General Information
While the Steam Deck represents Valve's first foray into this niche market, it offers a powerful device at a competitive price (starting at $400). With its perpetual Steam revenue, Valve can afford disrupting the market in such a way that others like GPD, One-Netbook and AYANEO, with significantly fewer resources than Valve, cannot. Their products have traditionally been priced around $800-$1200; and it doesn't seem like their prices will compete with the Steam Deck's soon. The new ONEXPLAYER mini from One-Netbook retails for $1,259 and the newly announced AYANEO NEXT Advance costs $1,345.
The latter is what we will look at today and is part of the NEXT models of handheld gaming PCs. AYANEO will launch a crowdfunding campaign this week for its AMD Ryzen 7 5825U-based NEXT models, and backer units might differ from this model under review. That said, these models will likely bear many similarities to what has been tested here as they are part of the same lineup. Shortly after being announced, the NEXT Advance was sold out given that it was ready to be shipped.
Make no mistake, at $1,345, this is not a cheap device and AYANEO does not ignore this fact. Rather, the company seems to be taking a new spin on its products to deliver an all-round premium experience reflective of the asking price. I mean, even the unboxing is an experience in itself. Once taken out of the package, I was surprised to be greeted by a small box that requested that I wore the included gloves to take out the console. Intrigued, I decided to heed to the advice, slid on the gloves and proceeded with taking the main content out. I was caught off guard by what I came across next.
I was staring at a transparent, tinted plastic box with the words 'AYANEO NEXT' etched at the lower left corner, accurately superimposed on the same words on the carton sleeve underneath to give a stereoscopic effect. Very fancy, I thought. The RelaxingEnd-esque gloves requirement is likely to prevent the casing from being smudged all over with your fingerprint but you can very well manipulate it without the gloves; but I'll admit that the gloved experience is pretty singular.
However, this was only the beginning of the unboxing experience as more was yet to come from the space-themed carton box. In it, the first thing to greet the owner is a commemorative nameplate chip etched with the buyer's (selected) name. The NEXT Advance also comes with a stand for the chip and I must say that it looks pretty sleek. More personalisation comes on the NEXT Advance console itself with the buyer's name at the back of the left handle. My model doesn't bear any such etching, neither on the console nor on the commemorative chip, but it should not be the case for other buyers. The overall presentation of the packaging feels very premium, including how the accessories and manuals are stored and delivered within the box. It even comes with an AYANEO-branded microfiber cloth!
It's by far the most fancy, personalised and premium feeling I experienced with a handheld's presentation and unboxing (or electronics in the recent past for that matter) and it shows that much thought was given to deliver on this. It reflects on the cost of the device and this cannot be said of other handhelds on the market. That said, I kept wondering if AYANEO could have brought the cost down with less fancy packaging… Moreover, a screen protector at the very least could have been included in the mix.
However, the cost is not only reflective on the packaging and presentation but on the actual hardware itself. Holding the AYANEO NEXT Advance in the hands is a joy. While it packs the premium appeal, it still looks game-y with the new integrated hand grips. But this inclusion and that of rounded edges greatly help make the device comfortable and ergonomic to hold, better than the original AYA NEO. But it's not just the grips that make holding the device a joy but also the matte finish of the device's back; while the metallic texture on the front casing adds to the overall classy look.
Moreover, the face buttons and triggers are very pleasant to use. The RB/LB buttons are larger and so are the analogue triggers which are also wider and this really helps in making a more ergonomic experience with easy-to-reach keys. The face buttons are easily within reach as well and offer nice feedback when pressed. The most striking feature is the adoption of GuliKit's joysticks, which are essentially as GuliKit's own KingKong 2 Pro controller packs. These use a magnetic system that leverages the Hall effect to bypass the wear and tear that leads to the notorious stick drift. They are also pretty neat to use, being swift, responsive and accurate. The sticks are also modular, allowing the user to change to other modules based on their preference (not available at the time of writing, but likely to allow swapping between different the thumbstick shape and joystick shaft's dimensions).
A new addition to the AYANEO device is the fingerprint sensor at the top left side, next to the volume controls. It also doubles as a power button and having a fingerprint sensor really makes unlocking your device quicker, rather than having to type your password every single time. I use my left index finger for that but it might be more ergonomic if the sensor was featured on the front-facing side of the device, maybe on the large AYA key which is easily reachable with the right thumb. Nevertheless, the sensor is a welcome addition, even if its placement could have been optimised.
Of note, the NEXT bears only two USB-C ports - one at the top of the device and the other at the bottom - whereas the previous AYANEO models featured three ports. That said, both ports are full-featured Type-C ports and a dedicated dock (planned for a later release) will provide more ports.
To sum up on the hardware, it is definitely noticeable that the overall quality of the new AYANEO feels more refined, top-notch even, and shows how far the company has come in terms of build quality. It's really built with comfort, ergonomics and quality in mind and the AYANEO NEXT Advance delivers on that. But how about on the performance side of things?
