The Ayaneo Kun is nearly the king of handheld gaming PCs. I imply, that is what the corporate has been aiming for with a reputation like that, and it will get so damned shut, however there are the little issues that get in the way in which of me giving it an unreserved suggestion as the very best.
Having to nearly fully strip it down to interchange a tiny rubber grommet being simply one of many issues which have given me pause in my time testing the mighty minty-highlighted machine. Then I decide it up once more, its large vibrant display beaming up at me, its pleasing curves nuzzling into my grip, and I get again to enjoying my PC video games on a setup that feels extra actually cell than any gaming laptop computer I’ve used.
One of many issues I’ve loved watching happening within the handheld market over the previous 12 months has been the extent of tinkering corporations have achieved to create a number of various units primarily based mostly upon the very same silicon. The AMD Ryzen 7 7840U (and sometimes the Ryzen Z1 Excessive) chip has been the SoC de jour for nearly all of the handhelds you should purchase proper now. We’re beginning to see some Intel Meteor Lake based mostly choices, however largely AMD has the monopoly in your handheld {hardware}.
So, producers have achieved different issues. Ayaneo itself has a number of various units, from the tiny Air 1S, to its Flip in two completely different designs, and the Slide. Maybe the Kun is probably the most conventional of the lot, nevertheless it has its personal claims to innovation, the distinctive 54W mode on its 30W APU being however one in every of them. It is also chonking large, with a big 8.4-inch display, although in a Steam Deck-y method it nonetheless feels good within the hand and I’ve spent many an hour mendacity in mattress enjoying Baldur’s Gate 3 on this beautiful machine with out my arms dropping off.
Kun specs
APU: AMD Ryzen 7 7840U
iGPU: Radeon 780M
Reminiscence: 16|32|64GB LPDDR5-7500
Storage: 512GB|1TB|2TB|4TB SSD
Display: 8-inch IPS
Decision: 2560 x 1600
Battery: 75Wh
Value: $1329 (32GB/2TB unit)
It is also the one handheld I’ve seen up to now to select up Valve’s use of dual trackpads and run with it. The scale of the Kun means it will possibly get away with sticking two pads, one beneath the left D-pad and the opposite underneath the right-hand thumbstick. At first they have been every kind of unusable, however a current replace has made the trackpads much more responsive and way more just like the kind of pad you’d discover on a laptop computer. Simply, y’know, actually small.
Whenever you’re utilizing a Home windows-based handheld they arrive in very helpful only for ease of navigation in these awkward launchers that resolutely adhere to the concept that in the event you’re enjoying a PC recreation then you are going to be utilizing a mouse as your major enter it doesn’t matter what. I get it, I really like gaming mouse, too, nevertheless it does make the hand held gig a harder one.
The core spec itself is spectacular; alongside the ever-present Ryzen 7 7840U and its 780M iGPU, I’ve obtained 32GB of LPDDR5-7500 and a 2TB Lexar SSD, and that provides me an eight-core, 16-thread machine with the center of a critically highly effective PC. That is not essentially what you need from a handheld gaming PC the place the priorities are extra round portability and battery life than straight line efficiency—simply ask the Steam Deck OLED—however Ayaneo has jammed a hefty battery into the Kun, too.
Which means we’re capable of get inside a slice of silicon of two hours within the PCMark 10 gaming battery life take a look at, even operating the machine at 30W.
By way of gaming efficiency, nevertheless, I used to be perhaps hoping for a bit extra. Ayaneo has made loads out of its cooling and its mega 54W TDP limits, however it doesn’t matter what I am by no means getting industry-leading gaming efficiency out of the machine. Even in opposition to handhelds with the identical important core spec, such because the OneXPlayer 2 Professional, it is usually within the lead.
It is up there for certain, and optimising the sport settings will get you spectacular 1080p gaming efficiency—and really often satisfactory 1440p body charges—however by no means the outright greatest.
