AYANEO presents the Next Lite, a portable console entry-level model sold at very attractive prices. At the cost of some sacrifices…
AYANEO portable consoles such as the AYANEO Slide, equipped with a keyboard, or the AYANEO AYANEO Kun, a high-end machine that we had the pleasure of testing, seeded via crowdfunding campaigns, are even germinating in winter: the brand’s new start-up is called AYANEO Next Lite. It has the particularity of abandoning Windows 11 in favor of HoloISO.
HoloIS, an ersatz of SteamOS
AYANEO consoles generally run under Windows 11. Microsoft’s operating system has the advantage of offering full support for the PC game library and different platforms (Steam, Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect, GOG, etc.).
However, its ergonomics remain less optimal than an overlay specifically adapted to these devices, first and foremost SteamOS, popularized by the Steam Deck.
With the Next Lite, AYANEO is betting on HoloIS. HoloIS is a fork of the Valve operating system (which is based on the Linux kernel). On paper, it allows an experience very close to that of the Valve console. It will remain to be seen what this gives once the console is in hand.
A Lite portable console, actually very underpowered
As its name suggests, the Next Lite is presented as a lighter version of the Next. Besides, if you are wondering where the Next 2 went, sold as a portable console armed with a dedicated graphics card, it is now “indefinitely delayed” (in other words canceled).
For the Lite, exit the eccentricity of a dedicated GPU, and return to a more conventional integrated graphics solution for these machines: the Next Lite has a Ryzen 5 4500U or a Ryzen 7 4800U APU.
These are not very young processors: forget the Zen 4 and RDNA 3 CPU architecture of the Ryzen Z1s which equip the ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion GO. With the Next Lite, an entry-level portable console, we return to 2020, to the era of Zen 2/Vega APUs.
More precisely, the Ryzen 5 4500U mobilizes 6 cores/6 threads and 6 GPU cores; the Ryzen 7 4800, 8 cores/16 threads and 8 GPU cores.
In short, clearly don’t expect the performance of the Steam Deck or the two aforementioned consoles. The processors work together with 16 GB of RAM (LPDDR4x-4266). AYANEO will deliver the version equipped with the Ryzen 5 with a 128 GB SSD (which is very little given the space required by many games) or 512 GB, but only the latter capacity for the model equipped with the Ryzen 7.
For the rest of the characteristics, we find a 7-inch IPS 800p screen displaying a maximum brightness of 500 cd/m². As for the battery, the brand gives 47 Wh.
Prices will start at $299 and will not exceed $399 for the best version. No release date yet.
Source : AYANEO
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