Ayaneo’s next two Android handhelds will begin shipping in September

Summary

• Ayaneo’s new Pocket Micro and Pocket DMG, launching in September and October, blend premium specs with unique designs, offering distinct options for handheld gaming enthusiasts.
• The Pocket DMG runs on a Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 chip with an OLED display, while the Pocket Micro is inspired by the Game Boy Micro.
• Ayaneo announces new products at a high rate with no fewer than four currently in development.

Handheld Android gaming has made great strides in recent years, and thanks to some incredible engineering to make SoCs not just powerful but tiny, more companies have gotten in on the action. One of the “originals” to make its presence felt in the PC handheld gaming space is Ayaneo, which launched its first machine in 2021. In 2023, Ayaneo released the Pocket Air, its first Android handheld, and it impressed us. While the company has faced slight criticism for the sheer amount of devices it releases, almost every single one has been of top-tier quality right out of the box. Today, Ayaneo announced launch details for its two newest Android handhelds.

Ayaneo today announced launch windows for the Pocket DMG and the Pocket Micro. The Pocket DMG will begin being shipped by the end of October, while the Pocket Micro will ship a bit earlier, in the middle of September. Global shipping dates are subject to change, and they often do when purchasing from international handheld manufacturers. Both handhelds’ Indiegogo campaigns were launched today (July 31) with early-bird pricing for the first buyers of each. Early on, the Ayaneo Pocket DMG starts at $341, while the Ayaneo Pocket Micro starts at $190.

Two distinctly unique offerings with premium specs and questionable designs

The Pocket DMG more closely resembles other vertical handhelds like the Analogue Pocket, which is based around playing actual game cartridges and not using emulators on Android. It will run off the Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 Gaming Platform, the same chip that powers the Ayaneo Pocket S that was also just recently launched. Besides the hallmark Hall Effect joystick, the Pocket DMG has a touchpad for enhanced Android control. To top it off, it sports a 3.92-inch 1240×1080 OLED screen.

The Pocket Micro takes heavy inspiration from the Game Boy Micro. It’s considerably less powerful than the Pocket DMG, running off of a Helio G99 chip that will run Game Boy Advance games at 4x resolution. It has a 3.5-inch 960×640 IPS display, and even with its smaller price point, its outer build is constructed with premium CNC aluminum alloy.

Compared to each other, the Pocket DMG is definitely the more attractive choice with its OLED display and touchpad that is typically only seen on more expensive PC handhelds. The Pocket Micro, like the Pocket S, looks uncomfortable and awkward to hold, just like the Game Boy Micro was. Unsurprisingly, Ayaneo has another Android device coming out with the Pocket EVO, an attractive-looking handheld that will no doubt be ludicrously expensive. In other handheld gaming news, the ROG Ally X was just released, and it blew us away.