The most powerful gaming handheld chipset will soon ship in this ‘budget’ handheld

TL;DR

• AYANEO has revealed specs for the first device from its new sub-brand, the KONKR Pocket FIT.
• It packs with the most modern and powerful chipset for handhelds and a 8,000mAh battery.
• Pricing and launch dates have not been revealed, but it might be the best intro to high-performance emulation on the market.

AYANEO made waves in the retro gaming handheld community when it announced a cheaper sub-brand called KONKR earlier this week, but it wasn’t immediately clear what pricing segment it would target. The parent company is still firmly in the ultra-premium category, but would the new KONKR Pocket Fit target the upper mid-range Retroid Flip 2 and ANBERNIC RG 577 or the more premium AYN Odin 2 lineup?

In today’s livestream, the company finally revealed full specs, and it seems to be the latter. The Pocket FIT will ship with the latest and most powerful chipset for gaming handhelds, the Snapdragon G3 Gen 3. This chipset has really impressed us in our testing of the Pocket S2 (review pending), and it’s the polar opposite of what anyone would consider a “budget” chipset.

The G3 Gen 3 readily outperforms the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Odin 2 Portal, and AYANEO’s partnership with Qualcomm to develop drivers for the new chips has clearly paid off. In fact, AYANEO even sent sample units to the team behind the Nintendo Switch emulator Eden, enhancing third-party driver support even further.

If AYANEO can price this right, it will be the best entryway to high-performance emulation on the market.

That chipset is actually more powerful than the company’s new flagship handheld, the Pocket DS. With two screens and a lot of software issues to iron out before launch, AYANEO claims the Pocket DS has been in development for over a year, which explains the older chipset. Still, it’s odd that the company didn’t opt for a cheaper alternative, like the Snapdragon G2 Gen 2, which is expected to power the Retroid Pocket 6.

Apart from that, it sports a 6-inch 144hz LCD panel, with mid-sized Hall effect sticks and all the premium trappings you’d expect from an AYANEO device. There are also front-facing stereo speakers and a headphone jack, as well as a sizeable 8,000mAh battery and fast charging. It comes in Phantom Black, Snow White, and Dragon Yellow.

AYANEO did not reveal how much the KONKR Pocket FIT would cost during this livestream, but with these specs it’s hard to imagine a pricepoint lower than $300. AYANEO’s first device with this chipset, the Pocket S2, starts at $499 retail, or $439 during the crowdfunding campaign. The Pocket ACE, which had the previous generation G3 Gen 2 chipset, started at $459 retail, or $339 during the crowdfunding campaign.

That said, if the Pocket FIT does manage to launch for less than $300, even if it’s just the earlybird discount, it would be the best entryway into high-performance emulation on the market. For reference, the Odin 2 Portal starts at $329 before shipping. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks, or sign up for updates on the Indiegogo page to receive a notification when it finally launches.

Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.