Handheld gaming PCs are exploding in popularity these days and AYANEO just announced its latest offering in the space with the AYANEO 3, what it’s claiming is the world’s first modular Windows handheld. This thing runs on Windows 11 and is a fully-fledged gaming PC so you can install all your favorite game clients including Steam, Epic, Battle.net, and more.
Now compared to older AYANEO handheld devices, this has a few features that might make this the go-to option for some gamers. The modular functionality is the reason why. This is what really sets it apart from other handhelds. Because the modularity allows gamers to play their favorite games the way they want. In terms of hardware and specs, the AYANEO 3 seems packed to the gills. There are several device configurations as well. For example, you can get one with up to 64GB of RAM and 4TB of storage.
Which is an absolutely massive amount of both for a handheld. It can also come with either an LCD screen or an OLED screen, there are three different colors and two different APU options. Both APUs are from AMD and are the Ryzen 7 8840U, and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. The latter will come on the more expensive configurations.
The AYANEO 3 handheld lets you swap out control modules
This is the modular part of the handheld and really, it’s quite genius. The control modules, which house your ABXY buttons, joysticks, and d-pads, pop out and allow you to pop in new ones. The point of this is to give the player the types of controls they want. There’s a module for fighting games for example that slots into the right side. No extra joystick. Just six fighting buttons like you’d find on a fighting game arcade cabinet or a dedicated fighting game controller.
You can pair this with the left-side module that has a circular d-pad. There are also touchpad modules that replace the joysticks with touchpads. AYANEO says these are great for FPS games, but they could also easily be used for your mouse movement if you’re just browsing the web or using other non-gaming PC functions. In addition to these modules, you can also swap out the ABXY buttons. AYANEO has added new “ergonomic” back paddle buttons as well, and there are trigger locks. The trigger locks in particular should be really good for FPS games.
The handheld starts at $699
It’s not exactly the least expensive Windows handheld, but it’s on par with similar devices in terms of specs at a comparable cost. Plus it has the swappable control modules. It is worth noting, however, that $699 is the starting price, and it’s early bird pricing since these are devices you pre-order through indiegogo. The normal starting price is $899, and it only goes up from there depending on how much RAM and storage you want. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 option starts at $1,499, although this does also come with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
If you want to go all out, the 64GB RAM and 4TB storage model with an OLED is $2,099 and it comes with the magic module (a collection of extra buttons and joysticks). It’s clear AYANEO wants to capture more of the handheld market, but can it compete against the bigger brands? While the AYANEO 3 is far from being the most affordable if you want the more powerful version of it, it has a lot to offer. And we’re betting it plays games pretty well. That said, we’re also big fans of the ROG Ally X. The Steam Deck has always been a favorite too. Both of these play games exceptionally well, and in terms of affordability, the Steam Deck is the least expensive option.
