TL;DR AYANEO announced its first gaming phone, called the Pocket PLAY.
It draws heavily from the Xperia Play, with a sliding design and two touchpads.
Specs have not been revealed, but it will launch via Kickstarter.
More than four months after AYANEO first announced it was working on a phone, the company has finally revealed the design. As expected, it’s a modern take on the Xperia Play, incorporating not just the design language, but also the name.
The AYANEO Pocket PLAY is a modern take on the ill-fated Sony Ericsson handheld, with a sliding design that will take you right back to 2011. Several other recent devices like the ANBERNIC RG Slide and the magnetic MCON controller also incorporate sliding mechanisms, but this is the first sliding gaming phone released in nearly 15 years.
When opened, it reveals a D-pad, buttons, and two touchpads. AYANEO calls these “smart touchpads,” and the company has committed to using similar tech on its upcoming Pocket VERT handheld.
The controller also features the company’s signature AYANEO button, indicating it will come with the handheld-focused suite of software enhancements found on its other gaming devices. There’s also a button that appears to pull up an app menu, as well as another mysterious button with an unclear purpose. It points toward the bottom right, which could indicate a picture-in-picture mode.
Apart from the sliding controller, it’s a minimal, but modern, smartphone design. There are two camera lenses on the back, with a flush finish and no camera bump. There are also four shoulder buttons on the top of the device, with the volume rocker and power button located between them. The USB-C charging port is located on the bottom of the phone, which means you probably won’t be able to play while connected to a charger.
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