While we wait for AYANEO’s Pocket Play — a spiritual successor to Sony Ericsson’s Xperia PLAY — the company is shipping out its new handheld gaming PC. They’re calling it the NEXT 2. So far, this new entry does not hint at any fancy gimmick. However, the spec sheet tells us the upcoming device is an optimized platform that will run the latest games and more.
After a successful crowdfunding campaign, units are reportedly shipping out. It’s billed as “the new flagship Windows handheld for the future” and “a handheld masterpiece beyond imagination.” We believe the new SKU may have drawn inspiration from Valve’s highly successful portable gaming gadget. So far, it’s a good thing in our opinion.
Gamers apparently love the intuitive dual touchpads of the Steam Deck. Therefore, the NEXT 2 also ships with two, albeit with unique functionalities of their own. Precision cursor control on Windows makes a huge difference. AYANEO equips each unit with an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU. Depending on your configuration, the LPDDR5X RAM maxes out at 128 GB.
Meanwhile, internal storage can be as high as 2 TB, while a secondary PCIE 4.0 NVMe M.2 slot is available for expansion. In charge of the visuals is a 9.06″ OLED panel with a maximum resolution of 2400 x 1504. Users can toggle between 60 Hz, 120 Hz, 144 Hz, and 165 Hz refresh rates. Elsewhere, a 115 Wh battery supplies its energy needs.
The NEXT 2 touts ergonomic grips and a familiar gamepad layout. In addition to the TouchTAPMagic touchpads, we have hall-effect linear triggers with dual-mode locks, adjustable-torque TMR joysticks, a floating 8-way D-pad, four customizable rear macro buttons, and a built-in fingerprint reader for security. Lastly, color options are Polar Black and Aurora White.
Learn Moreoi
Images courtesy of AYANEO
