The Ayaneo Pocket Vert is real, it’s running, and it’s far more than a retro novelty. With a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip powering a Game Boy-style frame, Ayaneo’s latest handheld hits far beyond its nostalgic looks booting up everything from Dreamcast to GameCube and PS2 games with surprising ease.
Pocket Vert specs go well beyond retro
Shiftdelete.netYouTuber ETA Prime got an early look at the device, revealing just how ambitious the Pocket Vert really is. It’s not a minimalist throwback like the Analogue Pocket. Instead, Ayaneo has packed in a 3.5-inch, 1600×1440 IPS LTPS screen, the same as Analogue’s FPGA handheld but paired it with far more capable internals.
At its core is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, an Android SoC that’s become a favorite in premium handhelds for a reason. It can push demanding emulators and native Android titles at smooth framerates, unlocking entire console generations of performance in a Game Boy-sized frame.
Intel and Nvidia’s Serpent Lake APUs could rival AMD’s Strix Halo with RTX Rubin graphics, Titan Lake CPU cores, and LPDDR6 bandwidth.
A handheld for more than 2D nostalgia
While the display’s resolution makes it perfect for Game Boy and GBC emulation (thanks to exact 10x scaling), the real selling point is everything beyond that. GameCube and PlayStation 2 titles run natively through Android emulators something the Analogue Pocket can’t touch. Even modern Android games and cloud streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming or Steam Link are on the table.
Here’s what makes the Pocket Vert stand out:
- Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 performance
- 3.5-inch 1600×1440 screen for perfect retro scaling
- Dual analog sticks and four shoulder buttons
- Android OS with Play Store support
- Cloud gaming compatibility
Control scheme makes it console-ready
Another major win for Ayaneo is the layout. Dual touchpads sit under the D-pad and face buttons, and there’s full analog and shoulder button support. That’s a big jump over the Analogue Pocket’s control limitations, making the Pocket Vert viable for modern 3D games whether they’re native Android titles or emulated classics.
The price could make or break it
With all that power in a tight form factor, there’s only one missing piece: the cost. Ayaneo hasn’t revealed pricing yet, and that will be key. If it lands anywhere close to the Analogue Pocket, the performance gulf could be too wide for retro purists to ignore. But if it’s priced higher, Ayaneo will need to prove that this blend of nostalgia and horsepower is worth the premium.
Whatever the number, the Pocket Vert is shaping up to be a serious handheld contender not just a retro toy, but a tiny beast built for the whole spectrum of gaming.
