Ayaneo Flip gets crucial upgrade that ditches popular handheld chip

Ayaneo’s most intriguing handheld, the Flip, will be one of the first handhelds to feature the upcoming Ryzen 8840U APU.

It won’t even be a week into the new year and Ayaneo will launch yet another handheld on Indiegogo. The company, known for its plethora of handhelds and new mini PC, is set to launch its Nintendo DS-inspired handheld on January 3.

Announced earlier this year, the Flip will come in two variations, with another two variations on top of that. The Ayaneo Flip will launch with either a keyboard (KB) or dual screen edition (DS). Both of these handhelds will also be equipped with either an AMD 7840U, or the new 8840U.

AMD’s chips have proven to be exceptionally popular amongst handheld makers. It’s no surprise, as they provide excellent performance in games and even spun off in the Z1 family.

It won’t be alone, however. GPD, another handheld maker, has also announced it’ll be using the 8840U for its line of systems. Three handhelds, the Win 2 Max, Win 4 and Win Mini will all utilize the next-generation chip.

Don’t get excited about AMD’s 8840U just yet

The 8840U isn’t too much to get excited about just yet. While no one has done any proper testing on it, on paper it’s almost identical to the 7840U. As pointed out by Tom’s Hardware, the chip only has a 60% increase in the Neural Processing Unit (NPU). While great for laptops and hardware within the AI world, there is no evidence of any improvements in gaming.

AMD is building the 8840U on top of the same architecture as the previous generation, with no visible signs (on paper at least) of any technical or generational improvements in terms of power.

While we’re excited to see the dual-screen Flip, it does take the wind out of its sails a little when you realize there are no major differences.