With the NEXT series, AYANEO stuck to the AMD APU trend that it pioneered in the handheld gaming PC market. The NEXT Advance packs the AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor (while the other NEXT models, NEXT and NEXT Pro will come with the 5825U chip). It is the first gaming handheld to do so, making it among the most powerful for the time being. More spec details of the NEXT Advance model can be found below:
With such specs, the AYANEO NEXT Advance is expected to perform better than its predecessors; and it surely does. I found that setting the system at 15W TDP to be a sweet spot for decent performance and battery life, where I could play for bouts of around 1.5-2 hours from a single charge. Of course, this will vary depending on individual use and game settings.
As seen in the videos below, the console handles the latest AAA PC games pretty well when these are thrown at it. Again, this is a niche device and "pretty well" will be relative here as it won't achieve visuals and performance close to a current-gen beefy PC tower. Don't expect constant 4K60fps as the device's screen bears a resolution of 1280x800. That said, the 7" display, like the previous AYANEO models, delivers crisp and gorgeous visuals, even if graphical settings are toned down in newer games.
Dying Light 2 Stay Human at low graphic settings plays steadily around 43 fps in open sections and 60fps in closed areas. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, also at low settings, plays at around 43 fps. Monster Hunter Rise at high settings runs at a smooth 60fps and looks good; as it should considering it is a Switch port.
The speakers also add to the handheld gaming experience as they deliver clear audio but you can always plug in your favourite headset should you wish to. Also adding to the handheld experience is the heat dissipation mechanism which is pretty efficient. I haven't felt the device to heat up to be unbearably or even very noticeably hot and the fan is relatively quiet too.
Below is a video of the PC gaming performance which should give you an idea about how the device fares with the aforementioned games:
Of course, a lot of us will turn to emulation and the NEXT Advance delivers on that front as well. With YUZU, Super Mario Odyssey had severe stutters in cutscenes when I tested it on the AYA NEO and AYA NEO 2021 Pro; and they do stutter on the NEXT but it's much more bearable on this system. The game also plays more stably at around 40-50 fps , with some occasional dips to 35, in the open sections using Vulkan API. In closed areas it would play smoother and I'd say that it's playable overall. Metroid Dread on YUZU fared better, hitting a steady 60fps throughout.
Next, I tried PS3 emulation via RPCS3. It is usually a hit-or-miss affair based on the title but I could get God of War Collection to play flawlessly at 60fps. Tekken 6 also performed as well.
Emulating PS2 with PCSX2 also delivered good results. Ratchet & Clank plays at a smooth 60fps as does Zone of the Enders.
You can see the emulation performance of these games in the video below:
I was quite impressed by the emulation performance of the 5800U processor. Normally, I wouldn't recommend getting such a console for emulation but given what I've experienced with the NEXT Advance, you might very well consider it as an (almost) all-in-one device. Since it is designed for comfortable, on-the-go gaming, the emulation performance makes the device even more attractive. Moreover, this bodes well for the future of such handhelds which will be able to perform even better when it comes to emulation or PC gaming in general.
Still on the software side of things, the NEXT Advance also brings back the dedicated AYA Space app. This was recently launched for the older AYANEO models as well and works as a games launcher that also lets you customise settings such as screen resolution and TDP. The software brings more features on the NEXT such as the ability to customise what tapping and long pressing the custom key (the smaller one on the right) does. The app can run in the background as well and can be called up in a floating window by pressing the rounded AYA key to provide handy shortcuts such as the virtual keyboard, volume and brightness adjustments, taking screenshots and more. It's rather user-friendly and quite handy, and it's encouraging to see that AYANEO is supporting its devices and user base beyond the hardware. Given that it is still in beta mode, I look forward to what new additions the team brings to the app in the future.
Of course, the cost will be prohibitive to a lot of people and you'll also need to keep your expectations in check with such a device. You could find or build a PC that's cheaper and deliver better performance. In fact, the NEXT Advance won't play every game at ultra settings at a buttery smooth 60 fps+. But given that it is a handheld, I would say that the on-the-go performance it delivers is pretty impressive and delivers the best I've had on a handheld gaming PC. It's a niche market and those who can afford and adopt the device will find a lot to like about it. And demand seems to perpetuate for such devices, as exemplified by the fact that the NEXT Advance model was sold out shortly after being announced.
It's commendable to see smaller companies like AYANEO still venturing into this market given the heavyweights like Valve that are also making their own moves. The gap that they can fill could be when the Steam Deck isn't available in some markets or is out of stock since devices like the NEXT Advance ship worldwide. Another edge with the device is the overall experience that it delivers, as it is decidedly more singular and personalised; albeit not very budget-friendly. But it seems like AYANEO won't back down so easily even when facing strong competition, and it will be interesting to see how the company will innovate with its upcoming products to compel users to join its community.
The AYANEO NEXT Advance itself does offer a compelling experience and you will find much to like about it if you can afford it. But as the other NEXT models are crowdfunded products (and a pricey one at that), caution is advised; but the company seems to have shipped its backer units of its previous campaigns so far. Hopefully the new models ship soon, as with the specs that they pack, although powerful and do deliver very decent performance, face serious competition that threaten to make them obsolete.
AYANEO NEXT Indiegogo Campaign
AYANEO will be launching a crowdfunding campaign for its new handheld gaming PC models, the AYANEO NEXT and AYANEO NEXT Pro. The specs details of the NEXT models can be seen below:
More details can be found on the official AYANEO NEXT Indiegogo campaign and the official AYANEO NEXT webpage.
