📰 New article from Retro Handhelds
AYANEO’s First Phone Looks Real, Big, and Complicated
https://retrohandhelds.gg/ayaneos-first-phone-looks-real-big-and-complicated/
Is it a phone? Is it a handheld gaming console? Is it a brick? Well, the AYANEO Pocket Play is definitely all three.
While AYANEO is usually the star of the show in the handheld scene, their first foray into the smartphone world made a somewhat “incognito” appearance at Computex via their manufacturer, AMobile. It turns out AYANEO didn’t design this one from scratch—they essentially teamed up with AMobile and MediaTek to bring this beast to life.
Here’s the lowdown on what to expect:
- The Good: It boasts a massive 6.8-inch OLED screen and a beefy MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset.
- The Weird: Instead of standard navigation, it features dual touchpads that act more like old-school trackpoints.
- The Bad: It’s definitely not “pocket-sized.” It’s bulky, lacks front-firing stereo speakers, and the camera setup looks like it belongs in 2012.
The biggest bummer? This appears to be a China-only release. So, unless you have a very specific niche for a chunky, gaming-first phone and a way to navigate Chinese regulatory hurdles, you might want to keep your current smartphone right where it is.