The new Windows-powered flagship offers unique swappable controllers.
Prolific device maker AYANEO today shared more details on their new 'world-first' modular handheld, the AYANEO 3 — with pre-orders for the unique device opening up too.
This new flagship device features unique interchangeable controller modules dubbed 'Magic Modules', meaning you can swap out the buttons and sticks to match your needs — be that a module layout with asymmetric analogue sticks, one with more buttons, or even one with a touchpad. This multi-functional approach is designed to give "freedom of game control", and it does look rather novel. It should allow for a new level of flexibility when it comes to meeting players controller preferences and needs.
AYANEO CEO Arthur Zhang hosted a YouTube livestream to give folks a tour of this new portable, calling the AYANEO 3 a "big move" that the company "have been preparing for a long time" — adding that the product is the result of more than two years of R&D.
The video highlights how, due to this unique first-of-its-kind controller configuration, the company had to fully develop its own end-to-end solution for supporting such swappable modules. From the footage shown, players should be able to remove these 'Magic Module' parts, swap in and lock in another, and see the controller change reflected in AYANEO's software layer, AyaSpace.
In addition to swapping the entire module, it appears that players will also be able to change the positioning of individual buttons — such as the differing ABXY layout.
The lengthy video presentation goes into a lot of detail as to all the ways this innovative controller set up can be used and managed — the subtitled video can be found here.
This Windows-powered device will be available in three colorways, offering either a black, white or 'retro' finish. Both OLED and LCD models will be available, and the range sports a solid AMD CPU — specifically the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 or Ryzen 7 8840U.
This new flagship from AYANEO will start at an early-bird price on IndieGoGo of $699 . The full U.S. dollar price breakdown of the full range can be found below:
The device is expected to start shipping in April.
