On April 8, AYANEO CEO Uncle Wei shared the highlights of the highly anticipated horizontal retro handheld, the Pocket ACE, during an online livestream. The event also featured live demonstrations of the actual device and launched a surprise pre-order campaign, giving players a first look at this compact yet powerful retro gaming powerhouse.

A High-Performance Horizontal Retro Powerhouse

The AYANEO Pocket ACE represents the pinnacle of horizontal retro handheld gaming, combining top-tier performance, a golden aspect ratio, and long-lasting battery life. It meets the diverse needs of retro gamers, allowing seamless play of both classic and modern mobile games. Every design detail caters to the retro handheld experience, making it a device that truly understands gamers.

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A New Era of Retro Aesthetics

The AYANEO Pocket ACE redefines retro aesthetics with an original design, blending classic charm with AYANEO’s signature elegance. Its stunning looks make it hard to believe it’s a retro handheld. The deep, eye-catching "Shadow Dance Black" (red-black) and the pure, captivating "Light Blade White" offer two irresistible color options.

Of course, there’s also the limited-edition "Retro Power" colorway, a tribute to the golden age of handheld gaming. All three variants feature premium UV-coated finishes, ensuring the Pocket ACE leads not only in style but also in premium tactile feel.

Built around a 4.5-inch golden-sized display and AYANEO’s signature borderless design, the Pocket ACE delivers unmatched immersion while maintaining a compact, pocket-friendly form factor.

Additionally, the Pocket ACE features a meticulously crafted quad-curved body with smooth, rounded edges for a comfortable grip, making it hard to put down.

The innovative extended lower bezel houses the Home, Turbo, AYA, and = buttons, eliminating the need for screen cutouts while ensuring structural integrity and ergonomic button placement.

This design also enables front-firing dual speakers, positioned to avoid hand obstruction while delivering immersive, direct audio.

With its refined details, the Pocket ACE boasts a timeless design and an unforgettable feel.

4.5" 3:2 Golden Ratio Display

Staying true to AYANEO’s high standards for screen quality, the Pocket ACE features a 4.5-inch 1620×1080 (3:2) IPS display for an immersive retro gaming experience.

The classic 3:2 aspect ratio, paired with powerful hardware, allows seamless gameplay across multiple retro consoles, with GBA games filling the screen beautifully.

AYANEO’s professional display calibration ensures accurate colors and excellent brightness, while ultra-thin bezels enhance immersion, elevating both retro and modern mobile gaming.

Powered by "Dragon"

As a high-performance retro powerhouse, the Pocket ACE packs the formidable Gen Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 gaming platform, delivering 15W full-throttle performance in a compact body. Multiple performance modes cater to different gaming needs, ensuring smooth gameplay for both retro and modern Android titles.

This power is sustained by an advanced cooling system—featuring a large copper plate, oversized heat fins, and an ultra-thin fan—ensuring stable, high-performance output.

Thanks to optimizations by AYANEO, Qualcomm, and game developers, the Pocket ACE offers native or near-native compatibility with a wide range of games, making it an unrivaled retro handheld in its class.

Long-lasting Battery for Worry-free Gaming

Compared to the similarly designed horizontal retro handheld Pocket MICRO, the Pocket ACE features a slightly larger body that houses a significantly bigger 6,000mAh high-density battery—more than double the capacity. Combined with the power-efficient Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 gaming platform and joint optimizations with Qualcomm, it delivers not only high-performance output but also extended gaming endurance.

Additionally, the Pocket ACE supports up to 40W PD fast charging, pairing perfectly with its massive 6,000mAh battery to form a reliable battery life combo, allowing players to enjoy retro gaming all day long.

A Fully Upgraded Control Experience

As a horizontal retro handheld, the Pocket ACE faithfully replicates the classic controller button layout, featuring a retro-style D-pad for an immersive and distraction-free button experience when playing retro games. At the same time, its symmetrical dual analog sticks ensure seamless compatibility with modern games.

The Pocket ACE also offers high customization freedom—players can choose between Japanese or Western ABXY button layouts, and the Select/Start buttons can be repositioned to match different playstyles.

Beyond that, the Pocket ACE comes equipped with a newly upgraded Hall-effect joystick, delivering drift-free, deadzone-free, and long-lasting precision control. Paired with equally precise Hall-effect linear triggers, players can enjoy ultra-responsive, pinpoint-accurate inputs.

For other buttons, the Pocket ACE features tactile micro-switch L1/R1 shoulder buttons for crisp and effortless presses, alongside soft conductive rubber ABXY buttons that remain comfortable even during extended high-speed gaming sessions.

First with the 0916B Surge Linear Motor

AYANEO has always been a pioneer in enhancing haptic feedback for Android handhelds, being the first to introduce 0815 X-axis linear motors and HD linear motors. Now, the Pocket ACE pushes the boundaries further by debuting the oversized 0916B ultra-wideband linear motor in a compact handheld.

As the first retro handheld with this flagship-grade motor, the Pocket ACE delivers more realistic, multi-layered vibration feedback. With native haptic tuning and AYASpace’s four-mode vibration support, it offers rich, immersive vibrations across both gaming and system interactions.

AYANEO’s Self-Developed Android Software Ecosystem

Beyond its hardware upgrades, the Pocket ACE benefits from AYANEO’s proprietary software suite, packed with practical features. The AYAHome launcher and AYASpace provide a personalized desktop experience, along with highly customizable functions like performance modes for various scenarios, device spoofing, and Free Feel button mapping 1.5, as well as convenient retro game library management.

The Pocket ACE introduces a new "Free Keys" mode in AYASpace, allowing players to swap the functions of the dual S-buttons, Home button, and Turbo button. This enables actions like calling up menus with Select or switching performance modes with Start, perfectly blending retro layouts with modern convenience.

The Retro Handheld That Understands You

With its compact, portable design, powerhouse performance, and premium controls led by the 0916B motor, the Pocket ACE fulfills every retro gamer’s expectations for a horizontal retro handheld—this is the AYANEO Pocket ACE, a mini powerhouse.

Official Launch Event – Late April

The AYANEO Pocket ACE is a compact yet mesmerizing horizontal retro handheld. The full launch event is expected in late April, where we’ll dive deeper into its exciting features—stay tuned!

Head over to the AYANEO Store now to join the pre-order event, enjoy exclusive discounts and perks, and be among the first to experience this fully upgraded horizontal retro handheld.