While everyone is understandably excited about Valve’s Steam Deck, it’s not the only company that’s interested in capitalising on the fledgling handheld gaming PC market. Fresh off its first portable device, the Aya Neo, Ayaneo is ready to release a new handheld, currently known as the Ayaneo Next – yes, the names are a bit of a head scratcher.
Ayaneo has teased the new device since December 15, and was scheduled to reveal it on December 28. However, “for certain reasons” the company has since pushed back the handheld’s reveal date to January 4, 2022, which just so happens to coincide with AMD’s Product Premiere livestream event where we suspect team red will unveil its Rembrandt Ryzen APUs.
Despite there being no official benchmark data or specs for the upcoming Ryzen chips, it’s likely that the Ayaneo Next will offer greater overall performance compared to the Steam Deck, given Valve’s device will use a slightly older Van Gogh APU. Nonetheless, we won’t know for sure until we get our hands on both handheld gaming PCs.
We don’t yet know how soon Ayaneo plans to launch the Ayaneo Next after its official announcement, but it’s entirely possible that we could see the device either beat or release around the same time Steam Deck. This is, of course, provided Valve doesn’t delay it again, or the ongoing chip shortage doesn’t affect the production of the Ayaneo Next more than it likely already is.
It’s worth mentioning that by virtue of being a Windows-based machine, the Ayaneo Next could offer greater compatibility with both applications and videogames compared to the Steam Deck. However, a new Proton compatibility milestone suggests that users should safely expect a great experience on either device.