AYANEO’s Pocket AIR Mini for $70 runs PS2 games

AYANEO has shocked handheld fans by releasing a low-budget console that packs 10 tons of punch. During its live showcase, the Pocket AIR Mini, which slots in at a bargain-basement price of $70, was shown running a slate of PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Sega Saturn titles at full speed — indeed, on sub-$100 Android handhelds that’s virtually unheard of.

That’s, for context, around the level of the original PlayStation or Nintendo 64. Watching intensive sixth-gen console games run well on a sub-$100 mini-console is certainly progress on the cheap emulation front.

Budget handheld, surprising power for retro emulation

The Pocket AIR Mini features MediaTek’s Helio G90T processor, with 2GB or 3GB of RAM and Android 11 at the helm. On paper, it’s relatively modest silicon: the G90T is a two-plus-six design (two Cortex-A76 cores and six A55 cores) with a Mali-G76 GPU, designed for “mainstream gaming phones,” according to MediaTek. MediaTek’s product brief highlights Vulkan support and smarter GPU scheduling, things more recent emulators are starting to take advantage of.

Recent emulator developments shed some light on the surprising results. The Dolphin team has done a lot of ARM performance work over the years, especially when it comes to JIT compilers and Vulkan backends. Then there’s the guidance from PS2 emulator communities (including PCSX2 devs and the now-dormant AetherSX2 project) itself: that balanced CPU/GPU workloads and sensible speedhacks can turn marginal hardware into fully functioning PS2 machines — at least at native resolution.

What AYANEO displayed running, for real, in the demo

AYANEO’s demo reel included more than easy wins. On the PS2 front, God of War II, Dragon Quest VIII, Final Fantasy X, and Kingdom Hearts II were mentioned as up to full speed. The Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess were the represented GameCube games. The Saturn lineup relied on games that worked especially well with popular Android emulators.

AYANEO also mentioned that these games were largely playable even on the 2GB RAM model — their $70 base configuration. There were also Android-native titles like Dead Cells, Terraria, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, Balatro, and Dead Space on display, with a quick flash of Genshin Impact running at 60 fps — an exciting sign for new mobile gaming even if that game didn’t grace the compatibility slide proper.

Why this matters for handheld emulation right now

As in the past, PS2 is a very hard nut for ARM-based chips to crack. The PCSX2 team often mentions that the console’s Emotion Engine and Uniform Units are CPU hoggers, and on Android, PS2 emulation nearly always needed flagship-grade cores to prevent drops. Budget handhelds, like the Miyoo Mini Plus or Anbernic’s lower-end RG series, are great for 8/16-bit and PS1, but they usually can’t compete with PS2 or GameCube.

So a $70 device that puts those $150–$200 handhelds in jeopardy is kinda worrisome. Indies may still be the decider, but the on-stream yields tell us that, with care (native or 1x IR, Vulkan backends, conservative speedhacks), it’s capable enough to approach steady performance across a surprisingly generous slice of sixth-gen collateral.

Emulators, settings, and being realistic about results

While AYANEO didn’t provide the names of all builds, this is what you’d likely be looking at if you were to use some well-known Android tools: AetherSX2 (no longer maintained) or community forks for PS2, Dolphin for GameCube, Yaba Sanshiro 2 for Saturn, and DuckStation for PS1. These emulators profit a lot from Vulkan, accurate frame pacing, and game profiles.

Expect trade-offs. This is also great for many PS2 and GameCube games, which will look nicest at native resolution (i.e., not with texture scaling) without a lot of post-processing applied. CPU-bound scenes — huge alpha effects in God of War II, crowded city scenes in Dragon Quest VIII — can still drop frames. If the 2GB model is memory-capped, that might lead to stricter background app management. And, as Digital Foundry has demonstrated in phone-based G90T testing, sustained thermals can see performance throttle over time — and just how well any AYANEO cools this chassis will be crucial for those long sessions.

Positioning and price pressure in the handheld market

AYANEO typically exists in the high-end Windows handheld corner of the world, so a $70 Android system is a strategic swerve. As I said, if real-world performance is similar to what we saw in that demo, the Pocket AIR Mini could undercut entry-level Android rivals and potentially give midrange portables powered by newer but pricier Dimensity chips a run for their money.

The key here, the company told us, is that the 2GB model can handle all (or at least most) of what’s in its curated library, while a 3GB version will be available for folks who want a bit more overhead to play with, perhaps so they can better multitask or some of Android’s heavier-duty games. The screen accounts for almost 45% of the phone’s front, which has a ratio that even Samsung would be hard-pressed to exceed. This will also make it harder (literally) to replace if damaged, one thing we’re trying to confirm with ASUS is whether there’s a screen protector built in or not. The unit is on track for sales starting mid-October, by the way — and word from earlier is you net yourself a free screen protector if you sign up early!

Bottom line: what this means for budget handhelds

A $70 handheld that played a decent portion of both the PS2 and GameCube libraries was unimaginable just a few years ago. Emulator maturity, optimization of Vulkan, and sly tuning make it somehow possible even on mainstream silicon. There will be caveats — compatibility gaps, the occasional dip in playability, and having to use per-game profiles — but AYANEO’s Pocket AIR Mini seems ready to reset your expectations for what a “budget” system is capable of when it comes to portable retro gaming.