AYANEO Shows Off Its Pocket Play Gaming Slider Phone in Action

AYANEO has unveiled the first live footage of its debut gaming smartphone, the Pocket Play. The device, with its slide-out controller that harkens back to the iconic Sony Xperia Play, was shown in action in a new trailer. The short clip features AYANEO engineers booting up a game on the prototype, demonstrating both its smooth performance and the mechanism that transforms the phone into a console.

The device is equipped with a high-end, though not the latest, MediaTek Dimensity 9300 processor (from 2023) and an advanced 165Hz OLED display, promising strong performance for mobile games and emulators. The rear panel with its minimalist camera module looks modern, yet the front face with noticeable bezels and no cutout for a selfie camera feels like a step backward.

Initially slated for January 2026, its release has now been postponed indefinitely. AYANEO has paused to improve its service ecosystem, which users of the brand's other products have previously complained about.

The AYANEO Pocket Play is a bold experiment attempting to revive a niche form factor by packing it with powerful, if not the newest, hardware. Its success will hinge on the final price, the build quality of the sliding mechanism, and just how much gamers miss having physical buttons in their pocket.

Previously, AYANEO announced another promising new device—the Konkr Fit handheld. Unlike the Pocket Play, which is focused on mobile gaming, this device will be a full-fledged Windows-based pocket PC featuring the top-tier AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 processor and a 7-inch OLED screen.