Things have been a little quiet for the AYANEO Pocket S, we found out about it back in August 2023, and since then we had the AYANEO Pocket Air launch, a mid-range Android handheld, as well as multiple other AYANEO devices, which has kind of left the AYANEO Pocket S in the corner. But we’re finally receiving regular news regarding the Pocket S, including these real-world photos that just dropped via the AYANEO Twitter/X account.
We have to admit, it’s looking like a pretty slick device. The form factor is very slim, the controls look well spaced out and adequately sized, and the active cooling the device has should help performance.
Speaking of performance, the AYANEO Pocket S is going to sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 processor. We don’t have too much info on this processor as no device currently uses it. Qualcomm claims a 1.5x boost on the CPU performance and over 2x the GPU performance compared to a G3x Gen 1 chip, but obviously, real-world benchmarks and independent analysis are what really matter. On the GPU side of things, the Pocket S does have confirmed support for mobile ray tracing.
The only thing that concerns me about the device right now is the back design. Having an entirely flat back is a bit of a bugbear of mine with handhelds. With my experience of having difficulty holding devices like the Nintendo Switch and Pimax Portal Retro for long periods of time, I do wish the AYANEO Pocket S had some curves to it.
AYANEO has a landing page for the Pocket S, but there’s no word yet on when this handheld will launch.
What do you think? Are you excited by this enthusiast-grade Android handheld? Let us know in the comments below!
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