Handheld PC gaming is rapidly becoming a competitive scene with a slew of new diminutive gaming consoles on the way, no doubt inspired by the success of the Nintendo Switch. The latest is the Aya Neo, an AMD Ryzen powered device launching via crowdfunding platform Indiegogo later today/tomorrow, depending on your timezone.
The Aya Neo Indiegogo will be live from 7pm PST, March 5. That’s 3am GMT or 4am CET, March 6. Bit of an early one for us Europeans, but there’s no sleep for the AMD-powered portable PC market, as the saying goes.
⚠️Here’s what you need to know about the AYANEO IGG campaign !!!! ⏰GET READY!!! #AYANEO #CONSOLE #gamingpc pic.twitter.com/LOUYC54mC1March 5, 2021
The Aya Neo packs an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U, which features six of all the important stuff: six cores, six threads, and six onboard GPU cores. There are no alternative SKUs or higher-powered versions of the Aya Neo, only one 500GB model and one 1TB model.
Okay, there are two colours to decide between if you opt for the larger of the two models: the 1TB Aya Neo is available in Black Star (black) and Light Moon (white).
Sadly the sleek see-thru plastic model reminiscent of a GameBoy Advance, pictured above, doesn’t appear to be an option.
The Neo starts off at $699, but that’s just 42 units of the super early bird special. Not many of those then. After that, you’ll be looking at $789 for the 500GB model or $869 for the 1TB model.
That’s roughly on par for price with the GPD Win 3, a lineup of similarly small handheld PCs powered by Intel’s Core i7 1165G7 or Core i5 1135G7 chips.
If you prefer the red team’s chips, though, you’ll want to tune in later today or tomorrow to get in while the prices are low.
There’s also a chance to pick up a couple of accessories once the crowdfunding campaign is live, most notably a docking station for $47 that does what any good Nintendo Switch-a-like dock might.
Aya had hoped to get the Neo out to backers in April, so theoretically not long to wait. That could be subject to change, however, as the initial February international crowdfunding campaign had been delayed until this month, which may mean a slightly later than initially planned deliver, too.