The ‘S’ should stand for ‘steal’ with this handheld

At around $1000, the Ayaneo 2S represents one of the best – and most affordable – options for powerhouse gaming on the go.

The Ayaneo 2S. Source: Supplied.

Gaming on the go used to be the domain of smartphones and Nintendo consoles, but the rise of PC-based handhelds means there’s more selection than ever. The success of Valve’s Steam Deck has opened the floodgates with traditional PC makers such as Asus and Lenovo turning their attention to this burgeoning market.

Prior to the influx of these well-known brands into the arena, Ayaneo had been diligently perfecting its art in the realm of handheld gaming PCs long before the industry’s formal establishment. What’s truly remarkable is the pace at which they are churning out consoles – less than six months has passed since the unveiling of their preceding top-tier handheld, the Ayaneo 2. As if that weren’t enough, they recently introduced an entry-level option, the Ayaneo Air Plus. Now without skipping a beat, they are launching their latest offering: the Ayaneo 2S. While the unit shares a lot of similarities with its predecessor, there’s a host of improvements that make this a worthy successor, leapfrogging the likes of the Steam Deck and Asus’ ROG Ally in some crucial areas.

In our Ayaneo 2 review, we lauded its premium looking design and the same rings true of the 2S. This means you get a dazzling 7-inch bezel-less display that looks closer to OLED than LCD and deliciously smooth full-sized analogue sticks and triggers powered by Hall Sensor technology, ensuring they’ll never suffer from the drift that plagues Nintendo Switch’s smaller Joy-Con sticks. It also boasts the largest selection of ports with three USB-C ports – two of which deliver USB 4.0 speeds – enabling you to connect high powered accessories such as an external graphics card (eGPU), effectively turning the handheld into a desktop gaming PC when docked.

It’s all wrapped up in an attractive shell that is smaller and easier to carry than the Steam Deck or ROG Ally.

The ergonomics of the 2S are very comfortable, but I did find my admittedly large hands suffering from cramping after an hour or so. My wife, who has smaller sized hands, had no issues with hand cramps so it’s something worth keeping in mind since the 2S has shallower grips on the underside of the unit when compared to the Steam Deck and ROG Ally.

The Ayaneo 2S. Source: Supplied.

That said, the responsiveness and overall feel of the controls on the 2S are the best you’re going to find on any handheld. The only thing missing are rear paddle buttons and trackpads, but given this is a refresh and not a wholly new device, its omission isn’t surprising.

The biggest upgrade is under the hood with the new AMD Ryzen 7840U chipset that makes it twice as powerful as the Steam Deck and largely bringing performance in line with the ROG Ally. When compared to the Ayaneo 2, the 2S delivers up to a 40 per cent performance improvement while drawing less power, allowing you to game longer while away from the power outlet.

The TDP (thermal design power), which effectively relates to how hard you can drive the CPU and GPU before cooling and battery limitations come into play, can scale on the Ayaneo 2S from as low as 3W to a high of 33W.

I was able to run the recently released Resident Evil 4 remake at a consistent 40fps (frames per second) with a mixture of high and low visual setting and TDP set to just 15W on the Ayaneo 2S, whereas on its predecessor I had to run the game at 22W to achieve the same result. This amounts to an hour longer battery life as well as a cooler and quieter machine overall.

What surprised me is that games that were practically unplayable on the ROG Ally, such as Returnal, ran smoothly on the Ayaneo 2S which is surprising given that the two machines are powered by similar chipsets.

I also have to commend Ayaneo on including a generous 100W GaN (gallium nitride) fast charger complete with four USB ports, enabling you to charge all your gadgets at the same time. Ayaneo even includes plug adaptors so the charger will work anywhere in the world. At a time where manufacturers are omitting chargers from the box entirely, it‘s refreshing to see Ayaneo step things up in this department.

Currently, the Ayaneo 2S can be picked up for a discounted starting price of $1,095 for the ‘Geek’ variant from the company’s Indiegogo campaign ahead of the full retail release, making it cheaper than its closest rivals and a real steal for what you’re getting. A smaller variant called the Ayaneo Air 1S, which is closer in size to the Nintendo Switch, will be making its way to Australian store shelves from late September.