Ayaneo Next Lite price & specs revealed but there’s a catch

Ayaneo’s Next Lite handheld made waves as it was announced. Priced starting at $299, the handheld will run a third-party version of SteamOS, named HoloISO.

Ayaneo recently revealed the Next Lite handled, poised to be a budget option for those who cannot splash on the company’s more extravagant devices. At the announcement, the device was poised to be using SteamOS.

However, Ayaneo later clarified that it will be using a customized version of HoloISO, which is based on SteamOS. This version of HoloISO has been specifically customized to work on the device, but Ayaneo has not made any promises regarding how they will keep the OS up to date just yet.

Ayaneo

Ayaneo has clarified on its website that users will be able to install Windows and be able to download drivers directly on its website.

The console has a 7-inch, 1200×800 IPS screen, and will also possess a 47Wh battery. However, the company has also specified the crucial APU for the system.

Low price, low power

Ayaneo

The Ayaneo Next Lite will start retailing at $299, which is a shockingly low price, that puts the device in contention with handhelds like the Ayn Odin 2. However, there is a catch to this seemingly great deal. The APU being used in the system is the AMD Ryzen 5 4500U, which is several generations old at this point.

At $399, you can upgrade this to the AMD Ryzen 7 4800U, but this puts the device in direct competition with the Z1 ROG Ally, which has been discounted to that price point in the past.

Both CPUs use AMD’s Vega graphics, with the 4800U having a slight edge with more cores and threads, as well as Vega 8. However, neither of the chips are as powerful as the Steam Deck.

While the device may boast a competitive base pricing, this does lag behind some modern handhelds. This is a strange launch from Ayaneo, but despite the pricing, it’s interesting to see the company attempt to pivot toward HoloISO as a preinstalled OS for the system.