In case you haven’t read certainly one of my Ayaneo reviews before, they are Windows devices (in this instance it comes pre-loaded with Windows 11) that may play games from the launcher, so you’re able to boot in the Xbox Game Pass app, or Steam, or Epic, or any emulator that you want.
The Ayaneo 2 includes a 7-inch 1200p display that literally has no bezel, in order far as design goes, not only does the Ayaneo 2 feel happy in the hands, it’s a far greater looking device compared to Ayaneo Next or other handhelds in this space. The biggest compliment will be able to offer it's it seems like the PlayStation Vita re-born.
Whilst other Ayaneo devices happen to be criticised to be behind or comparable to the Steam Deck performance-wise, The Ayaneo 2 sports a Zen3+ 6800U chip which delivers much better raw power when compared to Steam Deck’s custom Zen2 chip, often offering a 15-25% increase in gaming performance.
This is evident when booting in the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 or Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales, I was capable of getting a great deal closer to 60FPS at 800p than I have been using the other Ayaneo devices. It felt like a much smoother experience than I’ve had on these handhelds previously, and honestly just impressed each and every game which i booted up.
Cranking it beyond what the Steam Deck is capable of doing to some resolution of 1200p to create full use of the display which still kept most AAA games around the 30FPS mark, that was still a lot more than respectable. With AMD FSR getting more advanced and better utilised, this will only improve and better.
Since I acquired the device, I’ve played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in bed most nights, and it just runs flawlessly without ever feeling like I’m dying because of performance issues. This is absolutely the very first time I’ve used one of these simple devices and never felt like I’ve had to dial down settings or turn to have that extra little bit of performance, with the device being a lot more than capable with anything that I threw at it.
With 16GB of memory and a 1TB SSD, it’s just crazy in my experience how close they are getting to proper computers, using the specs honestly outperforming lots of what most everyday people would use as their daily driver. Whilst I’ll talk about the multi docking station a bit later, it was the first time I personally connected one of these simple devices to some display and tried on the extender for several days like a computer, and it just worked flawlessly, which matches a little further in terms of bang for buck.
BUY IT FROM AMAZON FOR $2,099 AUD
As far as inputs continue the unit, there’s three USB-C ports, two which may be employed for charging and something for data. There’s additionally a MicroSD slot to easily expand storage along with a fingerprint sensor around the power button. You also get two USB-A to USB-C adaptors within the box for connecting keyboards, mice or any other accessories that might not have USB-C ports. Pretty much everything that you’d ever need for both gaming or computing is included.
Where this device feels much better than the Steam Deck or previous Ayaneo products isn't that only will it perform really, very well with AAA games, it feels future proof. You are able to connect another GPU enclosure to the unit, to beef it up at your desk, and also the SSD could be substituted for another standard SSD, if you’re attempting to increase storage. Neither of those situations are necessary as they are, but knowing it could be upgraded goes quite a distance to knowing you’re getting long-term value.
It’s not a secret that battery life is a problem with any portable device, and once again, it was around the shorter side here. You’re looking at 1.5-2 hours with a AAA game pushing at a 1200p resolution using the grunt necessary for the performance that I’ve discussed, with this particular as being a lot longer for indie games. Ayaneo is making good quality progress towards getting this higher with a new app called SmartTDP which really cleverly uses just the exact amount of power required to push the desired frame rates, resulting in a longer battery life, but don’t be prepared to use it on long term flights and such without a power bank.
As mentioned, the Ayaneo 2 runs Windows 11 that is a huge positive for enjoying absolutely any game that you already own (and not simply on Steam) as well as emulation, which obviously this machine excels at, but it’s also still a bit of a negative in the sense that Windows wasn’t really designed to be utilized having a touchscreen. It’s absolutely fine if you’re just booting a game, and not an issue once you’re in, but it can continue to have its quirks if having to navigate around, by using it often being quicker to just pair a keyboard and mouse (which is super easy related to Bluetooth or with a dongle).
AyaSpace may be the device’s front-end loader, and it does a fantastic job at providing an overlay with fast access to changing brightness and just how much power you’re using, as well as sorting your games from all of your launchers and displaying them. There have been still a few bugs, particularly when changing resolution or otherwise loading games in, but it’s constantly being updated and worked on. As cool as a design feature that it's, I still found inconsistencies using the lighting up of the analogue sticks too, specially when having the device next to me and trying to sleep.
Ayaneo has launched a brand new multi docking station alongside this product. It can work with any one of its products, however i can’t let you know how much this improved the experience. Not only did it mean that I possibly could easily charge the unit all the time, it also made connecting a monitor via HDMI as well as keyboards/mice a breeze. When i mentioned earlier, you could now literally use this as the daily driver without any issues, then pick it up to consider it to sleep and game.
Really though, this is a versatile portable Windows device, whether you’re playing the latest AAA games, doing some Photoshop work on your desk or wanting an excellent emulation device, even though it’s expensive, it does feel happy from the performance point of view, and a lot nearer to the uncompromised handheld dream I’ve always had.
