Chinese hardware manufacturer Ayaneo, known for its handheld gaming consoles and mini PCs, has unveiled details of its upcoming flagship device. The Next 2 is a premium Windows handheld gaming console that features the largest built-in battery in its category, along with AMD’s powerful Strix Halo chips and a 9.06-inch OLED display. As with its previous projects, Ayaneo has listed the Next 2 for pre-order on Indiegogo, with prices starting at $1,799 for the 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD model and climbing to $4,299 for the fully specced configuration featuring 128GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and a top-of-the-line AMD APU.
The Next 2 will be available in white and black color options and feature a design that is larger than most current-generation handheld consoles, including the Asus ROG Ally X and Valve’s Steam Deck. It is also considerably heavier due to its beefy internals, weighing in at 3.14 lbs, more than double the weight of the Steam Deck.
Ayaneo claims it is the first Windows handheld to offer adjustable-torque TMR Hall-effect joysticks and also features Hall-effect linear triggers with a dual-lock switch on the rear. Additional controls include an 8-way floating D-pad, four customizable rear buttons, dual smart touchpads on either side of the display, and front-facing stereo speakers. I/O and connectivity options include two USB4 Type-C ports with charging and DisplayPort support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.4, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD card expansion slot.
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The large custom OLED display features a 2400x1504 resolution and supports an adjustable refresh rate of up to 165 Hz, with selectable modes at 60 Hz, 120 Hz, 144 Hz, and 165 Hz. However, there is no clarity whether the panel supports variable refresh rate. The display also covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and delivers an impressive peak brightness of up to 1,155 nits.
Powering the Next 2 is AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395, a performance-focused SoC featuring sixteen Zen 5 CPU cores and the Radeon 8060S iGPU, which has the potential to deliver gaming performance comparable to a laptop RTX 4060. The chip can be paired with up to 128GB of unified LPDDR5X memory running at 8,000 MT/s, shared between the CPU and iGPU, allowing users to allocate up to 96GB specifically for VRAM. Simply put, this chip should demolish nearly every handheld gaming console currently on the market. Ayaneo is also offering the Next 2 with the Ryzen AI Max 385, a more modest chip with 8-cores, integrated Radeon 8050S graphics, 32GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD.
To keep all that power in check, the handheld is equipped with a dual-fan cooling system paired with a massive heatsink to tame AMD’s Strix Halo chip under sustained loads. Powering the entire package is an enormous 116 Whr battery, an almost unheard-of capacity even among laptops that are limited to 99 WHr. For context, airline regulations typically allow lithium batteries up to 100 Whr without approval, while anything larger requires special clearance.
The only other handheld powered by a Strix Halo chip is the GPD Win 5, the first Ryzen AI Max+ 395–based handheld to actually make it to market. However, it relies on a detachable external battery rather than a built-in one, which can be a compromise for some users.
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