Tag: LCD
Aya Neo Pro Review: This Switch-Like Handheld Gaming PC Is Superb
Not that long ago, quality PC gaming setups were confined to bulky desktop setups. Even early gaming laptops looked more like battle stations than sleek machines. Needless to say, the landscape has changed significantly in recent years, and now we're even seeing an influx of handheld gaming PCs. Perhaps influenced by the enormous success of the Nintendo Switch as a hybrid console, more and more companies are attempting to garner an audience for portable, palm-sized gaming PCs. While most people are probably aware of the upcoming Steam Deck, there are others that hit the market before Valve's handheld, including the impressive and surprisingly powerful Aya Neo.
Successfully crowdfunded via Indiegogo, the Aya Neo released last summer, but the studio behind it quickly began work on a redesign with better materials. The result is the Aya Neo 2021 and Aya Neo Pro, both of which released late last year. We got our hands on both models and have been testing them for about a month. With a premium build quality and tremendous performance for its size, the Aya Neo is a remarkable handheld PC. Though the Aya Neo is quite pricey--models range from $925 to north of $1,300--it can be thought of as an alternative to a mid-tier gaming laptop with the added bonus of being fully portable. It's too early to say if the Aya Neo is better than the still-unreleased Steam Deck (which is significantly less expensive), but it's an extremely solid piece of tech that is definitely worth considering if you're in the market for this sort of gaming machine.
Note: Since performance is similar across both devices, the rest of this review applies to both models except when otherwise stated.
What's in the shell?
The amount of power crammed inside of the Aya Neo's relatively sleek shell is pretty astounding. The Aya Neo Pro is fitted with an AMD Ryzen 7 4800U processor (Ryzen 5 4500U in the base model) and integrated AMD Radeon Graphics. These are mid-tier mobile processors with low power consumption. The processor and integrated graphics are complemented by 16GB of DDR4X RAM--more than enough for modern PC games--and a 1TB NVMe SSD (the base model also comes in 512GB). The Aya Neo has a gorgeous 7-inch LCD IPS screen that displays at 1200 x 800 resolution with 215 pixels per inch.
Overall, the specs of the Aya Neo are similar to the Steam Deck, with the Aya Neo offering a better CPU (on paper) and the Steam Deck boasting a better GPU. As a direct comparison, the 512GB Aya Neo costs $275 more than the highest tier Steam Deck with the same amount of storage space.
That said, the Aya Neo can be used as more than just a gaming machine. While the Steam Deck will use a proprietary Linux-based OS, the Aya Neo is a Windows PC. That means you can connect it to a monitor, sync up or connect a keyboard and mouse, and use it as a machine for everyday productivity, too. Yes, most people who are buying a handheld gaming PC are using it primarily for gaming, but you can also use the Aya Neo for your other computing needs as well. It is true that you'll be able to run other operating systems, including Windows, on the Steam Deck, but it's too early to say how the Steam Deck will behave when not using its default OS.
A Switch-like design
The first time I saw the Aya Neo, I instantly thought of the Nintendo Switch. No, it doesn't have detachable controllers, but it retains the general shape that was popularized by the Switch. The Aya Neo uses nearly identical low-profile thumbsticks and has the same offset layout, with the left thumbstick above the D-pad and the right stick below the face buttons. Thankfully, it has a conventional directional pad that feels great to use for old-school side-scrollers. Meanwhile, the face buttons (A/B/X/Y) are laid out like the Xbox controller, which makes a ton of sense considering the Aya Neo can essentially function as a portable Game Pass machine that is capable of offline play for supported games. The triggers have a nice ergonomic design which makes them feel like a natural resting spot for your index fingers. The shoulder buttons are a tad thicker than the ones on the Switch Joy-Cons.
As a PC, the Aya Neo also has a number of other menu and settings buttons. Four buttons are located on each side. The buttons on the left side are game-focused, including Start, Select, and a nifty button that pulls up the Xbox Game Bar. The buttons on the right are PC task-focused: Windows Home, Escape, Task Manager, and an on-screen keyboard prompt.
The Aya Neo also has three USB-C ports, which can be used for charging, connecting USB peripherals with the help of the included adapters, and accessing external storage devices. Stereo speakers that pack a surprising punch are located on the bottom of the handheld, but the 3.5mm headphone jack is on top next to the volume buttons. I'm in the camp that all headphone jacks should be on the bottom of handhelds, but it's not really a problem here since the Aya Neo can connect to headphones via Bluetooth or 2.4Ghz adapters.
If you're used to holding the Nintendo Switch, the Aya Neo--and other PC handhelds--will feel quite heavy at first. At roughly 650 grams (1.4 pounds), the Aya Neo is approximately 50% heavier than the recently released Nintendo Switch OLED. It's also thicker, as you would expect, due to the need of proper ventilation through the backside and top fans. That said, at 10.4 x 4.17 x 0.79 inches, the Aya Neo is certainly compact when you consider the components inside. After dozens of hours of testing, I've never felt like the Aya Neo was straining or uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time.
