It’s been almost two months since MANGMI first began teasing the Pocket Max, and now, the wait is almost over. The company officially revealed pricing and availability information for its latest handheld, a massive improvement over how the Air X was rolled out.
In terms of pricing, the MANGMI Pocket Max will retail for $239.99 and is only available in one configuration with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage paired with the Snapdragon 865. However, if you place an order between February 5 and February 12, you’ll enjoy a $40 discount thanks to the company’s Early Bird Offer. This brings the price down to $199.99, which is right around where many of us thought the Pocket Max would come in at.
MANGMI Pocket Max Specs
- Display: 7-inch AMOLED / 1920 x 1080 (16:9) / 144Hz
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
- GPU: Adreno 650
- RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X
- Storage: 128GB UFS 3.1 w/ microSD
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.1
- Battery: 8,000mAh w/ 27W Charging
- Ports: USB 3.1 Type-C / 3.5mm Audio Jack / microSD
- Dimensions: 254.87 x 101.06 x 17.45mm
- Weight: 450g
- Colors: Black / White / Retro GB
One of the big reasons to consider the MANGMI Pocket Max isn’t just the fact that it’s using a 7-inch AMOLED panel, or that the ergonomics look delightful. It’s also that this is the first “budget-friendly” handheld to be released with interchangeable control modules, but that comes with a slight catch.
By default, the Pocket Max will feature the standard membrane-like ABXY and D-pad control modules. But if you would prefer the feel or sound of the Mechanical Micro-Switch Modules, that’ll set you back another $12.
In most situations, this probably wouldn’t be a huge deal, as the price for the entire package will come in around the $250 mark. However, AYN just discontinued the Odin 2, and is currently hosting a “Portal Event” from now until February 25, where you can get the Odin 2 Portal (Base) for $249. And just as a reminder, the Portal is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which has long-been the “golden child” of the retro gaming and emulation community.
That being said, if you’re on a tight budget, we’d recommend grabbing the MANGMI Pocket Max during the Early Bird Offer period. After that, if the price does indeed increase to $240, and if the Odin 2 Portal stays at $250, it’s a very different conversation.
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