Ayaneo makes gaming handhelds, but has just gone out of its comfort zone and announced its first gaming phone, the Ayaneo Pocket Play.
A Kickstarter for the phone will launch shortly. And while there’s absolutely loads we don’t know about the Pocket Play yet, from any detailed specs to the price, this one does warrant a bit of a closer look.
The Ayaneo Pocket Play is an Android phone with a slider-style design. Those who have followed mobile phone tech for more than a decade may well be instantly taken back to 2011 and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, which this Ayaneo phone bears a resemblance too.
When folded up the Ayaneo Pocket Play should look and feel much like an ordinary mobile. But you can pull the screen up, landscape orientation, to reveal a gamepad’s worth of controls that are otherwise covered by the display.
There’s a D-pad. There are four face buttons, and the two round panels next to the physical buttons are touch surfaces that can act as virtual sticks, or take on the role of touch pads.
The side of the phone is also home to four shoulder buttons, completing the basic complement of controls seen in a PlayStation or Xbox pad. Anyone fancy trying full-blown control games streamed on the Ayaneo Pocket Play?
It’s intended as “both a tribute to the classics and a heartfelt exploration of how handheld spirit can extend to a new medium,” says Ayaneo.
AYANEO Pocket PLAY — A Gaming Phone with the Soul of a Handheld, Officially Unveiled – YouTube
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The company teased it was working on a phone in a YouTube video in November. And now we at least know what it looks like.
But with no spec details, we can’t make any solid prediction about how much an Ayaneo Pocket Play will cost. The company does not tend to make cheapo gear, though, bar the new Ayaneo Pocket Air Mini, which currently sells for $69 direct from Ayaneo.
We hope to know more about the Ayaneo Pocket Play soon, but we currently have no date on when the phone’s Kickstarter campaign will go live.