What do you guys think about the AYANEO Geek and 2? Would you grab one of them? Let us know below! Check out the AYANEO Geek: lmg.gg/x8w5W Check out the AYANEO 2: lmg.gg/xyynn Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.
I think the geek having an 800p screen is the better option for gaming, the steam deck shows that 800p can look good at such a small size and it makes games easier to run, sure you could run the game at a lower res then the screen but not every game scales well
I don't like it personally but it's honestly not bad. My only concern is how much of people's headlights especially high beams will be reflected back at them in all directions around him at night.
12:00 I'm going to be honest, compared to the crazy image I had of how the car would look like when I heard "Dbrand" and "Car," this actually turned out pretty damn nicely. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to drive around with that color-scheme myself, but it looks pretty damn cool if you ask me. I fully expected Dbrand to have plastered the car in multiple silly images of Linus with pink background or something equally silly xD
Holy crap, that car wrap is incredible and probably my second favorite one next to when Burnie Burns of Rooster Teeth cel-shaded his Tesla! The Ayaneo 2 looks promising too but as of right now, I'm quite happy with my Steam Deck.
@Halo Mika Pick one up bro. I've been into the pc handhelds recently, but my vita sees a lot of use because it's so small and pocketable. I've got a silver 1000 model (only came with star cizen online in japan) and it's imo the most beautiful version of the vita. No visible fingerprints on the silver one. Being able to just whip it out for something quick and instantly pocket it it is awesome. In between Uber trips, while waiting in the airport, etc. I've ordered a gpd win 4 thinking it might be small enough to keep me from carrying both my vita and a pc handheld, but idk...the vita is just so good
The wrap actually looks kind of awesome! And there’s the added bonus, I guess, of protecting the paint itself from scratches until you get fed up with standing out so much 😂
Linus: Tries not to be over the top and flashy, does a great job at being humble considering overall status. D-Brand: LOOK AT ME IN THE CAR IM A DOUCHE
Would love to see this hooked up to an eGPU. Seen multiple videos on this saying it can do it but never did it. I have seen LTT reviewing eGPUs hook one up!
I’m sure some people would find use with having an eGPU, but as an avid user of a Steam Deck and a Switch… much of the point of having a handheld console is the freedom and comfort of being able to play it on a recliner or while laying in bed. Even if the eGPU was given to me for free, I would give up that +50% fps just for the freedom to not be wired to an external box.
@@trapical It’s not like you would be forced to use it with an eGPU 100% of the time. Some games are just too demanding, and some of us would love to replace our desktops with a handheld. Love my Steam Deck, but I wish I could run an eGPU with it so I could finally get rid of my aging gaming PC
@@trapical the egpu would only be used docked, so you could do stuff like play games on the move and then dock it to a 4K TV and play 4K games at 60fps.
Nice devices, but there is ONE THING all of them, besides the Steam Deck, get wrong. On a handheld, contrast to a controller (big fan of the XBOX controller layout), both analog sticks need to be on the top edge. The Nintendo Switch got it wrong and now almost everybody is copying it. My right thumb is still not mounted to my wrist, no matter how hard they try to sell me that layout...
In a handheld form factor, 1200P just seems excessive. I already find myself pulling my Steam Deck close enough to my face to be uncomfortable, so I don't need even smaller UI and text elements (some games, you can't set scaling). Plus, better performance and battery life without scaling issues running 800P on a 1200P screen. I think I'd go for the Geek, honestly. Also, that wrap is awesome. Yes, it's eye-catching, but at least they didn't do the whole thing in wide Linus or anything.
Ayaneo still have the same problems with these models that they've always had: the price, running Windows (a truly horrible OS for handhelds), the fact that they'll obsolete these with new models in 6-12 months and the support/community (they're produced in the thousands, not millions, so will always be a niche within a niche). Going their own way with a Linux-based OS is just bizarre - not only have they failed to launch it with these models, but SteamOS 3 is out there already and running really well. Some co-development with Valve to support the models and they'd have been able to ship these with Linux instead, which would have made them a lot more attractive.
Soundtap is great for some SNES games and older games. Depends on how much bass is in the soundtrack. The sound and feel of snapping a ribbon at the end of a stage in Super Mario World is incredible with SoundTap. Also helps the immersion of Hi Fi Rush, in my opinion. SoundTap is a great idea that needs more refinement.
