There appears to be no limit to how chonky and eye-wateringly expensive PC gaming handhelds can get, with the latest behemoth being the Ayaneo Next 2. First announced back in November, the latest Windows handheld in Ayaneo’s Next lineup is now up for pre-order, with a spec sheet that makes some of its rivals look modest.
If you missed the announcement at the end of last year, the Next 2 is packing a 9-inch OLED display with a 2,400 x 1,504 resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 165Hz (adjustable down to 60Hz). The Next 2 is powered by an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip and has a massive 115Mh battery under the hood.
To put all of that into perspective, the Next 2’s display is more than 1.5 inches larger than the Steam Deck OLED’s, and goes bigger than even the Lenovo Legion Go 2’s 8.8-inch panel. Its battery is the largest of the three by some margin too, and according to Ars Technica it weighs in at around 3.14 pounds (around 1424g), making it more than twice as heavy as the very heavy Xbox ROG Ally X. Get those wrists to the gym if you’re considering picking one of these up.
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Ayaneo is ticking all the boxes where inputs are concerned too. Its latest handheld has dual touchpads (a feature ASUS left out on the ROG Xbox Ally X), Hall Effect sticks, an 8-way D-Pad and four customizable rear buttons.
All of this tech inevitably comes at a high price, with the entry-level model that ships with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage coming in at $1,999, or $1,799 if you take advantage of early bird pricing. This model is equipped with the slightly less capable Ryzen AI Max 385 CPU.
If you want the more powerful AI+ 395 chip you have a few options. A variant of the Next II with 64GB of RAM and 1TB of storage costs $2,699, but you can order now at the early bird price of $2,299. For 128GB of RAM and 2TB of storage you’ll be handing over a slightly hilarious $4,299 at full price. Early birds can order now for $3,499.