📰 New article from Retro Handhelds
AYANEO Releases Screen Details and a Kickstarter Page for the Pocket Play
https://retrohandhelds.gg/ayaneo-releases-screen-details-and-a-kickstarter-page-for-the-pocket-play/
Meet the AYANEO Pocket Play: a gaming phone that looks like your childhood Xperia Play’s cooler, more ambitious cousin.
Forget punch-hole cameras—AYANEO went full retro-futurist with a clean, bezel-heavy 6.8″ OLED screen (165Hz, because why not?) and a slide-out physical control panel. Yes, you read that right. No thumb-stick fatigue here. Just pure tactile bliss for gamers who miss the days of buttons you could actually feel.
It’s not just a phone with game mode turned up—it’s a handheld in disguise. Competitors like the ROG Phone and RedMagic might have higher refresh rates or pixel counts, but none offer a built-in D-pad. That’s the secret sauce.
No price tag yet. No confirmed Snapdragon 8 Elite (though we’re betting $700+). And the Kickstarter page? Still in “coming soon” purgatory. But if AYANEO’s track record is any indicator, this’ll be a premium, love-it-or-hate-it device—with a cult following already forming.
Keep your eyes peeled. 2026 might just be the year gaming phones got a soul again. 🎮