about the execution. In some instances, like the KONKR Pocket Block, it’s been 60 days, and we know as much now as we did back in June. Meanwhile, it was only four days between the Pocket Nova’s introduction to when pre-orders opened.

Then there are situations like what happened with the Pocket MICRO 2. AYANEO was relatively quick in between the initial announcement and the Livestream Launch. However, the company posted the most trivial updates, for seemingly no reason. I can’t imagine many people would really get all that excited for updates about the shoulder buttons or D-pad, especially when they are minor updates themselves.

Not to mention that AYANEO posted an abundance of teasers and updates for a device that it ultimately only had 1,000 units of, with only 100 made available for the global market. It’s like, “why build up excitement when you’re only going to let everyone down?” To be fair, the MICRO 2 launch was botched from top-to-bottom, and everywhere in between.

Perspective is Important

On one hand, it’s easy to grab my pitchfork and rant about the continued inability for companies to reliably announce and release devices. However, I do try to keep in mind that we’re not talking about companies like Samsung, Google, or Apple, with seemingly endless resources and capital.

That’s not to say that Moorechip (Retroid/AYN), AYANEO, or Anbernic are “mom and pop shops,” regardless of what representatives might try to suggest. They are established, with the resources necessary to announce and release new products as the time comes.

The only company of the ones I’ve talked about here that I would offer the tiniest bit of wiggle room to is MANGMI. With two device launches under its belt, they’re quickly shedding the “upstart” label and becoming more established.

All of that being said, there isn’t necessarily an “ideal” solution to the problem, and I don’t think the “drip-feed” portion of a device’s release cycle is going anywhere. All I’m asking for is that these companies tighten things up a bit, and be more prudent about the “what/when/how much” whenever a new device is on the horizon.

The Receipts

I’ve gone through and looked at some more recent devices that are guilty of this. Below, you’ll find the timelines for the KONKR Pocket Advance, KONKR Pocket Block, AYANEO Pocket MICRO 2, MANGMI AIR Y & Y Pro, Retroid Pocket Nova, and Anbernic RG 55G1:

KONKR Pocket Advance

KONKR Pocket Block

AYANEO Pocket MICRO 2

MANGMI AIR Y / Y Pro

Retroid Pocket Nova

Anbernic RG 55G1