AYANEO Pocket AIR Mini: Meet the company's first sub-$100 gaming handheld

What you need to know

• After teases began about a month ago, the AYANEO Pocket AIR Mini has been revealed in its entirety.
• This is slated to become AYANEO's first gaming handheld released for under $100.
• It's powered by the MediaTek Helio G90T, a chip we first saw made available in 2019, and it's paired with with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM.

If there's one thing that AYANEO is known for, it's that the company produces some of the most premium gaming handhelds. However, the company is now dipping its toes into the budget market with the announcement of the Pocket AIR Mini.

We first learned about the handheld in early September, with only a handful of details being shared. Until now, we knew that it would share the same design as the Pocket AIR, an Android gaming handheld from 2023. AYANEO also touted the Mini as being the "world's first handheld with a brand-new 4:3 retro display."

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With the launches of the Pocket DS and KONKR Pocket FIT out of the way, AYANEO pulled back the curtains on what the Pocket AIR Mini aims to offer. More than anything else, the most surprising aspect of the reveal was that the AIR Mini will start at just $89 for the base model. But for a limited time once pre-orders open, you'll be able to snag one for just $69.

When you take a look at the other AYANEO handhelds announced this year, it's immediately apparent why this is a big deal. For reference, the Pocket S2, powered by the Snapdragon G3 Gen 3, starts at $499. The Pocket ACE, with its G3x Gen 2 chip, retails for $389 in its base configuration, and of course, the Pocket DS will set you back $519 once its released.

However, AYANEO is apparently setting out to change the narrative as we get closer to the end of the year. The company's most recent Android handheld, the KONKR Pocket FIT, is actually the first from a new "budget-minded lineup. It's powered by either the G3 Gen 3, or the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and starts at either $299 or $329.

That said, the Pocket AIR Mini is an even further drop down the price bracket, and we mostly have the processor to thank. AYANEO is dipping back into the MediaTek well and pulling out an oldie, as the Helio G90T will power the AIR Mini. This offers slightly less performance than even the Helio G99, the same SoC found in the Pocket Micro and Pocket Micro Classic.

Here's how the rest of the specs shake out:

As you can see, the specs aren't really all that impressive at first glance. However, once you start looking at other sub-$100 handhelds, AYANEO might actually be onto something here.

Anbernic, arguably the leader in the sub-$100 space, hasn't released a budget Android handheld in at least the past year. It does have handhelds such as the Anbernic RG34XXSP, RG CubeXX, and RG40XXV, but those are all running custom firmware based on Linux. Meanwhile, it's cheapest Android handheld released in the past year is a tie between the RG406V from last November, and the forthcoming RG476H, both retailing for $165.

From there, AYANEO's next biggest competition comes from the Retroid Pocket Classic. This arrived alongside the Pocket Flip 2, is powered by the Snapdragon G1 Gen 2. However, this is modeled after the Game Boy Color, and while it features a gorgeous AMOLED display, it lacks any joystick controls.

Based on that, it would appear that AYANEO is putting more of a focus on the budget market. And frankly, it comes at the perfect time, as we're seeing the cost of high-end handhelds skyrocket for a variety of reasons. In doing so, AYANEO might also be positioning itself as a "one-stop-shop" for all of your gaming handheld needs, regardless of what price bracket you're shopping in.

Those interested in the Pocket AIR Mini can head over to the landing page and sign up to be notified as to when it will be made available. Surprisingly, there's no Indiegogo page, leaving us to wonder if this will just magically appear one day.