Not only does it look great and feel good to play, the Aya Neo has an incredibly impressive build quality. Of course I can't speak for the longevity of the internal components, but the buttons, sticks, D-pad, and shell have a premium feel to them. The hard plastic shell in particular is top-notch when it comes to design. I've never held a handheld gaming device that felt as sturdy and smooth as the Aya Neo. It may sound silly, but whereas most handhelds--including the Nintendo Switch--feel like toys (they are toys), the Aya Neo feels like a piece of high-end tech that's meant for the office. The Aya Neo is available in white, black, or a retro-themed color scheme.
Performance
A truckload of tech and a fancy-looking design don't matter if the performance doesn't meet expectations, though. Thankfully, the Aya Neo was capable of handling a wide variety of games that I threw at it. It actually surprised me in some instances. With some tinkering in the settings, the Aya Neo ran Microsoft's two biggest holiday exclusives, Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5. In Forza's case, I was able to average around 60fps with mostly medium settings. Meanwhile, Halo Infinite ran closer to 30fps, but it was still very playable.
Just like any PC, performance varied on a game-by-game basis, but many of the ones I tried were capable of running at 40-50fps or higher, including Doom Eternal, Psychonauts 2, Grand Theft Auto V, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, The Forgotten City, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Older AAA games like Rage 2, The Witcher 3, Prey, and the Tomb Raider trilogy, among others, all ran great, too. A lot of these games defaulted to "high" settings, though getting the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate required some adjustments to the settings. I wound up locking in at around 30-40fps to get the best visual performance possible for a lot of games.
Other games, such as the aforementioned Halo Infinite, ran at settings that I was personally fine with but might bother some enthusiast PC gamers. Hardware-intensive titles such as Control and Red Dead Redemption 2 were only capable of roughly 30fps with low settings. If you're used to gaming on powerful rigs or modern consoles, the performance drop will be quite noticeable.
Despite the Aya Neo's impressive performance for many games, I don't really view it as a replacement for a PC rig, high-end gaming laptop, or modern console. While it gets the job done for a lot of AAA games, as future blockbuster releases continue to get more graphically intensive, what's under the hood here won't keep up. That's not a knock on the Aya Neo, though, as I imagine the same will be true for the Steam Deck and other handheld gaming PCs. That said, you can also use the Aya Neo as a cloud streaming device with services like Xbox Cloud Gaming, Stadia, and GeForce Now. Xbox Cloud Gaming worked wonderfully on the Aya Neo.
Considering that the vast majority of indie games release on PC in addition to various consoles, the Aya Neo could be used as an indie and Game Pass machine. The options here are nearly endless, and with PC games often costing less and on sale more often, you can get a lot of bang for your buck. Not to mention the free games that the Epic Games Store gives out every week, Amazon Prime monthly free games, and the massive PC Game Pass library. Essentially, even if you aren't an avid PC gamer, you can create a relatively huge library of games without spending a lot of money.
One of my main concerns with Aya Neo before I tried it was heat and fan noise. Surprisingly, it runs quietly, even when it's obvious the fans are working overtime to cool down the system. The top of the console and center of the back panel do tend to get a tad hot (not to the point it hurts) when the fans are really running, but the Aya Neo's premium shell does keep the spots where your hands naturally rest at a normal temperature.
Tiny PC woes
The practicality of the Aya Neo--and other handheld PCs--as a portable device is certainly debatable. The Aya Neo Pro is advertised to offer five to six hours of battery life. That's a pretty decent figure as far as modern handheld gaming devices go, but while playing graphically intensive games I found that number to be cut in half. So if you do plan on taking the Aya Neo on the go, you'll want to grab a suitable portable battery pack.
There's also the Windows desktop problem. Windows for desktops wasn't designed with handheld gaming machines in mind, and it really shows when navigating the operating system on a 7-inch touchscreen. Using the Aya Neo as a mobile Windows PC isn't ideal without additional peripherals. While the touchscreen is responsive, messing around with tiny task bars and file options isn't all that intuitive and can be a pain.
The manufacturer designed a proprietary program called Aya Space that collects your games and apps in a user-friendly style that makes it much easier to use the Aya Neo when swapping between games. Steam's Big Picture mode is also great on the Aya Neo, so I wound up launching that every time when booting the handheld to give it a console UI feel.
Which model is right for you?
As mentioned, there are currently two different models of the Aya Neo available now: the 2021 and the Pro. The 2021 is available in 512GB or 1TB editions, while the Pro is available in only 1TB. I tested both versions for this review, and I found that the difference was negligible for gaming. The Pro is a tad faster when it comes to loading and navigation, but in-game performance was about the same. So you'd have to decide if the additional speed is worth the price bump. The 2021 model is probably the best value at this time considering that the most powerful version of the Aya Neo isn't actually out yet.
