AYANEO Next 2 Returns at $5300 — Is the Price Increase Worth It?

AYANEO has established a reputation for handhelds with good design and build quality, but a consistent criticism is that the price is high. The premiums of all of these models, the Pocket Micro, Pocket Micro Classic, Pocket Vert, and Pocket DMG, were well above the prices of similar equipment found elsewhere, and the new AYANEO Next 2 continues the trend to the extreme.

The Pocket DMG started at $450, the Pocket Vert at $270, and the Micro at $220. All of these were capable devices, but each had a unique design unlike any other handheld device at the time.

But that's just one question that was raised by the price tag: Will a device like the Micro be worth several times the price tag of a similar sub-$30 option from Anbernic? The erosion has been a challenge for many buyers comparing the hardware's performance.

Next 2 Launch and Its Setbacks

At the end of 2025, AYANEO Next 2 was revealed and became one of the most anticipated Strix Halo handhelds on the market. Unlike the majority of devices that came with Strix Halo chips, AYANEO chose to design AYANEO Next 2 around a fully integrated battery rather than an external pack, a choice most players avoided due to weight, power consumption, and cooling issues. 

Combined with its 9in screen, AYANEO Next 2 is one of the biggest hand-helds on the market, and it's certainly larger than previous netbook designs, but with much more power than those models. AYANEO's first price for the Next 2 was quite high but still accessible to enthusiasts. 

This all changed after the Chinese New Year in February, when AYANEO was unable to place any further orders due to a shortage of memory chips. If the manufacturing cost hadn't increased, they wouldn't have been able to continue, and rather than absorbing the cost, AYANEO halted sales entirely for several months.

The Return at a Higher Price

Next 2 came back, bringing back new pricing on all configurations. The basic model, which comes with 128GB of RAM and 2TB of storage, now retails for $5300, down from $4300. For comparison, that's more than the price of a used 2005 Honda Accord LX with less than 100,000 miles, which is now around $ 4,000, or enough to cover the cost of an Xbox Series X and games and accessories. 

Shortly after verification, the highest-capacity model was marked as sold out on AYANEO's website, while the 64GB variant remained available. The lower configuration makes it slightly less expensive. The 32GB model has 1TB of storage, while the 64GB model has extra storage, and both models start at $3000.

At these prices, AYANEO Next 2 remains the most expensive handheld available; however, competition from the Strix Halo devices is starting to level off.

Comparing the Alternatives

Next 2 is $5300, so it's a cost-competitive machine compared to a middle-range gaming PC, not a handheld. There are other options out there for those looking at that price point. Original versions of the OneXPlayer Apex have been on the market for about $1,300 and offer great value for their specifications. 

The new $1800 MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ now outspends AMD's Z2 Extreme chip, yet costs less than the priciest Next 2 requires. Both devices fall far short of AYANEO Next 2's memory ceiling; however, for most customers, that ceiling is much higher than the amount of memory a handheld session really needs.

The 128GB of RAM and 2TB of storage are more than what the current handheld market requires.

Cutting the lineup back to the 32GB and 64GB would have left AYANEO Next 2, at least fairly, within the realm of a "halo" product aimed at performance-conscious customers. The price of 128GB of DDR5 memory at $5300 is higher than anyone would reasonably expect, regardless of the hardware it's built on.

It's not clear if the best model will sell at this price. Pricing these devices so much above the standard means they are likely to sit unsold in warehouses for a long time before they are brought back in line with other products in the market. Until then, AYANEO Next 2 is one of the most pronounced examples of memory shortages affecting handheld gaming pricing into 2026.