If that's the thing like what's in that one weird Tetris game then I definitely turned it off having it vibrate to the beat of the music was really weird and uncomfortable. Although I will admit I was using a steam controller which is very strange and and of itself. Edit: It's called Tetris effect and playing it on the steam deck was better. Still preferred to turn it off however.
@@bland9876 The SoundTap is more subtle than that. The frequency response range is pretty low, so unless a game is really intentionally super bass heavy it usually isn't too distracting. There are some situations where SoundTap is awful. The Gameboy Advance startup sound is horrendous to hear and feel with SoundTap on. SoundTap is such a perfect application of the "HD-Rumble" motors. It really needs a "whitelist" of sound-effects to make it more reliable and immersive.
I've always wondered what the psychological reason is when you can't decide between two things and you ask someone and they give you an answer you immediately go I want the other one.
I considered the geek, but eventually ordered a GPD Win 4. Deciding factor was the size. Win 4 has the same cpu, but it’s much smaller and still good thermals. I wish the Win 4 had Hall joysticks. GPD is going to sell them as an upgrade, but they should be default like Aya is doing for a device in this price range.
you know from far away the Dbrand wrap just looks like my favorite shade of purple, so i approve... making the trunk a mate black accent would work really well
They recently promoted Dennis to basically be in charge of all ad spots as of a couple weeks ago iirc, and yes he already deserves a raise, can’t wait to see where he takes the ads next, already not skipping ads and I hate ads.
I like how the Geek's faulty equipment was blamed on being a pre-production unit.. Any of us who know anything about Ayaneo knows that's definitely not the case XD. Faulty units left and right this time around lol.
You answered before me 😂!! Indeed this kind of "messup" resumes why I will NEVER buy such a product: their lack of solid assistance/reliabilty make them really tricky to pick up, at this price it kind of sucks but small companies like this can't have the support of super corporations like valve... Btw when aya take days or weeks to answering a simple question (if they respond), with sometimes the wrong answer because of bad translation, I honestly can't trust in these devices... I know some guys who paid for previous models and yet never get it , when in the meantime aya released 10 new models...kind of crazy (a not serious) stuff 😅
I replaced my Deck with an Aya Neo 2, it is great and better than Deck overall, but being mainstream Linus didn't mention that battery life is overall worse than Deck despite being bigger. Aya 2 draws more power than Deck while in idle since it has more premium components, also the 6800U is great but only from 15W and above, at any lower TDP it gets outperformed by Deck, so you need to use a higher TDP meaning less battery life. So be aware, you get better performance compared to Deck but also less battery life, which is not that great on Deck already
absolutely ayaneo's biggest competitor is not the steam deck but themselves, can't wait till 3 months later aya neo announces ayaneo 3 with the new phoenix range apus (rdna 3+ zen 4) with 50% more performance 100% more battery life and oled screen and somehow 80% of the cost of aya neo 2
the answer is yes, the battery life and performance gains are noticeable, and someone who's actually reviewed both actually recommends the geek for most people if they were interested
Thank you Linus for the "Bezeless" display. Also I was going to get an Aya Neo 2 for it's repair-ability but decided against it since I knew it wasn't what I wanted which is the GPD Win4. I need that keyboard!
Would DEFO get the low res version, if you twisted my arm to get one of these, it just makes sense at that size and would allow nice crispy visuals, at native res, without stressing the apu too hard.
@@stapuft maybe not those exact colors, but I've had plenty of it over the years from friends and extended family. Personally I just go for the super cheap dollar store stuff. But it really does look like gift wrap to me. 😆
@@volvo09 it looks kinda like a car i designed in forza horizon, or need for speed, my go-to is a metallic midnight purple to either sunset red, or to "joker" green, and that wrap looks kinda like an odd mix of the two, depending on how the light hits it, because of its rainbow effect thing it has going on. id personally go a bit darker on the purple, but thats just me.
@@kylenelson944 1280x800 running on 1920x1200 looks much worse than native 1280x800, and I assume the 1200p costs extra, and there is no point in spending extra if you're going to run it at 800p anyway.
@@rzul it really doesn't look "much worse", at the pixel densities we are talking about here its not that bad. It does cost a little extra sure, but the point I was making, is that there are tons of games you can run on the lowest tdp, even at 1200p that are locked at 60, and they are going to look just a bit nicer and crisper at 1200 than 800. Also any sort of video playback is going to look substantially nicer. In those cases having the 800p screen isn't getting you any extra frames, and is all downsides, other than saving 100$ which also gives you half the size ssd. Throw in the fact that the 1200p panel is extremely vibrant and bright, and there's been no reviews of the 800p to show off if it is nearly as colorful, thats not a downgrade thats worth it to me just for the ability to run some games faster at 800p and have it be native.
