Close enough, welcome back to the Xperia Play. After releasing a teaser video in early November, Ayaneo has fully revealed its first smartphone called the Pocket Play. As suspected, the Ayaneo Pocket Play has a sliding mechanism that transforms it from a bulky smartphone into a gaming handheld.
In its gaming configuration, the Pocket Play features a controller setup with a D-pad, ABXY buttons, and four shoulder buttons. However, Ayaneo has modernized the Xperia Play design by including two touchpads, which will also be seen in the Next II, the handheld manufacturer’s next flagship device. According to Ayaneo, you can map these touchpads as virtual joysticks or as customizable inputs. Ayaneo has not yet revealed the specs of the Pocket Play, but it appears that the device has slots which may hint at expandable storage options.
The Pocket Play will be Ayaneo’s first foray into the smartphone world, albeit with mobile gaming in mind. It will have to compete against other gaming-specific smartphones like the RedMagic 10 Pro or the Asus ROG Phone series, as well as the latest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy smartphones that can handle demanding mobile games as well. Ayaneo will launch Pocket Play on Kickstarter soon, but no pricing details have been revealed yet.
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