AYANEO is best-known for its windows gaming handhelds, but now it’s also releasing its first-ever Android handheld with the Pocket Air. Taking everything it’s learned from the handheld gaming PCs it built over the last few years, AYANEO set out to build the perfect Android handheld for those that enjoy mobile games and want a nice, inexpensive gaming unit for Android games and cloud gaming services like GeForce NOW or Xbox Game Pass. It can also work well for retro titles and emulators.
In fact that’s one thing the AYANEO Pocket Air will probably be perfect for. Emulating retro games. Android has really good support for emulator apps. So if you’re on the hunt for a dedicated handheld for that specifically, check out the Pocket Air. AYANEO is also really leaning into the retro vibe with it too. As the only available colorway it seems is the ‘Retro Edition.’
Unlike yesterday’s AYANEO KUN windows handheld. Which comes in three colors. With the Retro Edition Pocket Air, the design scheme looks to be based on the Nintendo Famicom (the Japanese version of the NES). And that comes through pretty well with the off-white shell, red buttons, and aged yellow joysticks. AYANEO even throws in some red joystick caps.
Is the AYANEO Pocket Air the perfect companion for Android gaming?
It just might be. Since this is for Android games the specs don’t need to be super powerful. As even the most demanding mobile games are pretty well optimized. That being said, the specs here aren’t too shabby. It’s running a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor and comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED display. There’s also a fairly large 7,350mAh battery inside to keep this running all day. Best of all though is the svelte build. AYANEO designed this to be slim, really lightweight, and ultra portable. It’s called the Pocket Air for a reason. Because it fits in your pocket. Well, probably not all pockets but it can fit in your pocket.
Although, that probably isn’t all that comfortable so you should still stuff this thing into a bag if you have one. For buttons you have the pretty standard setup. Triggers and bumpers up top, four action buttons on the right face, a d-pad on the left, and dual joysticks. The joysticks and triggers are also hall sensing. And for the joysticks that means no drift.
AYANEO is opening up pre-orders for the Pocket Air on September 6 via Indiegogo and the price will start at $279 for the early bird pricing. Retail will start at $319, and it can go up to $519 if you get the 12GB RAM model with 512GB of storage.