AYANEO competes with GPD with a new portable console equipped with a real keyboard, unfortunately only in QWERTY layout.
Without a doubt, AYANEO is the most active company in the portable console market. Almost too active in fact, we could get lost between its Air, Slide, Pocket and other KUN references.
However, let’s not shy away from our pleasure because AYANEO is not content with multiplying references, it is doing innovative work with consoles that are very different from each other.
Still no OLED screen
Only a few days ago, we offered you the test of the imposing KUN, a console certainly still centered on AMD’s Ryzen 7 7840U, but with an impressive 8.4-inch panel.
A good face with this retractable/tilting keyboard © AYANEO
Today – while we wait for news of the brand’s Android models – it’s the Slide and its retractable screen to reveal a physical keyboard that is talking about it. Announced several months ago, this Slide has actually just hit the ground… finally, landed on the Indiegogo platform.
As with each product, if AYANEO has already launched production of its Slide, it is counting on crowdfunding to assess demand, offer its most loyal customers the benefit of some promotions and, undoubtedly also, spread out the manufacturing of the machines a little.
All detailed technical characteristics © AYANEO
But a real 64-key QWERTY keyboard
At the heart of the Slide, it is still this Ryzen 7 7840U from AMD which powers the console. The chip is present in almost all manufacturers thanks to the power offered by its integrated graphics solution.
Compared to the KUN, AYANEO has seriously reduced the dimensions of the machine (226 x 90 x 28.5 mm), but also its weight (650 g) and the size of its screen. In fact, we are talking about a 6-inch FullHD IPS panel. No, OLED at AYANEO is not yet available. As we have said, the advantage of this screen is that it can slide: by sliding it completely, a 64-key QWERTY keyboard appears. Practical.
The Slide is (a little) cheaper than previous models © AYANEO
Another interesting point, as we noted in the GPD Win 4 test, with the screen thus “cleared”, we gain in comfort. In addition, AYANEO has designed a system to slightly tilt the screen from 10° to 30°. Otherwise, the brand remains faithful to its 2280 format SSDs for wider compatibility and the presence of two USB4 Type-C ports. MicroSD reader up to 700 MB/s, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 complete the technical sheet.
Finally, if it is still difficult to place the AYANEO consoles in front of the Steam Deck or even the ROG Ally, the prices seem to drop a little with the Slide. The entry-level model (16 GB DDR5 + 512 GB SSD) is 900 dollars (825 euros) and even 800 dollars (730 euros) on Indiegogo.
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Source: AYANEO on Indiegogo
