AYANEO Pocket ACE review: The jack-of-all-trades handheld

When AYANEO first introduced the Pocket ACE earlier this yr, I used to be fairly lukewarm about it. It was billed as a “retro” targeted handheld, however very similar to the Pocket DMG, it had specs to compete with the heavyweights.

All the pieces was at odds: the three:2 display is between retro and trendy consoles, the design was D-pad-centric however had two small sticks, and the large 6,000mAh battery is sort of as large because the Steam Deck OLED. Other than the Retro Energy colorway I examined, nothing about this screamed “retro.”

After testing the machine, I’ve to confess that AYANEO was proper. That is the right retro gaming console, but it surely’s additionally a lot extra. This factor might change each different retro gaming handheld in my assortment, and I wouldn’t even be upset.

To grasp my preliminary confusion, you must examine the AYANEO Pocket ACE to the remainder of the corporate’s units. On the bigger facet, you will have the 6.2-inch Pocket S and the 7-inch Pocket EVO. The EVO particularly is without doubt one of the most succesful handhelds I’ve ever used, and it may possibly comfortably play any system that’s at present doable to emulate.

On the smaller facet, you will have the AYANEO Pocket MICRO and MICRO Traditional. These 3:2 handhelds are designed for GBA video games, with good 4x integer scaling in a GBA Micro-like kind issue. They’ll play different techniques, however the design and chipset have extra limitations than the remainder of AYANEO’s lineup.

In comparison with these two units, the Pocket ACE is undoubtedly the center youngster (as you possibly can see above). Regardless of that, it may possibly nonetheless do the whole lot these units can. It has the identical side ratio because the Pocket MICRO for GBA goodness, and the identical chipset because the Pocket S and EVO for cutting-edge emulation.

Most significantly, it isn’t a sequence of dangerous compromises however moderately a mishmash of the most effective that these units have to supply. It appears like AYANEO realized from these units to create one thing solely new.

Beginning with the design, it’s compact however premium, with among the finest controls I’ve examined in a tool this measurement. The D-pad is a spotlight, as are the surprisingly quiet buttons and Corridor Impact analog triggers. Even the 2 small sticks are surprisingly first rate. Certain, they’re not as snug because the unbelievable full-size sticks on the Pocket EVO, however they get the job completed when they should and sit low sufficient to be out of the way in which after they don’t.

I used to be additionally completely happy to see that AYANEO moved the beginning and choose buttons again to the highest for the ACE. There are nonetheless 4 buttons on the underside bezel, however they’re hotkeys for the software program. Additionally alongside the underside bezel are two (largely) forward-firing stereo audio system, which sound wonderful. They’re positioned so that you simply received’t cowl them together with your palms. My solely grievance right here is that there’s no headphone jack.

The bumpers and triggers have a clean end, however resulting from their measurement, I by no means actually felt like they wanted a grippy texture. The Corridor Impact triggers really feel nice, and so they sit proper in the course of my set off fingers for simple taking pictures. Subsequent to them are the Android again and residential buttons, which fortunately are far sufficient away from the triggers to keep away from unintended presses. There’s an air consumption vent on the again and outflow on the highest, so not one of the warmth reached my delicate gamer fingers.

The display itself is a gorgeous 4.5-inch IPS panel that blends proper into the machine. It’s loads vibrant and the colours look unbelievable, however I couldn’t assist however want it have been an OLED panel for one motive, and it isn’t good blacks. The Pocket ACE reveals noticeable gentle bleed in low-light conditions. Truthfully, it didn’t trouble me whereas gaming and my eyes didn’t even see it after some time, but it surely shouldn’t be a difficulty on a tool this premium.

That being mentioned, I believe the Pocket ACE does an excellent job of carving out its personal area of interest within the lineup. Primarily, it’s the small one that may play the whole lot. The design isn’t good for each system and side ratio, but it surely makes the proper concessions to comfortably play your whole retro recreation assortment on a single machine.