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The place it’s outright greatest, nevertheless is within the config software program. Ayaneo additionally has the very best software program for handheld PC management on the market, even in contrast with the deep integration Valve has between SteamOS and Deck. That means that you can tailor your expertise relying on what you are enjoying with a view to squeeze as a lot battery life out of the Kun as potential whereas nonetheless having fun with a wholesome body fee.
If I would like the complete energy of the AMD APU I can depart it at 30W and push the Radeon 780M graphics chip to its most, or if I am bounding across the Sword Coast by way of GeForce Now I can drop it all the way down to a measly 5W TDP and have the battery final for an age.
Although, if you would like the FULL energy of the AMD APU Ayaneo provides you that 54W mode… which I can not in all good conscience suggest. Not for the actual fact it hoses by means of your battery, or will get toasty doing it, however as a result of it does nothing. Effectively, nothing good. If there have been cases the place you bought one other 10% efficiency it might have been an ideal docked mode you would cope with when plugged into the wall, nevertheless it would not. Often I’ve seen a handful of frames per second additional for going balls to the wall by way of jamming energy into the Ryzen silicon, however most of the time by gaming benchmarks went backwards after I pushed it into what I would dubbed ‘Excessive’ mode within the AyaSpace app.
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My first impression of getting it out of the beautiful packaging was: “Wow.” My second was: “That D-pad is sticky and gross.”
I additionally discovered it left the machine in a reasonably fragile state, performance clever. I appeared to endure extra instability and flakiness after I was switching between the 54W mode and extra smart presets. Ultimately I’ve renamed it from ‘Excessive’ to ‘Unwise’ and possibly will not be utilizing it once more.
Which is a disgrace, as on the entire the machine itself is a pleasure to make use of and I hoped for some severe efficiency features. It feels nice within the hand—although messing round with my Steam Deck OLED once more just lately jogged my memory how nicely balanced Valve’s machine is—and its customary efficiency wonderful. It is a handheld that just about has the proper premium aesthetic. I really like the way in which it appears to be like… however there are particular issues that permit it down.
The obvious is the rattling D-pad. My first impression of getting it out of the beautiful packaging was: “Wow.” My second was: “That D-pad is sticky and gross.”
Purchase if…
✅ You desire a big-screen handheld: The Kun is large, however really fairly fantastically shaped. The 2560 x 1600 decision’s a bit a lot for the 780M iGPU, however the 8-inch scale is not and it is a delight to recreation on.
✅ You are after a handsome machine: I imply, c’mon, it is an actual looker. Particularly in that white with blue-fading-to-green highlights. Yum.
Do not buy if…
❌ You are anticipating perfection: At this worth, you kinda must be and there are annoying quicks which nonetheless niggle down the road.
❌ You have been anticipating that 54W mode to slay: It would not ship the additional efficiency I hoped would put it head and shoulders above the competitors in gaming phrases.
The truth is the D-pad is so sticky Ayaneo has needed to concern a repair due to “a producing defect within the gasket.” And that necessitates nearly totally stripping down your machine to get behind the D-pad to interchange the little rubber discs that sit beneath the precise rocker itself. Ayaneo is sending the repair out to anybody affected, which is nice, nevertheless it does take quite a lot of dismantling that I can see folks being uncomfortable about doing with their $1,300+ machine.
Although it does offer you have a look at its insides, and it appears to be like simply as premium from that angle, too. I simply want the D-pad wasn’t nonetheless so damned sticky even in spite of everything that fiddling round.
And, whereas the 2560 x 1600 display could be very vibrant there’s a sure lack of color to it, which has had me digging into the Radeon settings to spice up the saturation a bit to compensate. It is also only a 60Hz panel, which definitely helps with battery life, however not the premium aesthetic.
It is these little frustrations, and the flakiness seemingly inherent with the 54W mode, which implies I can not fairly give it the glowing suggestion as the final word premium handheld of in the present day I used to be anticipating after I first began enjoying with it. It is nonetheless an ideal machine, with completely the perfect Home windows software program of any handheld round, and it is one I’ll proceed utilizing. However Ayaneo is asking you to swallow a number of very persistent foibles together with its excessive price ticket, and I would like it to be excellent for that kind of cash.
