AYANEO has made a sharp return to high design with the public reveal of its Pocket VERT, a vertical handheld that echoes classic Game Boy proportions but brings premium materials and couture-level finishing to bear.
The company had teased this device earlier in the year; this is our first proper look at a CNC-machined body, polished shoulder hardware, and a pixel-purist of a display that looks more like an editor’s desk piece than a casual toy.
Key specs are under wraps, such as the chip powering this emulation box and its price point, but the position from AYANEO is crystal clear: this isn’t a budget emulator box — it’s a luxury toy for retro gaming collectors.
The star of the show is a 3.5-inch LCD screen clocked at 1600 x 1440, offering a 10x integer scale in comparison with the original Game Boy’s display of 160 x 144 — the same resolution found on the beloved panel in Analogue Pocket.
Design goes couture with premium materials and finish
The Pocket VERT is very much a craftsmanship-first device. There’s a CNC-machined chassis that implies metal construction to tighter tolerances than most plastic shells, and “diamond-cut” shoulder buttons with beveled, high-gloss edges of the sort more typical in top-end smartphones and watches. An unbroken glass front panel and see-through, unlabeled face buttons carry the minimalist, art-object vibe to another extreme.
Its quirky controls help it stand out, too. There’s that side-mounted wheel below a grown-up button masquerading as a volume rocker, with its counterpart on the opposite flank above (what looks like) the power key. That symmetry is pretty, and might double as function toggles for the likes of brightness, volume, or emulator hotkeys. This form factor is squarely aiming for the D-Pad handheld era, not a 3D system.
A screen for pixel purists with 1600 x 1440 resolution
Preservation-minded players’ eyes will be drawn to its 1600 x 1440 display. On a 3.5-inch display, that resolution works out to around 615 pixels per inch — enough density for classic pixel art and text that’s razor-sharp and alias-free. 10x in integer scaling means that any original Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles can be mapped with clean, crisp pixels without any smoothing or uneven interpolation on conventional 720p or 1080p panels.
Although AYANEO hasn’t provided exact figures for brightness or color coverage, a good LCD should befit monochrome and limited-palette libraries where gamma accuracy and uniformity is more important than infinite contrast ratios. OLED purists will notice that competitors like the Retroid Pocket Classic aim for full saturation and deep blacks; VERT seems to emphasize perfect geometry and crispness over punchy OLED aesthetics.
Android software may define the Pocket VERT’s retro limits
As an AYANEO Pocket device, the VERT is set to run Android — and that means you can take your pick of emulator and front end (everything from mGBA). Entities here should account for these kinds of scenarios, if they go beyond some very standard levels of economic complexity. In terms of 8-bit and 16-bit systems — and handhelds through the Game Boy Advance — the need for analog sticks is a relatively moot one. Step back to N64, PS1, or PSP and the control cuts become deeper still — at least while the silicon within is happy.
That said, GB-class emulation is not particularly strenuous on your resources. All but the lamest ARM chips do it with ease and “perfect” timing and shaders. The question isn’t if the VERT can handle classic libraries — but how its maker AYANEO justifies the markup in build quality, haptics, acoustics, and that extra touch of software finish over something much cheaper.
Pricing and rivals in a divided handheld retro market
AYANEO has not yet put out a price or ship window, but its language around the Pocket VERT frames it as a collectible. Look for it to price significantly above the sub-$100 and sub-$150 verticals that have inundated the market this year. That places it in conversation with design-forward handhelds and even FPGA machines — think Analogue Pocket and ModRetro’s Chromatic — where precision displays, premium materials, and limited production runs shape the value proposition.
There’s an actual economic scarcity here.
Analogue Pocket early tranches resold at 50% premiums or greater when supplies grew scarce by tracking secondary markets, as chronicled by enthusiast communities and retail watchers. If AYANEO can keep small-batch production and boutique finishes in-house, then collectors may treat the VERT much like an exhibition piece when it’s not being driven.
Why this matters for handheld lovers and retro collectors
The retro pocketable scene is bifurcating: low-cost, practical-minded emulators that now seem like one inevitable future on the one side, and high-end objects-first items on the other. AYANEO spent most of 2021 broadening its accessible offerings, but the Pocket VERT suggests there’s still room for halo products that celebrate craft. It could be the purest vertical handheld of the season for players who fetishize perfect integer scaling, immaculate machining, and an heirloom sensation.
There are open questions — about the size of the battery, thermals, input latency, and software support, among other things. But if today’s reveal matches the final hardware, then the Pocket VERT won’t be competitive on price or raw horsepower. It will result in a battle for how good you can make vintage games look and feel when given watchmaker attention to detail.