The AYANEO 2 Handheld console with Ryzen 6800U will launch at the end of September
The Chinese gaming handheld Aya Neo is getting a successor. The Aya Neo 2 comes in a new case. There is also a light and cheaper version of the handheld with the Neo Air. At 420 grams, it is even lighter than the Nintendo Switch. AYANEO multiplies the projects of hybrid PC/console devices competing with the Steam Deck. During a long conference, the Chinese company shared new information regarding two of these projects: AYANEO 2 and AYANEO Air.
While the brand's flagship, Next 2 , does not yet have a release date, the AYANEO 2 took advantage of this conference to announce its own. This is set for the end of September, with mass deliveries expected in October. Even if it looks less powerful than the Next 2, remember that the AYANEO 2 will ship the new generation of AMD processors , in the person of the Ryzen 7 6800U. It will thus benefit from its 8 Zen 3+ cores and 12 RDNA2 cores, clocked at 2.2 GHz. A device that is virtually 50% more powerful than the Steam Deck.
It will also be, according to AYANEO, the first hybrid PC/console machine under Windows with a full-screen design. The brand also took the opportunity to confirm that the AYANEO 2 will be equipped with a 7" Full HD IPS screen, a significant improvement over the 720p screen of the first model, as well as over the 1,280 screen. x 800 from the Steam Deck.
The Neo 2 uses AMD's Zen 3-based Ryzen 6000 chips . The Ryzen 7 6800U (Rembrandt) uses eight cores and a power budget of 15 to 28 watts. It should generally run noticeably faster than the Ryzen 4000 in the first Aya Neo, which can also be due to the soldered LPDDR5 RAM. The SoC also has an integrated RDNA2 GPU with 12 compute units. For comparison: The Steam Deck is a little less well equipped here with 8 compute units and older Vega graphics. Valve's €400 handheld with Linux OS is likely to be the strongest competitor in the handheld PC market.
The Aya Neo 2 should again be much more expensive and rely on Windows with special Aya software. The first Aya Neo is already more than 1,000 euros. The same applies to the improved Aya Neo Next, which Golem.de has already been able to test . This is unlikely to change with the current model. Like its predecessor, the second version comes with integrated gamepad elements. Two analog sticks, a D-Pad and action buttons can be used.
Even though its release is only two short months away, AYANEO has still not revealed the price for this hybrid machine. Given its technical specifications, we bet that the note may be quite salty.
AYANEO Air
And while waiting for the Chinese brand's mid-range, it also devoted part of its conference to the AYANEO Air. More modest than its counterparts, it features a 5.5" OLED screen and is powered by a Ryzen 5 5600U 6-core and 12-thread processor, still under Windows.
The AYANEO AIR is already in the air as we write these lines, at least with the first backers and testers. Its mass delivery should, like the AYANEO 2, start during the month following its release, in this case in August, with a basic price displayed at 549 euros. The AYANEO Air Pro, much better equipped than its counterpart, should be delivered en masse in September. Who says "Pro" also says a higher price, starting at 899 euros and up to 1,399 euros depending on the technical specifications chosen.
AYANEO will therefore have a lot to do with the arrival of all these models in such a tight time window. It remains to be seen if the public will also be there with so many different products arriving month after month.
