Ayaneo has been quietly making premium PC and Android-based handheld consoles for a while, but has largely stayed under the radar in comparison with Valve and its Steam Deck.
However, as the sector has grown with the likes of the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go entering the fray, gamers have been casting an eye on what the Chinese brand has to offer.
That was especially the case when it recently announced the Ayaneo Slide – a Windows gaming handheld that slides up to reveal a keyboard. Now it has teased an alternative form factor in the Ayaneo Flip.
it's a clamshell device that looks a touch like a super-sized Nintendo DS when closed, but once open you can see a full range of controls, including thumbsticks, D-pad, and A, B, X, Y buttons. There are also shoulder buttons on each of the top corners.
However, like the Slide, it too has a full keyboard, which makes it ideal for more than just casual gaming and a real differentiator when it comes to Steam Deck comparisons.
It can also, arguably, be used for work and catching up with emails when out and about, which we love.
Ayaneo had actually announced that the Flip was in the works a while ago, even teasing some pics of it in the meantime, but the latest design is different and there was no indication of when we might hear more.
Now the manufacturer has taken to its official X (formerly Twitter) account to share a redesigned version. It's also revealed that we can expect more details "soon".
#AYANEO #FLIP AYANEO's first Flip 7840U #handheld 🎮Superior performance, excellent gaming experience👏Coming soon! 🕐 pic.twitter.com/IWvC56HDFXOctober 16, 2023
That means we don't have actual specifications yet – bar that it will run on AMD's Ryzen 7 7840U chipset – but we imagine that it will be similar, if not superior, to the Slide.
That particular handheld will contain a 45.64Wh battery and come with a 6-inch 1080p display. It will also sport two USB-C ports, SSD storage and a "high speed" microSD card slot.
We'd also be surprised if the Flip doesn't run on Ayaneo's proprietary Ayaspace 2 operating system, which is layered on top of Windows 11. However, we'll have to wait until a full announcement to find out for sure.
We'll bring you more as soon as that happens.
