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After releasing the AYA NEO 2021 and the AYA NEO 2021 Pro last year, handheld gaming PC startup AYA NEO is back with another product: the AYA NEO NEXT. It will pack an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U APU, bear a new form factor with integrated handgrips and interchangeable joystick. The latter also feature Hall effect-based joysticks from GuliKit that bypasses the notorious stick drift. More spec details can be found below:

The company is calling it the "next-generation" of Windows handheld as it is the first gaming handheld to pack the 5800U APU. The closest competitor is the ONEXPLAYER (AMD Ryzen 7 5700U) which retails for $1,419. The NEXT will actually be a family of devices made of the AYA NEO NEXT Advance, AYA NEO NEXT and AYA NEO NEXT Pro. The AYA NEO NEXT starts at a launch price of $1265 and its retail prices will go up to $1315. The AYA NEO NEXT Pro has a launch price of $1465 and a retail price of $1565. More details about the models can be found below:

While AMD revealed the promising 6000 Series mobile processors at CES yesterday, these won't be available till later during the year. So the edge that AYA NEO is taking with the NEXT is a device that can be shipped sooner. To that effect, they plan to launch an Indiegogo campaign in February and ship backer units in March. While the NEXT is still considerably pricier than the Steam Deck, it's interesting to see smaller companies still investing in this niche market and will be worth keeping an eye on what this competition will bring in terms of innovation as each company attempt to stand out from the rest.

UPDATE:

Shortly after the announcement, the AYA NEO NEXT Advance was sold out and the company updated the specs details of the other two models to specify that they will use the AMD 5825U chips instead of the 5800U. You can see the new specs details on the website and on the screenshot below:

AYA NEO NEXT Official Website

 

[eyeliner]

Ah the Hall effect joysticks is actually a really nice thing to see. They use magnets and are basically contactless, meaning they won’t wear out over time like other joysticks we see from Nintendo. Sony , and Microsoft. I think they price is high but seems interesting.

But by the time the joysticks wear out, the system is way past it's prime. I've never seen a semi decent joystick wearing out in a normal amount of time (4 years, maybe?)
I'm sure that doesn't relate to drift, yes?

But hey, more bang for the ridiculous amount of buck you put on this...

 

[Deleted member 323844]

Ah the Hall effect joysticks is actually a really nice thing to see. They use magnets and are basically contactless, meaning they won’t wear out over time like other joysticks we see from Nintendo. Sony , and Microsoft. I think they price is high but seems interesting.

It is surprising that nobody has used magnet sensors for joysticks since Dreamcast. It was an uber-simple method and pretty reliable. No wearing, zero drifting, smaller form factor and more accuracy.

 

[Ian095]

Personally not really digging the look of these and I have put down for a Steam Deck and yeah, Steam Deck is chunky and a bit odd too but a lot more appealing to the eye.

Always wanted one of these since discovering their existence a few years ago though but safe to say from existing comments I'm not alone when I say the prices are an automatic no.

Dont expect these companies to compete with Valve anytime soon either because I genuinely think they can't mass produce enough at low cost and profit like Valve can.

I do love these companies for trying though but I've also read some horror stories of these kinds of devices not sure if this one in particular is going to be or if it's this brand that has/had a few issues but after sales doesn't sound too great either...

I still think its absolutely amazing what this is capable of though if the Steam Deck didn't exist and this was half the price it was, I would actually buy it.

 

[Gronbar]

Why not 8TB SSD and gold plating to make up 10k $ price?

 

[AngryCinnabon]

Had it not been for the steam deck's existence i would of clamored over this, like i have in the past with the GPD line of handhelds...But with Valve and their extremely competitive pricing i don't see anything going for this aside from possibly stronger hardware. paying 1565 USD (which would translate to a whopping 1,988.32 dollars in canada!) for this is hardly worth it unless you're a collector or someone who's unable to get a deck atm. Only good thing i have to say about this is that the joystick approach is much needed.

 

[DKB]

They're smoking some good shit.

 

[omgcat]

the steamdeck is back ordered to the beginning of 2024 right now. i got my current aya neo for $950. if you didn't hop on steam deck early, good luck getting one now lol.

 

[djpannda]

Why not 8TB SSD and gold plating to make up 10k $ price?

thats the AYA NEO NEXT PRO pro

 

[omgcat]

But by the time the joysticks wear out, the system is way past it's prime. I've never seen a semi decent joystick wearing out in a normal amount of time (4 years, maybe?)
I'm sure that doesn't relate to drift, yes?

But hey, more bang for the ridiculous amount of buck you put on this...

xbox controllers are dying to drift in 9-12 months. the elite v2s are WAY worse as well. the ps5 controllers are also drifting. we all know the joycon issues as well.

 

[Gronbar]

xbox controllers are dying to drift in 9-12 months. the elite v2s are WAY worse as well. the ps5 controllers are also drifting. we all know the joycon issues as well.

If you are playing 10 hours every day then maybe yes.

 

[ChibiMofo]

Hope the Chinese manufacturers get in on this style and start outputting lower end/spec machines for around £350 instead of recycling that same old tired Android chipset they have been.

Its a great idea but the prices they want for the high end specs are ridiculous whilst most of us just want better portable emulation via faster speeds and better supported Windows emulation apps.

Make it happen Chinese devs, I know you read this forum.

You realize the component in quantity cost more than that, right? Chinese devs can't help you and based on what passes for English in their documentation, can't read this forum either.

 

[CloudStrife1901]

Must be nice having that kind of cash to throw around

If only i was rich

 

[Marc_LFD]

If I were to buy a PC Gaming Handheld, I'd go with the Deck. No way this is worth $1k+ 'cause at that point a full PC would be the better option.

 

[Jhyrachy]

my laptop has a 5800U
nice cpu, I paid my laptop around 800€ and I really like it, I can also do some light gaming decreasing the resolution and the quality.

But their price is absolutely out of mind

 

[Xbox_Series_dev_mode]

financially stoopid.

That.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

But by the time the joysticks wear out, the system is way past it's prime. I've never seen a semi decent joystick wearing out in a normal amount of time (4 years, maybe?)
I'm sure that doesn't relate to drift, yes?

But hey, more bang for the ridiculous amount of buck you put on this...

Switch Joycons and Valve Index controllers can get stick drift in a matter of months. It's a real issue that Valve has struggled with in the past and it seems like they are worried the Steam Deck will also suffer from it - hence why they said right away they'll be making replacement sticks available officially. Slim form factor analog sticks are more likely to suffer from it, it's a real issue that needs to be solved.

Why are they persisting with that Vega crap?

It's probably all they can get. They aren't a big company that can afford to make a huge order of custom-made SoCs like Valve did, they have to stick with what's available off the shelf, and that limits them to Vega.

 

[Xzi]

I feel kinda bad for these guys, debuting their flagship system just months before Valve announced Steam Deck. Not bad enough that I'm gonna shell out $300 more than my desktop build cost me, though. That price keeps moving in the wrong direction with each new announcement they make.

 

[Sathya]

can this ayaneo run batman arkham asylum at 60 fps?

 

[Chris_Dai_Gyakuten_Saiban]

Before you know it, the Aya Neo company will come out with a new model that will be in the range of $2,000 to $5,000 with some 6th gen Intel or an ancient Vega chipset, just you wait.

 

[Clydefrosch]

It is surprising that nobody has used magnet sensors for joysticks since Dreamcast. It was an uber-simple method and pretty reliable. No wearing, zero drifting, smaller form factor and more accuracy.

Didn't the dreamcast joysticks tend to wobble around like crazy?