Last year was a banner year for AYANEO, as the company announced and released an onslaught of handhelds for both Windows and Android gaming enthusiasts. One such handheld was the Pocket Micro, which sparked joy with its bezel-less display capable of playing Game Boy Advance games at pixel-perfect 4x scaling. However, it seems that we’re in store for a new iteration of the Micro, as the company has started teasing the “AYANEO Classic.”
The initial teaser arrived earlier today, offering very little to really decipher what the Classic might bring to the table. However, the first thing that jumps out is the silhouettes around what we presume to be the D-pad and ABXY buttons. What you won’t find highlighted are the dual thumbsticks that are present on the current AYANEO Pocket Micro.
The classic and purity you wanted is coming soon🔥 Chase the classic, rediscover pure gameplay, return to the roots of gaming. Compact, portable, retro yet fresh classic gaming in your hands.
Stay tuned for the reveal!
Discord：https://t.co/YAqOSa9ut3 https://t.co/sBx0hgw6cY pic.twitter.com/3ul2IhKg2l— AYANEO (@AYANEO__) February 21, 2025
With a tagline that reads “The Classic and Purity You Wanted,” we can only assume that AYANEO’s next retro-focused handheld looks to take a page out of Anbernic’s book. Devices such as the Anbernic RG28XX and RG35XX H are candybar handhelds that don’t feature thumbsticks, instead, letting you remap analog stick controls to the built-in D-pad.
What the Classic might look like
Besides that, there’s not much else to discern from the outlined handheld, other than that it will seemingly retain the same design as the Pocket Micro. Needless to say, we have quite a few questions, such as whether this will be AYANEO’s first foray into the realm of Linux-powered retro handhelds. Maybe everything else is the same, but to make up for the joystick removal, the Classic features an OLED display. If I were to guess, this is simply just the Pocket Micro with the sticks removed, and likely with a cheaper asking price.
This is just the beginning, as these companies are well-known for building up hype by drip-feeding details ahead of the actual announcement. And we know how much AYANEO loves to do just that.
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Looks like a cool retro handheld, l think it you are a true retro gamer you would have to have one for your collection, l no will.
Great, even fewer features for what is almost certainly too much money.
Any manufacturer that omits wired audio support from a gaming device has no idea what their doing. And instead of fixing it, they are just removing even more features from it as a selling point. Might as well remove the screen too, or just the rest of the device, so you can imagine a better handheld.