Summary
A lot of gamers are looking for a handheld gaming experience this year. With options like the Steam Deck OLED and ROG Ally X, many of these smaller portable gaming companies are getting overshadowed, but it doesn’t seem like this will be the case with the AYANEO Pocket DMG.
While it’s not theflashiest handheldto be released this year, the new AYANEO Pocket DMG is a modernized GameBoy with an OLED display, a dream for most retro gamers.Retro gaming is currently experiencing a renaissance period, largely thanks to AYANEO. They are making fantastic retro emulators that are gorgeous, well-built and make emulation accessible regardless of your experience with emulators.
Pocket DMG Features and Specs
The Pocket DMG is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 SoC and promises top-tier gaming performance. This is the same SOC we saw in the AYANEO Pocket S, which competes reasonably well with the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. Because the Pocket S already had some issues with overheating in more intense games, we are not expecting the Pocket DMG to be a replacement for a Steam Deck. However, the performance is still outstanding for such a small form factor.
Alongside the D-Pad and four action buttons that we are accustomed to seeing, the Pocket DMG also has a Hall-Effect joystick and dual-mode touchpad on the bottom of the face, allowing for quick navigation in menus, where the D-Pad can be frustrating.
Oddly enough, the Pocket DMG is not the only retro GameBoy emulator to offer an OLED display, but the Pocket DMG still stands out with this gorgeous display. With a 1080p resolution, the display measures 3.92 inches and has a pixel density of 419 PPI. This makes everything look crisp and detailed, and thanks to the 500 nits peak brightness, even in a reasonable amount of sunlight, you can easily see the game and appreciate the detail. However, because the aspect ratio is slightly different from the retro 4:3, some games look a bit weird.
Retro Colorway
We have seen many retro emulators use the GameBoy design in the past, but few have done it as well or as elegantly as AYANEO has done it with the Pocket DMG. This handheld screams retro design but in a sleek minimalist package that is hard to get mad at.
The black and white colorways are gorgeous in their own right, but if you want the authentic retro feel, the GB color scheme brings it all the way home. From the color of the buttons and the beige/off-white case, the GB color scheme is as close as you can get to an old GameBoy without actually using a GameBoy, but then you wouldn’t get the incredible OLED display.
Pricing and Availability
ThePocket DMG is available through Indiegogo for pre-orderand is supposed to ship out in October of 2024. It comes in three main variants with different storage and memory options: 8 GB and 128 GB for $340, 12 GB and 256 GB for $421, and 16 GB and 512 GB for $501. If you are lucky enough to get the limited edition in the retro colorway, which only has 31 left unclaimed at the time of writing, it comes with 16 GB of RAM and one whole terabyte of storage — plenty of space for any retro gamer’s library.
FAQ
Q: What is the screen ratio of the Ayaneo pocket DMG?
The Pocket DMG uses a 1:1 aspect ratio. So, modern games will look a bit weird on this handheld, but most retro handheld titles will feel right at home.
Q: Is AYANEO more powerful than Steam Deck?
This largely depends on what model you are looking at from AYANEO. If you compare the Pocket DMG to the Steam Deck, the Steam Deck will win for most modern games. However, compared to something like the AYANEO 2, the comparison gets much closer regardless if you are playing modern AAA games or retro titles.
