AYANEO has revealed early details of its upcoming gaming handheld, the AYANEO NEXT 2, during a recent livestream hosted by company founder Arthur Zhang. The device will feature AMD’s flagship Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (Strix Halo) processor, making it one of the most powerful portable gaming PCs in development.
The Strix Halo chip brings 16 Zen 5 CPU cores and an RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8060S GPU with 40 compute units, offering desktop-class performance in a handheld form factor. Unlike other manufacturers who have avoided the high-performance APU due to cost and thermal demands, AYANEO has decided to integrate it directly into the NEXT 2, skipping the more common Strix Point option.
A key highlight of the NEXT 2 is its dual-fan cooling system, which departs from the single-fan designs used in most handhelds. The larger PCB accommodates the cooling solution, alongside LPDDR5X RAM chips, M.2 SSD storage, and multiple connectivity ports. This approach is based on the company’s earlier R&D with the AI395 Mini PC, which helped resolve previous performance and thermal limitations.
The console will also adopt a built-in battery design, unlike GPD’s recently introduced WIN 5, providing more flexible usage. Render images suggest the NEXT 2 will be one of AYANEO’s largest handhelds, with a display size estimated at around 10 inches. While the design showcased is still a prototype, it gives an early look at the company’s direction for its next flagship device.
AYANEO has previously released several handheld models, including the Pocket, Flip DS, and NEXT, powered by earlier AMD Ryzen APUs. With the NEXT 2, the company is moving into a higher performance class, directly targeting enthusiasts who want uncompromised power in a portable form factor. Final details, including specifications and pricing, are expected closer to its planned release later this year.
Source: AYANEO
