'Continuing to sell this product is no longer sustainable': Ayaneo has suspended pre-orders of its uber-powerful Next 2 gaming handheld after costs approached 'twice the price we originally set'

The Ayaneo Next II handheld gaming PC floats in a void.
(Image credit: Ayaneo)

I can't have been the only one intrigued by the prospect of Ayaneo's Next 2 handheld, a Strix Halo-powered machine with a whopping 115 Wh battery, twin NVMe drives, a whole host of high-capacity memory configurations, and the sort of specs sheet that would make many gaming laptops tremble in their boots.

Well, the company has just announced it's temporarily suspending pre-orders of the device, as storage costs make it less than viable in the middle of the ongoing memory and storage supply crisis.

Ayaneo Next II handheld gaming PC board

(Image credit: Ayaneo)
A promotional image by SK Hynix, showing two 321-layer QLC NAND flash modules with a flash memory wafer in the background.

(Image credit: SK Hynix)

Whenever that is. Current estimates vary as to when this whole fiasco might eventually peter out, but it's looking like 2026 is a write-off, and likely 2027 as well.

DRAM manufacturers are scrambling to bring new facilities online to keep up with the AI server-based demand, but it takes a long time to gussy up an electronics supply chain, and I fully expect we won't see the end of highly-inflated memory and storage prices any time soon.

Cheery news all round, ey? On the plus side, Ayaneo's transparency here is refreshing, and it says that after-sales service support will not be affected. It seems to be about as well-handled as you could reasonably expect, but that doesn't stop it from being disappointing news for those of you looking for a handheld gaming PC with serious grunt.

Legion Go S SteamOS edition
Best handheld PC 2026

1. Best overall:
Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS

2. Best budget:
Steam Deck

3. Best Windows:
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

4. Best big screen:
Lenovo Legion Go

5. Best compact:
Ayaneo Flip DS


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