Ayaneo hopes you'll pay up to $4,299 for its powerful Next 2 handheld

(Credit: Ayaneo)

• 💰 The Ayaneo Next 2 will cost up to $4,299 for the top spec model with Ryzen AI Max 395+, 128GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD

• 🎮 There are other models available, including one with a lower Strix Halo processor and less RAM and storage for $1,799 Early Bird pricing

• 🔋 The handheld is expected to launch on Indiegogo this week, and will also come with a 9-inch OLED screen and a 116Whr battery that may need airline approval

• 🏋️ The device also weighs 1.4kg, meaning it pushes the limits of what could be considered as a handheld

Ayaneo has unveiled its latest PC handheld, and it looks like a beast, although a prohibitively expensive one at that.

The top end version of the Ayaneo Next 2 is powered by AMD’s top of the line Ryzen AI Max 395+ chip, the 16 core and 32 thread flagship in the brand’s Strix Halo lineup that features beefy Radeon 8060S integrated graphics.

We’ve seen it in laptops and the odd handheld, but not one as hefty as this one just yet, and it provides upwards of RTX 4060 performance without a discrete GPU.

The flagship Next 2 also comes with 128GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory and 2TB of PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD storage, and carries a retail price of $4,299. With the brand’s Indiegogo campaign, the Early Bird price of the unit is $3,499.

(Credit: Ayaneo)

There is also a Ryzen AI Max 395+ variant with 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD with an MSRP of $2,699, and an Early Bird price of $2,299, proving that the real cost of this handheld is in the RAM and storage, rather than its other beefy components.

There is also going to be an option with AMD’s downtuned Ryzen AI Max 385, with half the cores and threads as the Ryzen AI Max 395+, plus Radeon 8050S graphics. This carries an Early Bird price of $1,799, and as much as it’s less powerful than the flagship, the Strix Halo chip is a hefty improvement over the Ryzen Z2 Extreme inside, like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go 2.

The Next 2 also goes overboard in its other specs, with a 9.06-inch OLED screen that’s one of the largest on a gaming handheld, plus it has a 2400x1504 resolution for crisp detail, a 165Hz refresh rate for smooth motion and a peak brightness of up to 1155 nits.

Ayaneo has also kitted out the Next 2 with premium TMR joysticks and Hall Effect triggers for the utmost precision and durability, plus a built-in gyroscope, speakers, dual microphones, biometrics and custom cooling to keep the Strix Halo chip inside cool.

There is also a large capacity 116Whr battery within the Next 2 that may require special dispensation from an airline in order to use it on a flight, unlike existing handhelds such as the Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, ROG Ally Xbox handhelds or otherwise.

It also weighs in at a hefty 1,426 grams, which is more than double the Steam Deck OLED, and is pushing what may be classed as a ‘handheld’ in that regard.

Up next: Valve has delayed the Steam Machine and Steam Frame’s price and release date announcement

Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.