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The AYANEO Pocket Air is a 5.5 inch 16:9 Android handheld that plays everything up to PS2 well. It came out in September 2023 at $279. Inside is the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 with 6 GB of RAM.
Who it's for
Buy it if
- You want to play everything up to PS2.
- You want a 5.5 inch screen and carry it in a bag or a jacket.
Skip it if
- You want Switch games: it scores only 20 out of 100.
- You only play up to PS1: handhelds under $60 do that.
AYANEO Pocket Air videos
What it plays
Plays up to: PS2. Chip: MediaTek Dimensity 1200.
Scores out of 100. 100 means the system runs at full speed with no known issues on this device. 80 or more plays well (green), 50 to 79 plays partly (yellow).
What owners say
“I love my ayaneo pocket air, it never seems to get mentioned sadly”
What the specs mean
16:9 screen
PSP and Switch games fill it. 4:3 home consoles show bars at the sides, and Game Boy games look small.
Based on: Display math: native screen shapes of each system
Sharpest fit: GBA
At 6x, GBA fills 67% of the screen with even pixels. Filling the rest means stretching, which some people smooth with a filter.
Based on: Display math: largest whole-number scale that fits the screen
Same chip as 1 other handheld
The MediaTek Dimensity 1200 also powers the GPD XP Plus. The same chip means similar speed, though memory and cooling can differ.
Based on: Our handheld database (chip field)
Big battery for its class
Only 10 of 103 Android handhelds in our database have a bigger battery than this 7,350 mAh (the middle one has 5,000 mAh).
Based on: Our handheld database: battery of 103 Android handhelds
6 GB of memory is tight for Switch
The Switch has 4 GB of memory of its own. An emulator has to hold all of it and Android on top, so with this much, larger Switch games are the first to fail.
Based on: Hardware fact: the Switch has 4 GB of RAM (inference from it)
DS on one screen
DS games show both screens shrunk side by side, or one big screen you swap. The touch screen stands in for the stylus.
Based on: Layout data: single screen with touch
Android 12
Besides emulators it runs Android games and game streaming apps, from your PC or the cloud.
Based on: Operating system data
Rating
How we score: what it plays 30%, how many players own and recommend it 20%, screen 15%, price compared with handhelds that play as much 10%, controls 10%, size and weight 10%, battery size for its chip 5%.
Good
- Plays everything up to PS2 well
- AMOLED screen with deep blacks
- Hall effect sticks, so no stick drift
- Video out to a TV
- Big 7,350 mAh battery
Not so good
- Nothing stands out.
Screen fit
Screen: 5.5 inch, AMOLED, 16:9, 1920 x 1080.
| System | Original | Sharpest scale | Screen filled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Boy | 160 x 144 | 7x (1120 x 1008) | 54% |
| GBA | 240 x 160 | 6x (1440 x 960) | 67% |
| NES and SNES | 256 x 224 | 4x (1024 x 896) | 44% |
| Genesis | 320 x 224 | 4x (1280 x 896) | 55% |
| PS1 and N64 | 320 x 240 | 4x (1280 x 960) | 59% |
| DS, one screen | 256 x 192 | 5x (1280 x 960) | 59% |
| PSP | 480 x 272 | 3x (1440 x 816) | 57% |
Whole-number scales keep every pixel the same size. Screen 1920 x 1080.
Size
224 x 89.5 x 18 - 26.7 mm, 380 g. Too big for a jeans pocket
- AYANEO Pocket Air (224 x 89.5 mm)
- iPhone 15 (71.6 x 147.6 mm)
True scale, front view. Jeans pocket = front no bigger than an iPhone 15 Pro Max in a case (160 x 82 mm).
Specs
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Chip | MediaTek Dimensity 1200 |
| CPU | Cortex-A78 |
| Cores | 8 |
| Clock speed | 2.0 GHz - 3.0 GHz |
| GPU | Mali-G77 MC9 |
| RAM | 6 GB |
| Cooling | Yes |
| Screen | |
| Size | 5.5" |
| Type | AMOLED |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz |
| Pixel density | 400 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Dual screen | No |
| Controls | |
| D-pad | Cross, Lower placement |
| Analog sticks | Yes |
| Stick layout | Double, asymetrical |
| Hall effect sticks | Yes |
| L3 / R3 | Yes |
| Shoulder buttons | Stacked |
| Analog triggers | Yes |
| Rumble | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes |
| Connectivity | |
| Storage | 128 GB |
| SD card | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes (6) |
| Bluetooth | Yes (5.2) |
| USB-C | Yes |
| Video out | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes |
| Build | |
| Form factor | Horizontal |
| Dimensions | 224 x 89.5 x 18 - 26.7 mm |
| Weight | 380 g |
| Battery | 7350 mAh |
| Shell | Plastic |
| Speakers | Bottom |
| Software | |
| Operating system | Android |
| Android version | 12 |
| Custom firmware | GammaOSNext |
Questions
Can the AYANEO Pocket Air play PS2 games?
Yes. PS2 scores 86 out of 100 on our emulation scale.
Can it play GameCube games?
Yes, GameCube scores 100 out of 100.
Is the AYANEO Pocket Air good for GBA?
GBA runs at full speed. At 6x it fills 67% of the screen with even pixels.
Does it have a headphone jack?
Yes.
How big is the battery?
7,350 mAh. The middle Android handheld in our database has 5,000 mAh.
Can it connect to a TV?
Yes, it has video out.
How much does the AYANEO Pocket Air cost?
It launched at about $279 in Sep 2023. Prices on the used market change, so check current listings.
Price and newer models
$279 at launch $250 and up
Newer in the same line: the AYANEO Pocket Air Mini (Nov 2025). Compare before you buy this one new.
Compared with
Similar handhelds
Specs and emulation scores from the retrocatalog.com handheld database. The score out of 10 is our own.