The company just announced a fresh lineup dubbed Next. The Aya Neo Next has an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor, a Radeon Vega 8 GPU, and comes with up to 32GB of RAM. Multiple versions of the Next (standard, Advance, and Pro) will be available to order via crowdfunding starting in February. Prices will range between $1,265 and close to $1,500 for the top-tier model at launch.
So, if you're interested in any model of the Aya Neo, I th ink the smart move is to either purchase the Aya Neo 2021 for the value or wait for one of the Next models if you're looking for the best performance. After all, the Next's base model is very close in price to the Pro.
Also, if you're looking to up the Switch-like factor, you can grab an official Aya Neo dock to connect the handheld to your monitor or TV. We didn't have the chance to test the dock for review, but you can simply use a USB-C to HDMI cable to play your games on a monitor or TV. I mostly used a monitor (with peripherals) when navigating the operating system, but I found performance to be solid for gaming on both my 1080p 60Hz monitor and 4K OLED TV.
Specifications
| Aya Neo 2021 | Aya Neo Pro | Aya Neo Next | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U | AMD Ryzen 7 4800U | AMD Ryzen 7 5800U |
| GPU | Radeon Vega 6 | Radeon Vega 6 | Radeon Vega 8 |
| RAM | 16GB | 16GB | Up to 32GB |
| Storage | 512GB or 1TB | 1TB | 1TB or 2TB |
| Resolution | 1280 x 800 | 1280 x 800 | 1280 x 800 |
| Display | 7-inch IPS touchscreen | 7-inch IPS touchscreen | 7-inch IPS touchscreen |
| Battery life | 3-6 hours | 3-6 hours | N/A |
| Ports | USB-C x3 | USB-C x3 | USB-C x3 |
| Dimensions | 10.4 x 4.17 x 0.79 inches | 10.4 x 4.17 x 0.79 inches | N/A |
| Weight | 648 grams | 648 grams | N/A |
| Price | Starting at $925 | Staring at $1,215 | Starting at $1,265 |
The bottom line
The Aya Neo is a well-designed handheld PC that offers solid performance and versatility thanks to its use of Windows. With a premium build quality, a gorgeous 7-inch IPS display, and great sticks/buttons, the Aya Neo is an excellent option for those who are interested in taking the plunge into handheld PC gaming. The ability to use it as a traditional PC with peripherals attached is a major bonus here. It's definitely on the pricier side, especially when you compare it to the Steam Deck, but there's no denying that it achieves what it set out to do.
Steven Petite tested the Aya Neo and Aya Neo Pro for upwards of 100 hours over the course of a month. Sample units were provided for the purpose of this review.
You don’t need a tiny monitor for your RAM, but Thermaltake will sell you one anyway
Look, I'm a self-admitted addict of screen real estate. There are three monitors and three mobile screens in front of me now, all on, with a combined pixel count of around 18.5 million. But even I struggle to see the point of filling the inside of a desktop PC case with tiny screens and animations. You've got the monitor right there! Surely any relevant information you need would be better displayed on something you don't have to squint at through tempered glass and power supply rails.
But I digress. The Thermaltake Pacific R2 Ultra is a tiny 3.9-inch monitor that sits on top of the RAM slots on your motherboard. For some reason. It's been announced at CES 2022.
Thermaltake
This isn't actually a screen specifically for your memory, it just happens to be resting on top of it, as apparently any open space inside an ATX case must now be dedicated to The Bling. It's not powered by the electricity going to your RAM, rather it gets both power and data via a MicroUSB cable, notably absent from any of the press images of the contraption shown thus far. As noted by HotHardware, the Pacific R2 Ultra is actually a more crude, less functional version of an existing product, the Pacific A2 Ultra, which also works as a water block for overclocked memory in custom liquid cooling loops.
What can you do with that tiny 480×120 screen? According to Thermaltake's promotional materials, you can use it to display the temperatures of various PC components, show off the operating frequency of your CPU or GPU cores, all via the RGB Plus 2.0 software. Alternately, you can load up any custom artwork or animation. May I suggest a looping GIF of some classic Simpsons bit? It would certainly be more tasteful than an anime pinup, which seems to be one of the recommended uses on the Thermaltake website.
The Pacific R2 Ultra can be fitted on top of DDR3, DDR4, or DDR5 memory, and it should fit into any case that will accommodate its 71mm total height. Naturally, you'll want to combine it with a case that has a window. The R2 Ultra doesn't have an official US price at the moment, but it's listed for €115 on Thermaltake's EU store (about $130). If you want the included heat spreader and water block of the A2 Ultra, it'll cost you $185. Combine it with the Pacific MX2 CPU water block ($175), which features a circular LCD screen, for maximum Bling potential.
