Ayaneo’s ambitious Next 2 handheld, first unveiled as a flagship crowdfunding project, appears to be staging a quiet comeback—accompanied by dramatic price hikes that push the device deeper into premium territory.
A rocky road from crowdfunding to relaunch
The Next 2 was originally introduced through an Indiegogo campaign that successfully drew financial backing, but its initial momentum stalled. Ayaneo suspended sales, citing a sharp spike in production costs. The most pressing factor, the company explained in a March update, was the price of storage components, which had ballooned to several times their pre-Chinese New Year levels. Since that suspension, the team has kept early backers informed about manufacturing timelines, and in a July 17 update confirmed that mass production for those first orders would begin this week.
New pricing reflects the cost pressure
During the crowdfunding phase, prospective buyers faced three configurations. The 32 GB RAM with 1 TB storage model carried a $1,999 price tag. Stepping up to the 64 GB and 1 TB variant would have cost $2,699, while the flagship configuration offering 128 GB of RAM and 2 TB of storage was listed at $4,299. Now, the company’s website shows revised figures: $2,999, $3,699, and $5,299, respectively. That translates to a uniform increase of $1,000 across the entire lineup. At the time of writing, only the $3,699 model appears available for direct purchase, with no clear timeline for the other two versions.
Power and premium components collide
Under the hood, the Next 2 runs on the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU, a chip that provides significant processing muscle and puts the device in a category of its own for raw performance. The handheld also bundles a suite of top-tier specifications designed to appeal to enthusiasts seeking an uncompromised portable gaming experience. Yet the question remains whether such silicon and component choices can fully justify a ceiling that now reaches $5,299.
Ayaneo previously stated that no further production batch is planned beyond the current run, though the suspension itself was originally described as temporary. The company had expressed hope of resuming sales once storage costs became more manageable. What remains unclear is whether the newly listed prices signal a permanent shift to direct website sales and, if so, when the remaining variants will again be open for purchase.
Sources: www.ayaneo.com, www.indiegogo.com