Ayaneo unveils the Next Lite, a budget-oriented handheld that comes pre-installed with SteamOS

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Marees

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Is this the budget handheld you’ve been waiting for?​


The big difference between this handheld, and every other one that Ayaneo has released before is the inclusion of SteamOS. This means that you won’t have to mess around in Windows to get things running, or have to configure everything with Windows taking up a huge amount of bloat. Every handheld outside of the Steam Deck, like the ROG Ally, Legion Go, and MSI Claw all use Windows, which can make the experience crippling for non-technically minded users.

The Ayaneo Next Lite was revealed on the company’s official website, where they state that the handheld will be “lowering the entry-barrier” for users, as well as promising to offer “outstanding cost-effectiveness”. However, the exact pricing for the new handheld has not been announced.

The handheld has been pictured in White, Black and Turquoise colorways. The company has not yet announced the APU that will be powering the Next Lite, though we suspect it may be an older AMD Ryzen chip, such as the 6800U. We could also see multiple configurations at launch. There’s no currently announced pricing, either. We’ll just have to wait until subscriptions open on January 11 at 9:30PM EST.

https://www.dexerto.com/tech/ayaneo...one-of-the-steam-decks-best-features-2468869/
 
Not sure how I missed this announcement, but great to see other handheld makers using SteamOS.
 
SeymourGore said:
Not sure how I missed this announcement, but great to see other handheld makers using SteamOS.
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Update 11/01/24 10:18 AM UTC - AYANEO replied to give a tiny bit more info on their Linux OS use:

The SteamOS pre-installed on NEXT LITE is adapted and optimized by AYANEO based on HoloISO. Users also can install Windows system by themselves after purchasing NEXT LITE, and download Windows driver from AYANEO official website.
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HoloISO is not actually SteamOS, but very close. So this is not in any way a partnership being done with Valve. HoloISO for those not aware can be found on GitHub and anyone can use it. I've asked if they can share what changes they've made.

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2024/01/ayaneo-next-lite-handheld-announced-with-steamos-linux/
 
We'll see if this actually manages to full-fill the point of these devices in the first place, but there doesn't appear to be any information at all about specs, pricing, or really anything.

(Well other than the size of the battery and that it has an 800p screen. But not even display type!)
Prince Valiant said:
Control layout looks horrible.
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It looks to be mimicking the Nintendo Switch, which is fairly popular.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
We'll see if this actually manages to full-fill the point of these devices in the first place, but there doesn't appear to be any information at all about specs, pricing, or really anything.

(Well other than the size of the battery and that it has an 800p screen. But not even display type!)

It looks to be mimicking the Nintendo Switch, which is fairly popular.
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It was vega graphics. I didn't post that because I was not sure if it would interest anyone !!
 
UnknownSouljer said:
We'll see if this actually manages to full-fill the point of these devices in the first place, but there doesn't appear to be any information at all about specs, pricing, or really anything.

(Well other than the size of the battery and that it has an 800p screen. But not even display type!)

It looks to be mimicking the Nintendo Switch, which is fairly popular.
Click to expand...

https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/10/24033161/ayaneo-next-lite-steam-deck-competitor-steamos

Ayaneo’s Next Lite is a $299 Steam Deck competitor with unofficial SteamOS​

It will run HoloISO, and have Windows drivers available.​


Ayaneo’s attempt to launch a bargain-price competitor to the Steam Deck has been confusing, to say the least, but the company has now published a product page that clears most things up. The Ayaneo Next Lite will cost $299, will not ship with an official build of SteamOS but rather an unofficial fork, and come with a four-year-old AMD processor that’s arguably less potent than the one in the original Steam Deck LCD.

Also, while the company’s initial blog post announcing its next handheld gaming PCsaid the device has SteamOS preinstalled, the company has since confirmed it won’t have official support for Valve’s Linux-based operating system. After this article was originally published, CEO Arthur Zhang told fans in Ayaneo’s official Discord that “it should be noted that we are using third-party SteamOS, not official SteamOS.”

As reported by GamingOnLinux and Handheld HQ, it will instead have a version of the HoloISO project, which its creator describes on GitHub as something that “attempts to bring the Steam Deck’s SteamOS Holo redistribution into a generic, installable format, and provide a close-to-official SteamOS experience.” Without official support from Valve, the prospects for this device running the software well seem much further from reality than the original blog post on Ayaneo’s site suggested.

Many of Ayaneo’s component choices do seem designed to rival the Steam Deck and hit a lower price point. The handheld similarly has a seven-inch 800p screen and a 15W AMD processor with 7nm Zen 2 cores — your choice of the AMD Ryzen 5 4500U or Ryzen 7 4800U. But both of those four-year-old processors contain Vega 8 graphics rather than the Steam Deck’s superior RDNA2 graphics.

It’s worth noting that we’ve already tested an Ayaneo Next handheld with a newer processor inside, the AMD Ryzen 7 5825U, and found it lost to the Steam Deck, sometimes by a decent margin, more than it won. Now, a system with a weaker chip will be going up against Valve’s remaining stock of $349 Steam Decks.

The Next Lite does contain a 47Wh battery, though — closer to that in the $549 Steam Deck OLED, though Ayaneo does not mention battery life. It also has Hall effect joysticks, a dual copper heat pipe cooling system, and 16GB of RAM.
The company is also advertising “vibrant colors” that include a good-looking seafoam green and “high-end craftsmanship.” It also has a port advantage with three USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, including ones on top and bottom of the system, and can fit full-length M.2 2280 NVMe solid state drives, which are generally more widely available in far larger capacities than the Steam Deck’s smaller ones.
 
Aaaand it'll not ship with holoiso after all.

As reported by gamingonlinux:

Originally announced as shipping with SteamOS, but then clarified later it would be HoloISO, which is a Linux distribution that's pretty close to SteamOS. AYANEO aren't entirely dropping it though, as they will still be offering HoloISO Linux (it's like SteamOS), but the device will now instead ship with Windows 11.
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Bunch of clowns.
 
It looks great on paper, but that does not look comfortable to hold for a long time. Maybe it's not an issue for kids with small hands.
 
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