AYANEO Pocket Micro 2 Brings Bigger Power and Battery to the Prettiest Pocket-Sized Handheld

AYANEO’s original Pocket Micro was one of the most charming retro handhelds we reviewed last year, with a gorgeous metal and glass design, a pocketable form factor and a stunning display tailor-made for Game Boy Advance games. Now, the company is back with the Pocket Micro 2, a refined successor that keeps the same spirit while pushing the hardware further.

What’s new

For the new model, AYANEO has swapped the original’s MediaTek Helio G99 for a Snapdragon 865-class processor with an Adreno 650 GPU, which the company claims delivers around a 220% performance jump over the first Pocket Micro. The 865 is an older chip by phone standards, but it’s become a reliable workhorse in the retro handheld scene, and on a 3.5-inch display it’s honestly overkill in the best way. More than enough for GBA and with headroom for the heavier N64, Dreamcast and GameCube stuff if you’re feeling ambitious.

The controls also got some serious improvements. The D-pad and ABXY buttons are now bigger, the rubber underneath them is a grippier conductive compound, and the long-requested recessed dual TMR joysticks are finally here, sunk into the body so they improve pocketability and with RGB rings for some additional gaming flair. The inline shoulder buttons have been redesigned too, now split with a staggered L2/R2 height so you’re less likely to fat-finger the wrong trigger mid-game.

Battery life gets a meaningful bump as well, jumping from the original’s 2,600mAh to 3,950mAh (roughly a 52% increase) while weight only creeps up from 233g to 248g. There’s also a welcome return of the 3.5mm headphone jack, which the first model skipped.

What hasn’t changed

AYANEO has kept the same 3.5-inch 3:2 IPS display from its predecessor, with a 960 x 640 resolution that delivers clean 4x integer scaling for GBA games. The screen was already one of the original’s strongest features, so it feels like the right call here.

Specs at a glance

• 3.5″ 3:2 IPS LCD, 960 x 640, 100% sRGB, 4x integer scaling
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 CPU / Adreno 650 GPU
• 6GB or 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
• 128GB or 256GB storage, microSD expandable
• Android 13
• CNC all-metal middle frame
• 3,950mAh battery, USB-C (PD fast charging)
• Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, 3.5mm jack, fingerprint power button
• 162 x 67.8 x 18mm, ~248g

Colours and pricing

The Pocket Micro 2 comes in Midnight Black, Frosty White and a cool limited-edition Stardust Purple. The purple colorway is exclusive to the 8GB model, with a GameCube-controller-inspired look that’s easily the most interesting of the bunch.

Here’s the pricing breakdown:

• 6GB + 128GB: $239 early bird / $269 retail (Black & White)
• 8GB + 256GB: $279 early bird / $309 retail (Black & White)
• 8GB + 256GB Stardust Purple: $309 early bird / $339 retail

The handheld is up for pre-order now via the AYANEO store, but the first batch already sold out almost immediately, with a second batch yet to be announced. So if you’ve got your eye on one, it may be a bit of a waiting game.

Update: According to a member of AYANEO’s Discord community, the initial production run was limited to just 100 units, with roughly 30 available per colorway. The handheld is reportedly not expected to be restocked, making this a true limited-edition release for those who managed to secure one.