Ayaneo Pocket Air Review: A Good Starting Point

In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in the number of devices dedicated to mobile gaming. Perhaps the Steam Deck is partly responsible for this, but instead of running Windows or SteamOS, there are a ton of portable Android gaming devices out there.

Ayaneo is one of these companies leading the way, leveraging its expertise in Windows handhelds and attempting to break into the Android handheld space. The Pocket Air is Ayaneo's first foray into the Android gaming handheld devicesoffering a unique vision in more ways than one.

Ayaneo Pocket Air: Price and Availability

The Ayaneo Pocket Air was originally announced in August 2023 before its official launch in September 2023. It was initially available through an Indiegogo campaign and came in a few different configurations. Now, the Pocket Air can be purchased directly from Ayaneo’s website.

When it was announced, there were three different configurations available, starting with the 6GB/128GB model for $299 and topping out at 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The 8GB/256GB variant has currently been out of stock for some time, but the 12GB/512GB version can be had for $399.

Ayaneo Pocket Air: What I like

It’s not that the Pocket Air was the first handheld gaming console to hit the market, but one thing that has helped it stand out is its 5.5-inch OLED display. This, combined with the retro-inspired color scheme, makes it an interesting portable gaming solution.

Continuing with the design, there are small bumps on the left and right sides, which offers decent ergonomics. It can't be compared to the Steam Deck or Lenovo Legion Go, but at least it's not another Pimax Portal or Nintendo Switch situation.

On top of that, the Pocket Air has all the buttons you’d expect from a portable gaming device, with a few extras. First, the two buttons in the bottom right corner function as shortcuts. The larger of the two activates a panel that slides out from the right, where you can quickly view and change performance or fan profiles on the fly. Meanwhile, the smaller button simply takes you back to AyaSpace, the company’s proprietary launcher.

Last but not least, the Pocket Air has a couple of extra tricks up its sleeve. For one, the power button doubles as a fingerprint scanner, which is great for getting back to gaming quickly without having to enter a PIN or draw a pattern.

My favorite “trick” on the Pocket Air is the removable tray on the bottom. Not only is there a microSD card slot, which is important if you have a huge library of games, but if you flip the removable microSD card tray over, you’ll see a slot for a tiny card. That’s right; you can pop a SIM card into the Pocket Air and play games literally anywhere without needing to be connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Performance-wise, MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200 can handle just about anything you throw at it. This includes PS2, GameCube, and even some Switch games, especially if you opt for one of the higher-end models that are equipped with more RAM.

Don’t expect to emulate Tears of the Kingdom here, but for lighter titles the Dimensity 1200 barely pulls away. It’s also worth noting that thanks to the massive fan hole and active cooling system, I never felt the Pocket Air get too hot to hold.

Ayaneo Pocket Air: What I don't like

I’ve mentioned before that it’s possible to emulate Switch games on the Pocket Air. While that’s technically true, the Dimensity 1200 just isn’t powerful enough for high-end Switch titles. Adding to the limitations of the MediaTek chip is the lack of third-party controller support.

While MediaTek chips are more affordable compared to Qualcomm ones, the latter are still preferred due to better community support. MediaTek processors are quite “locked” in this regard, making it difficult to create custom drivers that support the various chips.

Frankly, it's a bit disappointing, especially when you consider that some MediaTek processors outperform their Qualcomm equivalents in raw power. However, if power can't be properly optimized, those performance differences aren't available and shouldn't be factored into your decision making.

All that said, there's a good chance you won't be trying to push the Pocket Air to its absolute limits. However, it's something to keep in mind to better understand what's possible.

While it's likely not a deal-breaker for those planning on playing retro games, it's disappointing to see the refresh rate capped at 60Hz. At the very least, I think the Pocket Air should have had a 90Hz refresh rate, even if the company didn't (or couldn't) match models like the Razer Edge.

One of the issues the Pocket Air had at launch was that you couldn't remap the on-screen controls to the built-in controller. Thankfully, this has been fixed via subsequent software updates. However, I'm still not the biggest fan of AyaSpace's launcher and interface. Fortunately, there are some alternatives that work pretty well, such as ES-DE, Beacon, and Daijisho.

Lastly, I've come to the conclusion that the Pocket Air's D-Pad is a bit too soft for my taste. It's almost as if the Pocket Air and the Pimax Portal are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum.

The problem is that with a soft D-Pad, there have been times when playing Apotris or older Tetris games where pieces were a slot or two off from where I was trying to place them. This isn't a problem during the early levels, but it's definitely frustrating when pieces fall out and one wrong move ends a game prematurely.

Ayaneo Pocket Air: The Competition

It seems that Ayaneo is attempting to take over the Android gaming handheld space, and it all started with the Pocket Air. Since then, the company has announced the Pocket S, along with the Pocket DMG and Pocket MicroHowever, in this price range, Ayaneo's toughest competition comes in the form of the AYN Odin 2 and Odin 2 Mini.

The Odin 2 and Odin 2 Mini work with the Second generation Snapdragon 8which makes it more powerful than the Dimensity 1200. As mentioned above, this also means that there is better controller support for emulators. Moreover, neither the Odin 2 nor the Odin 2 Mini are equipped with an OLED display, which gives the Pocket Air a pretty clear advantage.

There is also the S pocketwhich was announced last year and is one of the few devices powered by the Snapdragon G3x Gen 2. However, it won’t be long before you realize that the Pocket S offers a more premium design. With that comes a higher price tag, starting at $589 for the base model.

Ayaneo Pocket Air: Should You Buy It?

You should buy this if:

• You are looking for a good and powerful Android gaming handheld to get started.
• You want a portable device with an OLED display.
• You won't want to buy a Steam Deck or a ROG Ally X.
• You want a portable device with LTE connectivity and expandable storage.

You should not buy this if:

• You have a limited budget.
• You want the most powerful Android gaming handheld.

Ayaneo got a lot of things right with the Pocket Air, as it is one of the few wearables to feature an OLED display. It is also currently one of two wearables that allow you to use it with a SIM card, the other being the Razer Edge. However, it seems that the Edge is being discontinued, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to buy and no successor has been announced.

With that in mind, the Pocket Air is a great way to get started in the Android handheld scene, especially for beginners or those with no interest in high-end emulation. It's comfortable to hold and offers great battery life. Even if you're not a fan of AyaSpace, you can download a different launcher.