Ayaneo’s Pocket S Mini has the perfect aspect ratio for revisiting classic console games

There may be plenty of gaming handhelds out there, but there aren’t many horizontal options that let you play childhood favorites in the original 4:3 aspect ratio. To fill this gap, Ayaneo has launched a premium option with the Pocket S Mini. As a “true 4:3 retro handheld,” the Pocket S Mini won’t have those pesky vertical black bars when you’re emulating video games from the CRT TV era.

Handhelds like the Anbernic RG405M and even Ayaneo’s Pocket Air Mini already offer a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the Pocket S Mini features a more premium build with an all-metal frame and glass front panel. The 4.2-inch LCD screen has a resolution of 1280 x 960 and is flanked by Hall effect joysticks with RGB lighting, Hall effect triggers and “crystal texture” buttons. Inside, the Pocket S Mini runs on a Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 chip and is powered by a 6,000mAh battery.

Unlike most of Ayaneo’s other devices, the Pocket S Mini is not the subject of a crowdfunding campaign. It’s already available on the Ayaneo website with an early starting price of $319 for Obsidian Black or Ice Soul White options with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage. As usual, the Retro Power colorway will only be available with the highest specs of 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage, starting at $479. We don’t know when Ayaneo will end pre-registration pricing, but prices will eventually rise to between $399 and $559 for retail.