The Android-powered portable offers a level of portability that other handhelds of similar functionality can't match.
The Pocket Micro, is a new roughly $200 high-end Android-powered handheld from AYANEO — and it's actually one of the cheaper portables in AYANEO’s dizzyingly growing line-up of devices. However, when you compare it to other similar emulation-focused handhelds - which this very much is - it’s actually a fairly premium way to play retro titles.
It’s called the Micro, and it’s laid out in a horizontal orientation — so, it’s something of a clear homage to Nintendo’s late entry in the Game Boy line-up — the 2005 Game Boy Micro.
Whereas the original Game Boy Micro was in fact rather small, this new device from AYANEO, although still pocketable, is a touch bigger.
AYANEO's Micro sports a 3.5” inch 330PPI display, whereas the Nintendo handheld from nearly 20 years ago, had just a two inch screen.
It's micro in spirit. Portable, absolutely — and yes you can still fit in your pocket, but I’d say it’s probably better in your sling or backpack.
There’s another bit of gaming history that this handheld reminds me of, and that’s the original Nintendo Entertainment System controller. That classic input device is somewhat notorious now for having rather hard corners — and this 2024 device from AYANEO is similarly blocky.
There’s no smooth ergonomic corners to be found here. It’s a real rectangle of a handheld, and whilst I absolutely adore the look of this thing, the comfort isn't exactly something to shout about.
The styling is a choice that leans in to the overall vibe of the device. I like it, and considering I’ve mainly been playing GBA games in short stints on the Pocket Micro during my testing, I’ve not found it to be an issue. Your mileage may vary here in regard to comfort, but on the whole, for me at least, it’s not a deal breaker at all.
On the front of the device we’ve got your standard D-Pad, along with four, somewhat small face buttons. There’s also two hall-effect joysticks — again they’re a touch on the small side for my liking, but I guess that kinda comes with the territory for something rocking the ‘micro’ name.
Generally, the D-pad and buttons are fine, have a nice feel, and are responsive — no issues.
The joysticks however, I'm not a huge fan of. Firstly, the placement here isn’t ideal — I found myself on more than one occasion nudging into the left joystick when using the D-pad. It’s kinda hard to avoid.
Secondly, when you are using the sticks, I found you need to hold the device in a lower position, otherwise you have to adopt an almost craned stance. Again, they work fine, and the sticks are responsive and do the job — but it’s not the most comfortable. Thankfully I found myself primarily using the D-pad over the sticks, but if you’re looking to use this for emulating more modern retro stuff then these sticks may not be what you’re looking for.
Also on the front, we’ve got four additional buttons tucked away on the chin of the device. It’s here where you will find what’s essentially the start and select buttons, along with two buttons for accessing AYANEO’s AYAspace software layer, and another which is basically the Android Home Button. These are all nice to have — all out of the way, but within easy reach to either pause your game, tweak some setting, or jump back to the home screen. Good stuff.
On the top we have four shoulders buttons across a singular row. The L2 and R2 buttons are slightly raised over the L1 and R1 counterparts, which makes it a breeze to tell which is which without the need to look. Also on the top you’ll find a fan outlet, a volume rocker, and the power button with built in fingerprint reader.
Having this fingerprint reader definitely feels like a premium feature here, and its nice to have when authenticating stuff across Android — but during my time with the device I found it a touch unresponsive and unreliable at times.
On one side of the device you'll find the port for the microSD card, offering a nice and easy way to upgrade the storage.
I’ve got the base model of the Pocket Micro here, which comes with 128GB internally, but should you wanna add more, there’s a place to easily do it. You access the slot by just pulling down on a little plastic tab — which has its pros and cons. It’s nice to have your SD card shielded away, protected and covered once inserted, but the little plastic flap is a bit stiff, and can be a pain to seat back in place flush. But to be honest, it’s one of those things you’ll probably do so infrequently to not be annoying.
When it came to emulating games on this, the Pocket Micro could handle pretty much whatever I chucked at it — with an important caveat that AYANEO’s site states that the device can pretty much run to up to PS2 level games. I tried out a range of Game Boy, GBA, and N64 games (yes, I like Nintendo) along with some GameCube titles and PlayStation 2 classics.
Getting things up and running is the typical faff — lots of time spent getting things set up. The Android Play Store does have some emulators available directly, but things like Retro Arch and ES-DE you’ll have to install directly. This is the bit I hate, it’s tedious, but thankfully something you’ll really only need to do the once.
Of course it’s an Android device, so that means it can play pretty much anything up on the Play Store too. Some games work better than others, but it’s all generally pretty usable.
This Pocket Micro is actually really well made, it’s super sturdy, and has no flex what so ever, thanks to the aluminium body. AYANEO’s site, oddly calls the Micro a ‘delicate plaything’ but it’s far from it — it’s a real tank. Remember the Gulf War Game Boy? Well, I reckon this portable from AYANEO could probably survive a similar beating.
Now, when it comes to specs you've got two options. As I mentioned I’ve got the base model, which comes with 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. You can also get a higher end option with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of space. Of course, you can also upgrade your storage via that SD card slot.
All models run on Android 13, connect via 5GHz WifFi and Bluetooth 5.2, and all use the MTK Helio G99 CPU under the hood. The 3.5 inch IPS screen results in a 960x640 image at a 3:2 ratio — which is perfect for GBA stuff. All Pocket Micro models come with a 2600 mAh battery (charged over USB-C) — this battery is a touch on the smaller side, but makes sense considering the size of this thing. You should get you between 4-6 hours of playtime anyway, depending on what you’re playing on this thing of course.
The Pocket Micro is using premium materials, including aluminium and glass, so has a bit of heft to it. It comes in officially at 233g, which for an everyday comparison isn't too far off the current iPhone 16 Pro.
One thing that is missing here however, is a headphone jack. There’s no 3.5mm port to speak of, so if you want to listen on the go, then Bluetooth is the way to go. I used my AirPods Pro.
The build-quality and finish here is the real story of the Pocket Micro. AYANEO have crafted something that really does look the part. I love the design of this thing, and have found myself picking it up alongside my phone when heading out, so I can sneak in a quick game of something whilst having a coffee or waiting in the car.
The Pocket Micro offers a level or portability that other handhelds of similar functionality can’t match — so on size alone, it’s a big win.
So, if having a truly portable handheld speaks to you, then this is an option well worth considering — that is of course, until AYANEO offer up another one.
If you are interested in grabbing one of these then (at time of recording) they are still available via IndieGoGo — with prices ranging from around $200 to $250. Eventually the handheld should also be available via AYANEOs official site.