CES 2022: The biggest news of the show
The 2022 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show has formally kicked off in Las Vegas, Nevada. While attendance numbers are dramatically low this year due to the ongoing pandemic, companies are still showing their stunning new gadgetry with the typical pomp and pageantry that’s associated with such an event. Of course, this includes various new hot pieces of tech for gaming.
We’ve been covering the event high and low, so here’s a collection of all the news beats from CES 2022 right here in one handy hub. This list will continually be updated as more info is rolled out.
CES 2022: The biggest news we covered Nvidia unveils GeForce RTX 3090 Ti and RTX 3050 graphics cards at CES 2022 — Following the turmoil of stock shortages for the last two years, Nvidia continues to make the world of PC building a bit more exciting with the launch of two new 30-Series cards, one of which packing a lot of power for a surprisingly small price.
Full Intel 12th gen mobile and d... TCL takes ‘cautious’ first steps into smartphone space
Addressing delegates at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, TCL unveiled its first self-branded smartphone, whilst further revealing that it had concrete plans to also produce foldable electronics and 5G phones. TCL has years of experience producing consumer electronics under the BlackBerry and HP Palm brands, but this announcement marked its first serious step into the global smartphone market.
According to Stefan Streit, TCL global marketing manager, the maturation of the IoT – a world in which connected devices are constantly exchanging data – marks a good time for the company to bring something new to the market. He believes that hardware innovation in the smartphone market has stalled in the past decade and TCL can bring “more than another Chinese smartphone” through the introduction of entirely new form factors and features. He acknowledges that this will not happen overnight; rather, it is part of a “very long-term strategy” for the company.
TCL
Image credit: TCL
The first step in this strategy is the launch of the Plex smartphone, which boasts a large, high-performance LCD display and retails for €329. Jason Gerdon, TCL’s head of global communications and strategy, says that this budget-friendly price point was made possible thanks to years of affordable manufacturing experience, vertical integration in the TCL consumer group and selectivity in deciding which features to optimise. TCL chose to focus on catering to the increasing consumption and generation of media on smartphones, beefing up the display (powered by its own dedicated chipset) and camera set.
“The smartphone market is really, really saturated and if you try to build a one-size-fits-all phone, the reality is that’s not really practical anymore,” said Gerdon. “I liken a smartphone now to a car: everyone has their own tastes, everyone has different budgets, everyone has different needs, so for us it's about looking at how we can take what we’re experts in and finding that bit of the market that we can address.”
TCL acknowledges that it does not have a sufficiently strong reputation at this point to shift top-range smartphones: “Prices at the thousand-dollar range are brand-related and not our territory”. The first iteration of the Plex – already available in some markets – will not be launched in the UK, with TCL claiming to be unconcerned about selling a large number of handsets. The Plex instead marks the starting point for a portfolio of devices to be rolled out over the coming years. “It’s very important for us that this is a long-term strategy and this is bigger than just a smartphone; this is an entire TCL ecosystem coming to the market,” Streit added.
At next year’s major consumer tech events, TCL are expected to reveal a design for their foldable smartphone, having previously revealed a prototype at IFA (slightly chunky, wide-rimmed and proportioned like a miniature laptop or old-school Nintendo DS). Gerdon believes that despite seeing a “flash in the pan” surrounding foldable electronics in early 2019, the area remains a ‘Wild West’ with almost any form factor being possible. He commented how ensuring that the software running on these devices responds in a meaningful way to folding and bending is just as important as nailing the novel hardware; for example, how should Android respond when you wrap a flexible screen around your wrist?
“If you don’t have a good [software] solution there it doesn’t matter how good the hardware experience is, the user will be disappointed because they feel like this isn’t smart any more. This is a thing where we feel like it takes time and we accept the challenge,” Streit said. TCL confirmed that it is has been working with other parties to experiment with software to suit more unusual foldable electronics, with the possibility of future flexible displays worn on the wrist and multi-hinge devices. The company hopes that these devices could be sold for “much less” than the $2,000+ price point emerging as standard for a foldable phone.
In addition to foldable devices, TCL is in the relatively advanced stages of developing a ‘wearable display’ which conjures up the appearance of a large, bright cinema-style screen held before the eyes without blocking out peripheral vision, allowing for a private yet not totally isolated viewing experience. Streit confirmed that the device had generated interest from the porn industry, inevitably, in addition to other potential business partners in such sectors as fashion and design. Under TCL’s “cautious” approach to rolling out this portfolio of devices and building a reputation as a reliable brand, however, it could be years until this type of display is available to consumers.
“We couldn’t care less about the marketing message of saying ‘We’re first!’. If you’re first to market but the product fails, then what have you achieved?” Gerdon said, diplomatically neglecting to name any competitors perhaps guilty of this.
Latest Intelligence
