Depends on what you're emulating. A phone will perform just fine and have plenty of battery life for PSP and older games.
That's exactly why a phone will win out for pocket space 95% of the time over this type of device, it doesn't HAVE to be dedicated solely to playing games.
Definitely not an issue for someone my size, smaller devices tend to cause me finger cramping. Steam Deck OLED seems to have an even better weight balance too, looking forward to that upgrade.
The fact that it costs roughly six times as much as a used Switch Lite would understandably give a lot of potential buyers pause.
It's perfect for downtime at a desk job where tethering it to an outlet isn't an issue. Of course, sometimes you just wanna play retro or indie games too, at which point it's easy to extend the battery life to 6+ hours.
Don't get me wrong, the Pocket S definitely looks slick enough to attract a niche audience, but there are enough of these dedicated emulation devices being churned out on a constant basis now that they rarely retain their value for more than a year or two. Would be the type of thing I'd happily buy from eBay for around $200. Just for killing a couple hours at a time, though? A Miyoo Mini Plus or Anbernic RG35xx Plus will do the trick, for $70 or less. Or even a used DS Lite, for that matter.
1. We're clearly talking about emulation beyond that, as I mentioned PS2 @4K and fullspeed Switch emulation.
2. You're forgetting the controller attachment in this scenario of yours. That makes it TWO devices...and LARGER.
3. I'm 6 foot tall. Well above average height, a Dual Shock 4 feels small to me. It's about holding up 1.5lbs vs .8lbs, it's just simply more comfortable for extended periods. Anecdotal and subjective, I'll give you that. This AyaNeo device does not appear to be as ergonomically sound as some of the other devices out there such as Odin 1/2, however this is meant to be a "pocket" version.
4. Did you really just compare the price of a flagship ARM chipset to a USED console that is like seven years old? That's...something to type, I guess.
Again, I'm not even suggesting this particular device is worth purchasing vs. others such as the Odin 2, I was simply saying that it was odd to see so many scoff at dedicated Android gaming devices in general.
Miyoo Mini plus and Anbernic RG35xx are TOYS compared to these things. We're talking 3-4x native resolution on PS2, Gamecube, Wii and you can easily dock them for 4K TV's and monitors. I paid $300 for my Odin2 Pro and have since sold off my other emulation portables, as they were wholly redundant.
I'm the first to admit that devices dedicated to emulation are niche, but comparing them to $100 devices that can't do much beyond PS1 is certainly apples and oranges.
In my opinion, a Vita-sized handheld with absurd battery life that can do NES, SNES, MD, Sega CD, N64, Saturn, PS1, 3DS, PSP, PS2, GC, Wii, & Switch and is easily dockable should probably be considered a holy grail device around these parts, and yet...here we are.