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AYN Announces Another AYN Thor Price Jump and a Major Change to the Thor and Odin 3
### The “Upgrade” That’s Actually a Downgrade
If you were planning on pre-ordering the new AYN Thor or Odin 3, you might want to take a second look at your wallet—and your expectations. In a move that has retro gaming fans scratching their heads, AYN just announced some major changes for the upcoming batches, and “less for more” seems to be the theme.
First up, the hardware is getting a bit of a haircut. AYN is transitioning from UFS 4.0 storage down to UFS 3.1. While you might not notice it while playing SNES, this is a massive hit to performance for heavy hitters like Switch or PS3 emulation. We’re talking about a roughly 50% drop in read and write speeds, plus a less efficient power draw that could eat into your battery life.
To make matters even more interesting, the price tag on the high-end Thor Max models is jumping up to $549. Here’s the quick breakdown of the new Thor lineup:
- Thor Lite: $249
- Base & Pro Models: Prices held steady (for now)
- Thor Max (16GB/512GB): $469 (The new kid on the block!)
- Thor Max (16GB/1TB): $549
It’s a tough pill to swallow when you’re paying more for slower tech, but if you’re strictly sticking to older handheld classics, it might still be a decent value. Just don’t expect any miracles with the heavy-duty stuff.