The handheld gaming PC market continues to heat up, and AYANEO is making a bold play for the premium segment with the NEXT 2. This beast of a portable packs AMD's Ryzen AI Max+ 395, a Strix Halo APU featuring 16 Zen 5 cores and Radeon 8060S graphics with 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units. The company is targeting a TDP of up to 85W, managed by a dual-fan cooling system, making it the most powerful handheld currently announced.
The display is equally ambitious: a 23 cm (9.06 inch) OLED panel running at 2400x1504 resolution with HDR support, 1100 nits peak brightness, and refresh rates up to 165Hz. The unusual 10:9 aspect ratio is unconventional for gaming, but the sheer screen real estate and OLED quality should make up for any scaling quirks. Controls include Hall effect joysticks, Hall linear triggers with dual-mode trigger locks, four rear buttons, and dual touchpads.
What truly sets the NEXT 2 apart from competing AI Max+ 395 handhelds from GPD and OneXPlayer is its 116Wh internal battery. Rivals have opted for external, detachable battery packs, but AYANEO is keeping everything in one chassis. The tradeoff is almost certainly weight, which the company has conspicuously not revealed.
Pricing starts at $2,300 (€2,120) for the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 model with 64GB RAM and 1TB SSD during early bird sales, climbing to $3,500 (€3,220) for the 128GB RAM and 2TB SSD configuration. A less powerful Ryzen AI Max 385 variant begins at $1,800 (€1,660) with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage. These are eye-watering prices, but they position the NEXT 2 squarely against premium gaming laptops rather than budget handhelds like the Steam Deck.
