A modern, cheap Game Boy handheld?

We thought the AYANEO Pocket Vert (seen above) was one of the best handhelds for Game Boy emulation, owing to a familiar form factor and premium design. However, this device also had a steep price tag. Now, it looks like another Game Boy-style AYANEO handheld is on the way.

The images and user manual show a Game Boy-style handheld with a few differences compared to the Pocket Vert. For one, this seems to be made out of plastic instead of the Vert’s metal-and-glass combo. The previous handheld also offered an AYANEO function key between start and select, while the Pocket BLOCK has an AYANEO key below the screen, along with a menu button between start and select. Otherwise, we can also see a USB-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom.

The AYANEO Pocket BLOCK user guide reveals more details about the handheld’s design and various I/O options. It confirms a microSD card slot and two customizable buttons on the left (mapped to Xbox and Back buttons by default), power and volume keys on the right, and a pair of speakers on the bottom corners.

We were also able to corroborate the handheld’s existence via an FCC filing. This listing includes the aforementioned user guide along with both external and internal photos. And one of the internal photos confirms a battery with a rated capacity of 3,500mAh. That’s well below the Pocket Vert’s 6,000mAh capacity. An accompanying test report (see the fifth image) also mentions a 3,500mAh battery, 10W wired charging, and what could be Bluetooth 4.1.

In any event, the switch to a plastic design and a much smaller battery suggests that the AYANEO Pocket BLOCK could be a budget handheld. By contrast, the Pocket VERT has a $269 recommended price. Should we expect the Pocket BLOCK to cost less than $100? Well, the RAM crisis has caused a major spike in handheld prices, so you probably shouldn’t hold your breath. But our fingers are crossed for budget pricing nonetheless.