Last week, handheld gaming console manufacturer AYN teased its first handheld gaming PC, the AYN Loki. In the teaser video released, the company called the device "the most affordable Windows handheld ever created". But not much was revealed about the pricing then but the company followed up with an official pricing list of the device:

As you can see from the image above, the AYN Loki is not one device but rather a line of handheld gaming PCs with different specs and price tag ranging from $299 for the Alder Lake U-equipped Loki Mini to $799 for the AMD 6800U Loki Max. The company has yet to announce launch dates for the devices but it is likely they will open up sales through a crowdfunding platform as they did with their first device, the AYN Odin.

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[Veho]

If people were opposed to this trend, Switch wouldn't have sold anywhere near 100 million units. With a Hori Splitpad Pro attached, it's almost the exact same size as Steam Deck.

Disclaimer: Since my previous post was in jest, this one will be too.

How many of the Switch consoles can you reliably claim are being used as day to day portable handheld consoles, and how many spend 90% of the game time docked? And how many Hori Splitpads were sold, because that's a better indicator

Also this is the size of the Steam Deck compared to the version of Switch actually designed to be portable ( ):

OH LAWD HE COMIN

Also, people are willing to put up with some inconvenience and compromise if there are no (valid) alternatives. People used to lug this around too:

Handy!


And if people really want bigger and bigger handhelds, why did so many people buy this:

Look, I get it. The engineers didn't want to compromise on the specs, cooling, screen size, and gamepad quality/comfort. You need a decent sized gamepad, analog sticks instead of sliders, you need a decent sized screen, you need (relatively) powerful hardware, and that all adds up to a pretty large device.
Is the Deck portable? Yes. Can you carry it around, use it on the go? Yes. Is it practical? No. Can you just stick it in a pocket or just toss it in a bag without thinking? I wouldn't.

Look at modern smartphones. Once screens became cheap and plentiful, phones started growing and growing and growing, until "phablets" happened, and everyone decided to tone it down a little. Turns out 6 inches is more than enough
New folding screen phones show people are interested in larger screens in theory, as long as they can be folded up small enough. Turns out there's a limit to what can comfortably and practically be carried around (and that limit is 6 inches).

With this new surge of handheld Windows devices, we can expect to see some experimentation with layout, form factor, and above all size, and I'm interested to see what we settle on after several iterations.

 

[Xzi]

With this new surge of handheld Windows devices, we can expect to see some experimentation with layout, form factor, and above all size, and I'm interested to see what we settle on after several iterations.

Definitely. I'm just glad Valve kicked off this whole arms race to begin with, it's gonna take PC gaming to a whole new level. And for my part at least, I wouldn't want the physical controls layout to be any more compact. They clearly designed the ergonomics with the slightly larger-than-average adult male hand in mind, and in that sense I'd say they nailed it. Full-size Switch with standard joycons already gets my fingers cramping after a bit, let alone Switch Lite which would only be comfortable to me as a pre-teen. Portable does not mean the same thing as pocketable, and I'm willing to sacrifice some of the portability for comfort, especially when power enough to play next-gen AAA games is the massive cherry on top.

 

[ganons]

Just under 16 hours to go
https://www.webcountdown.net/?a=NX4Zsg5
Full payment for mini and reservations for base and higher (steam style) at https://www.ayntec.com/

 

[Xzi]

Just under 16 hours to go
https://www.webcountdown.net/?a=NX4Zsg5
Full payment for mini and reservations for base and higher (steam style) at https://www.ayntec.com/

So 6 GPU cores to Steam Deck's 8 for the $499 Loki, not bad for those who want a slightly slimmer package. I personally wouldn't want to navigate Windows with just joysticks and buttons, but I suppose that's what Bluetooth is for.

 

[Veho]

Preorders are up and there are more models than they announced:

Three sub-$300 devices, starting at as low as $224 for early preorders.


EDIT: The prices in red are for early preorders, limited time offer, get it while it's hot.
The "coupon owners" row shows that all buyers can use the coupon for the cheapest Loki Mini, but only the backers/owners of the Odin can use it for the more expensive models.

EDIT EDIT: The cheapest models have a smaller battery by half, so that's something to consider.
Looks like all models start at 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD which is nice.