@@nxadventures9510 quite on the contrary, I have yet to run into a game that doesn't run. Some games ever run better because they are not plagued by Windows issues (like Prototype 2)
Two comments (oddly enough, about the sponsor segway). 1) The car and wrap is gorgeous 2) Linus is past that point in life where you want flash and to draw attention to yourself. I used to drive a Camaro wrapped in Avery Rolling Thunder (color shifting vinyl wrap) - I loved it, and so did everyone else.... at least, everyone under the age of 30. When I turned 35 two years ago, I decided to go with a Genesis G90 and trade in the Camaro. Linus should take solace that even on its worst day, a Porsche Taycan is going to be stunning.
I want to see the 6800u on a mini itx motherboard. Maybe some overseas motherboard manufacturer will eventually make one? Also we should see if we can get frore systems to get one of their cooling chips on a handheld
@@kylenelson944 The OS on the Deck is more intuitive, and I personally am rather a fan of the backbuttons. Moreover, although the Ayaneo has a better screen and more battery life, the extra performance itself is not something I necessarily utilize with the types of games I play, so it does not make it worth the price difference for me.
@@traestephen7276 I'll give you the controls, though the main thing being the track pads and I've seen very few instances of people actually using them. Valve support is definitely nice to have, but certainly not a deal breaker. Not sure what you mean by OS customization, it runs windows and has support for linux. It also has better windows support than the steam deck, not sure how that makes it less customizable.
There's this one thing that these reviewers always "forget" to tell you is that Aya churns out these HandHelds every couple of months, meaning their support for spare parts might be non existent, if something breaks you might not be able to buy parts from them, also we haven't even seen the teardown of these devices so who knows how repairable they are. I'd recommend sticking to Steam Deck because portable things do tend to break faster than normal devices. This was like the fifth time I'm writing this comment.
as some people are saying, the 800p screen in the geek is the way to go. for 7 inch its more than enough pixels and half the pixelcount to push from the gpu than the 1200p screen. better performance or battery life with the 800p screen.
@@IronBanana I'm not even comparing this to the Steam Deck, that's a whole other conversation. I'm just saying 1,000 bucks is just a lot for the "cheap" model
My aya has been fine and a beast, makes my steam deck collect dust. It’s funny when reviewers just handle these all lose, tossing em around, pushing buttons without reading, spamming buttons to make it seem like it has more issues that it does.. The deck acts similar when handling it like that but y’all don’t. Aya has been a beast, plays whatever I throw at it, higher resolution, looks better, feels better.. so of course it’ll cost more.
I've seen people in the comments already talking about the next version being so much better. It's a problem when you are releasing so many versions because now the shelf life of your lineup is quickly being cut down.
While I’m glad that the gyroscope functionalities are improved here, I wish these handheld PCs would incorporate OLED displays. Hopefully the Switch 2 (whenever it drops) keeps the Switch OLED’s…well……OLED display. This comment was originally made by Neoxon. If anyone else posted this, they’re a bot.
I have a son with cerebral palsy. He wants this console like crazy. No sales in Turkey. I found him a steam deck and bought him. Now a little happier, but still the child says that Aya Neo 2 is playing much better games. I hope one day someone brings it and I buy it.
As always, Aya's products are gorgeous, really well specced and surprisingly high performing but I could never justify the kinds of prices they charge. Heck, even a Steam Deck is too expensive for me when I've already got a very powerful PC. That said, after getting a cheap phone mount controller (Gamesir X2, like a Kishi but cheaper) I'm definitely a convert to the Android handheld systems, even though mine is just a phone. I use it mainly for emulation, primarily for the DS and 3DS, but I use it a lot for Steam Link streaming. We don't really have cloud gaming in my country (I think Xbox's one is maybe coming in beta in a few months, that's it) and I don't really have a need for gaming outside my house so streaming from my PC with a 3080 to my phone is amazing. I can happily run Elden Ring at 100+fps on a device as small or smaller than these at a fraction of the cost. What I'm saying, really, is I'd love some reviews of similar Kishi-like devices and even full Android systems with proper SOCs in them
unless you're a performance enthusiast, I just don't see most people buying this lol. Like the steam deck just has better support and it's a third of the price. It's good there's sort of competition against the steam deck, but I wonder how many people will realistically buy the ayaneo 2.
