AYANEO
TL;DR The AYANEO Pocket S Mini is available now to order, and it’s in stock and ready to ship.
Previous handhelds have faced significant delays in crowdfunding, so this is a welcome change.
The premium 4.2-inch, 4:3 handheld has a powerful G3x Gen 2 SoC and starts at $319 for the month of February, with a free gift pack.
AYANEO has done the unthinkable. The company that has been the target of so many shipping complaints over the years just shadowdropped its latest Pocket S Mini handheld, skipping crowdfunding and pre-order periods altogether.
Ok, so it’s not quite a complete shadowdrop, since the company has teased the Pocket S Mini since September, but now we finally have full specs and pricing. As the name implies, it has the same premium design language as the Pocket S, with an all-metal CNC frame and an all-glass front. The 4.2-inch 4:3 LCD panel appears to be the same one as the budget Pocket Air Mini (though the company promises it’s been improved), and it’s the ideal resolution for retro games.
The Pocket S Mini is a powerful and compact retro gaming handheld, but it's not cheap.
Despite this, it features a very powerful Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 chipset, which should be powerful enough to play demanding Android games at max settings, and emulate every system that’s possible with current software. It pairs this with 8, 12, or 16GB of RAM, though the latter is available only with the most expensive Retro Power colorway.
The console adopts the unlabeled, clear buttons from the Pocket VERT. It also has two small sticks in a similar layout to the Pocket ACE, as well as the same chipset.
It comes in three variants: 8+128GB for $319, 12+256GB for $399, and 16+512GB for $479. Those are the early bird prices, which will last until the end of February. After that, prices jump by $80 for each model. However, early-bird purchasers will receive a gift pack that includes a carry case, joystick caps, retro-gaming stickers, and a cleaning cloth.
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