Sometimes the handhelds announced to us are a bit… curious. They may look a bit odd, they may have an odd timeline where they take your money and then delay the handheld for months at a time. They might even smell a bit odd. But right now, it seems to be a very curious set of circumstances that have given us the topic of today: The Ayaneo Pocket Air.
Originally announced in January of 2023- Ayaneo announced the Pocket Air. This was supposed to be a flagship level android handheld using the body of their previous Air devices. And then we heard nothing until March when a prototype was shown off. And then again. Silence. Now here we are at the tail end of August and not only has Ayaneo announced the Pocket Air Indiegogo, but have also answered almost all of our final questions about it.
But to answer your questions about it, let’s talk. The Pocket Air is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 1200 (Same processor in the GPD XP+), running the same 5.5” AMOLED panel that was found in some previous Ayaneo Air devices. All of this comes powered off of a sizable 7,350mAh battery. Which is great for performance, but the Hall Thumbsticks and Triggers on each side of that screen will certainly help with the gaming experience.
All of this comes with Ayaneo’s AyaHome Launcher Software packed on top of Android. And of course the price. $279 for an Indiegogo special with 6gb of Ram and 128gb of storage. All up to $399 for the full 12gb ram, and 512gb of storage. Both of which will go up to $319 and $519 at retail.
Sounds great right? High Performance at an Okay’ish price? But that’s why it’s a curious case. In the time since the Pocket Air was announced and/or shipped five windows handhelds at various price points. Ayn announced and launched their Odin2 Indiegogo for prices starting at $250 (early bird) for a handheld with a Snapdragon 8Gen2. Heck- Ayaneo even announced the Pocket S; an Android handheld even more powerful than both that would be coming at the end of the year.
Oh and did I forget to mention? Ayaneo said they don’t have plans to restock the Pocket Air once it’s gone. That’s right. This is a limited run handheld now. Their Bill of Materials (BOM) is so high they’re not making much if anything off of this device.
So there you have it. The Ayaneo Pocket Air. Launching September 6th on Indiegogo at 6am PST/8am EST. A pricey handheld with a less powerful chip than something at the same price point. But hey, it’ll supposedly ship at the end of September if you want it sooner. I want one, I like the idea of a small, powerful Android handheld. But the Ayaneo Pocket Air? If anything else- it definitely is curious.
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