I bought one and I love it. The steam deck can run windows 11 but it’s a work around and it can be glitchy. The ayaneos come with windows 11 installed and the experience is clean. Steam deck still has issues running some games while the ayaneo is closer to a handheld pc, that can handle more. The design is beautiful, game play is great. My only complaint is my unit can get pretty hot.
I came from the steam deck to the ayaneo 2. The only thing i missed from the steam deck is the speakers and the battery life. I needed windows because I can install other game hubs besides steam store. Also some games that I play requires a anti cheat app that it needs to install and to be able run it. Sure you can mod the steam deck to do exactly that with windows, but with companies like Ayaneo to make its native controller function to work with windows and in game automatically is a god send. Don't have to deal with so much configurations, especially when I have to somehow factory reset the thing.
@@reiki2165 I downloaded a driver to help with the speakers and they are so much louder now than right out of the box. Idk if you’ve done that yet but might be worth a shot if not
If it's possible to this "AB /XY button position swap" thing, is it possible to make/invent little displays on those buttons to show the new layout? Is there such a thing on the market?
how much do you want to bet that is the same screen in both and the single piece of glass just covers the black borders that were exposed on the first one lol. Definitely a cleaner look but 100% a clever way to pitch borderless when you just cover the borders lol
They literally tell you it is the same screen ir you can get a worse 800p screen...they are not trying to trick anyone you just pay more for borderless
for anyone wondering about steam deck analogues, hmm... yes they are analogue but also factory default has the dead zone set to about .. I forget..emm, at some point I think that valves idea was to have each deck calibrated, and then at some other point they thought that it is just something that the user will do in setup ?... and then, at the end of the day they gave up trying to decide which would be best and set the default deadzone to like 10x the actual analogue sticks real dead zones without drift or anything hehe.... literally in one of linus's vids to show how great haul effec upgrades were, emm... he had to use the same setting and reduce the deadzone to pretty much exactly what the real deadzones are. I mean seriously, if you want an instant steam deck upgrade without spending any money or doing anything, go to your settings and actually define your deadzones... lol... it is seriously something that should have been in the manual or installation process but they forgot.
to calibrate them in the dead zone settings just move them both and lower the dead zone so that even with big or tiny movements they return to being white, not red.. hehe... that is all... the zones honestly are tiny, though it is pretty much luck and manufacturing defects that determines that ;)
There are not many must watch youtube videos. Every LTT video is a must watch every day. That's a given. Then you have your MKBHD videos - must watch of course. But, as far as a type of video by a certain creator, any foldable device reviewed by Michael Fisher (aka Mr. Mobile) is an absolute must watch due to his enthusiasm for that type of device. You just can't fake that. The second such must watch is a video on a new handheld gaming device from Linus. Same thing -- his enthusiasm for the segment bleeds through the video. It's just awesome to see.
Resolution seems excessive for that size screen. Personally I'd say 900p would be the better median between pixels, battery and ease of running games at higher fps
Tragically the main batch of these sent to Australian retailers seem to have an extraordinarily high failure rate, wouldn't recommend buying one down under, at least for now. A shame I really wanted one. Edit: The Ayaneo 2 that is
The wrap is AMAZING and if you disagree, consider: sell or auction your car off as-wrapped for charity and go get a new one. That car is DOPE and if you don’t love it, that’s OK. But DO NOT have the wrap removed.
Currently Ayaneo only has the 6800u version of the Geek on the store, but the spec says there will be a 6600u version. I'd like to see an Ayaneo Geek with a 6600u, 800p display, and 256 ssd for USD$700. Still more expensive than the top model of the Steam Deck but will certainly outperform it.
The idea of the glass going all the way across the console is cool and all. I love the idea of the no bevel screen. However I'd be SO paranoid about dropping that thing. Replacing the screen on something is already a nightmare in cost if you don't want to do it and a nightmare in process if you want to pay someone to do it. I can't imagine dropping that and cracking it and the crap in the screen going from one side of the console to the other.
1:11 (PC gamer here) I’d argue that Nintendo’s Switch would/should be the most famous since it was the first of this type of console/handheld hybrid to make the mainstream. I hope Linus keeps the wrap, but gets the lock fixed. Maybe by getting that part cut out professionally?
Imagine showing up to school with this not only is it a gaming Beast it can also be used as a personal workstation computer a hundred times better than the Chromebooks that they send you
