Are we going to see a resurgence of mobile consoles? Launched a month ago, the Steam Deck from Valve is already being emulated. And the competition promises to be tough for Gabe Newell’s company.
The manufacturer Ayn, already at the origin of the Odin console which runs on Android, and other similar devices, announces today a new range of affordable portable consoles under Windows.
The most affordable Windows console on the market
Ayn says so. In a short video, the company briefly introduces us to the Loki: ” The most affordable portable Windows console ever created. »
The machine, which does not yet have a release date, will come in a pearly white dress and will offer an LCD screen with dimensions close to that of the Odin, a little less than 6 inches, in 1080p.
The full technical data sheet is not yet known, but the brand has already communicated on the different configurations that will be available for purchase:
- Loki mini: Intel Pentium 8500 or AMD Mendocino, Intel UHD 12th Gen iGPU or AMD RDNA 2, 64 GB of storage ($299);
- Loki: AMD Ryzen 6600U, 6-core Radeon 660M, 64GB storage ($499), 256GB storage ($599), 512GB storage ($699);
- Loki Max: AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, 12-core Radeon 680M, 512GB storage ($799).
Note that people who had supported the crowdfunding of the Ayn Odin will receive a discount coupon between 25 and 100 dollars. In addition, videographer Taki Udon explains that the SSD of these consoles is removable and can therefore be replaced for a higher capacity model at will.
Towards a boom in portable consoles?
While waiting for more technical information and a concrete launch window, let’s take this opportunity to take a step back and observe the current state of the handheld console market.
It’s obvious, the Nintendo Switch reigns supreme, with more than 105 million copies sold to date. But Valve’s Steam Deck seems to have reinvigorated a market left fallow, or at least left in the hands of fairly private players like Ayn.
The Chinese brand also has AYA as its main competition. The manufacturer has already launched no less than three machines: the AYA NEO, AYANEO 2 and AYA NEO Slide, with technical characteristics close to Valve’s Steam Deck. A few days ago, AYA also unveiled the NEO AIR: a portable console equipped with a 5.5-inch OLED screen, a Ryzen 5 5000U processor and M.2 storage reaching 2 TB for a price $549 entry. Other devices exist, such as the GPD Win Max or the One Gx1 Pro.
Still, this market still has everything to prove. But the unavailability of the Steam Deck until, at least, October 2022 could benefit a competition in great shape.
On the same subject :
After the AYANEO 2, the Steam Deck will have to face the AYANEO AIR Plus, under AMD Mendocino
Sources: The Verge, Liliputing
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