Mobile gaming has always been a bit of a sore spot for me, as I’ve got some big fingers and I’m not a huge fan of touchscreen controls, mainly due to how imprecise they can be at times. I’ve spent a fair bit of money trying out different controllers, with anything from the Razer Kishi to the Backbone, and while they’ve impressed, notifications from different apps can get in the way of me enjoying some portable gaming. It looks like AYANEO is hoping to change that for myself and everyone, with the introduction of a new Android-powered handheld.
Announced on August 23, 2023, the AYANEO Pocket S is looking to change the way that people game. Whether you’re looking to play some Starfield via Cloud Gaming or jump into a round of Fortnite with your friends, it looks like this could be the ultimate handheld for gamers on the go. What’s impressive to me, however, is the chipset inside of this device.
Running off of the Snapdragon G3x Gen2, we can expect our favorite mobile games to look and play better than ever, which is exciting for those who love playing games on their phone. This could be the perfect way for people like me who hate draining their battery while playing games to get in some quality time with some of the best offerings available.
While I did just get the opportunity to review the AYANEO Air 1S, this is a set of handhelds that has my interest piqued. While not confirmed to have any sort of controller mapping software built in, peripheral developers have been working hard to make games like Genshin Impact more controller-friendly. While iOS could play with controllers for quite some time, miHoYo has made it more difficult to jump into these exciting RPGs with a controller on the Android side of things. If the AYANEO Pocket S launches with this software, it could be a must-buy for Genshin gamers.
If you’re worried that the form factor of this device is going to make gaming for longer periods, it has also been confirmed that this device will have multiple grip types available, so players can jump into their favorite games and get into the action for hours on end. We’ll need to see if the grips are included or if they’ll be a separate purchase along the line.
The only thing that could hold this back from mass adoption is the price point. AYANEO offers excellent products, but they do come at a bit of a premium overall. If they can land within the sweet spot of $200 to $300, I could see this becoming many player’s go-to portable console. Time will only tell, and with the AYANEO Pocket S releasing in December 2023, we only have a few months to go before we know if we’ll need to empty our pocketbooks for next-generation mobile gaming.
Published: Aug 23, 2023 05:47 pm