Ayaneo Pocket Play: OLED screen and sliding controls, and your money too

Ayaneo has unveiled the Pocket Play, a portable console with a 6.8-inch OLED screen and sliding controllers. Its design and size target an audience seeking a premium experience, but its price and sales model raise doubts. We are talking about a large, expensive device with an uncertain delivery track record.

Ayaneo Pocket Play console resting on a polished black surface, user sliding the controllers outward from the device body, revealing metallic guide rails and internal connection pins, OLED screen displaying a vibrant game menu with reflections, measuring tape next to the device showing its large 6.8-inch diagonal, price tag with a high number blurred in the background, shadow of a hand hesitating to grab it, cinematic photorealistic technical illustration, cold blue and silver lighting, ultra-detailed plastic and metal textures, dramatic contrast between the bright screen and dark surroundings, showcasing the action of unboxing and testing the sliding mechanism

A luxury spec sheet for a risky business 🎲

The Pocket Play features a 6.8-inch OLED panel, likely with good color coverage and deep blacks. The sliding controllers are reminiscent of solutions seen in other brands, but here they promise a more solid grip. However, the real challenge lies not in the hardware, but in the logistics: Ayaneo funds its launches through crowdfunding, meaning the user pays upfront with no guarantee that the product will be manufactured if the minimum number of orders is not met.

The console that will make you wait like an AliExpress order in 2010 ⏳

The best part is that for around 500 euros, you can live the exciting experience of paying today for a product you might see by Christmas... next year. If Ayaneo cancels the project, they refund your money, of course, but in the meantime, you are left without a console and they have your money in the bank generating interest. A sweet deal for them, an adventure for you.