In terms of efficiency, the Pocket ACE once more doesn’t disappoint. Clearly retro video games run like a dream, and the three:2 side ratio means 4:3 techniques function minimal bezels. I really performed by way of everything of Tremendous Mario World on the SNES for the primary time in years on a whim as a result of it was so snug on this machine.

Sticking to older techniques on the balanced energy profile, I acquired nicely over 15 hours of battery life on a single cost. I really struggled to even drain the battery on this factor with out dipping into extra trendy consoles.

For informal avid gamers, the 6,000mAh battery can final a full week, and the 40W charging topped it off in roughly 90 minutes in my testing. There’s no charger within the field although, so that you’ll need to supply a suitable charger should you don’t have already got one.

Extra demanding techniques just like the PlayStation 2 and GameCube are additionally no drawback for the Snapdragon G3X Gen 2 SoC. This is without doubt one of the strongest chipsets out there on a gaming handheld, solely edged out barely by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the Odin 2 lineup.

For comparability, I ran the Pocket ACE and the AYN Odin 2 Portal by way of our normal suite of benchmarks and located the Odin 2 Portal has roughly a ten% CPU benefit. The GPU scores have been almost equivalent and even favored the Pocket ACE in a couple of events. Nevertheless, the Odin 2 Portal carried out considerably higher when it got here to thermals, with the Pocket ACE reaching a peak temperature of 46°C.

Granted, the Odin 2 Portal is sort of twice as large, so it’s a lot simpler to maintain cool. The warmth on the Pocket ACE can also be concentrated within the center and prime of the machine, so I couldn’t really feel any warmth whereas holding it, regardless of the dimensions. That mentioned, the followers get very loud on max settings.

Benchmarks are one factor, however one of the simplest ways to push these units is with probably the most demanding emulators. I examined the Pocket ACE on quite a lot of Nintendo Swap emulators, together with Citron, Eden, and Yuzu to see how it might stack up.

The outcomes have been a blended bag. Video games like Mario Kart 8, Tremendous Mario RPG, Tremendous Mario Bros. Marvel, and Mario & Luigi: Brothership all ran easily, with a couple of graphical glitches right here and there. Different video games, like Metroid Dread, struggled to get in-game.

I’d chalk this as much as the software program greater than the {hardware}, however the takeaway is that this machine is highly effective sufficient to emulate some Swap video games. Different cutting-edge circumstances like Home windows and PS3 emulation are much less performant resulting from an absence of group optimizations. Hopefully, as these Snapdragon G-series chips change into extra frequent, we’ll see higher driver help.

On the plus facet, the three:2 show nonetheless seems nice with 16:9 video games. That’s excellent news for techniques just like the PSP, which might’t simply change their side ratio. Android video games additionally play nicely, and the compatibility points the Snapdragon G3X Gen 2 confronted on earlier units have largely been remedied.

So do you have to purchase the Pocket ACE? Nicely, that relies on what you’re on the lookout for. When you’ve already acquired a small assortment of retro gaming handhelds and wish to begin specializing, this jack-of-all-trades in all probability isn’t your finest guess.

However in order for you one thing comparatively small that may play the whole lot, this may be the ace up your sleeve. The mixture of construct high quality, chipset, and controls could make it the one handheld you’ll ever must emulate each system below the solar. Granted, you’ll pay a premium for it, because it begins at $459 for the 8GB+128GB configuration. The 16GB+1TB Retro Energy model that I examined jumps as much as $699, however I believe that’s overkill for this handheld’s strengths.

It isn’t with out competitors, although. The AYN Odin 2 Mini ($329 at Manufacturer site) is its closest peer, and it sacrifices consolation for the extra dependable Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset examined above. The Retroid Pocket Mini V2 ($199 at Manufacturer site) is one other, and though it’s not as highly effective or premium, it’s actually so much cheaper.

When you do resolve to purchase the AYANEO Pocket ACE, I’d suggest you achieve this quickly. I listed the ultimate retail costs above, however the Indiegogo crowdfunding marketing campaign continues to be operating with important reductions. The $339 early chook worth on the most affordable mannequin is greater than cheap for a tool that may emulate your whole assortment of retro video games.