Less than a month after its last launch, Ayaneo's Konkr Pocket Block is now available. The good news is that the Game Boy clone starts at just $79, and the arguably even better news is that it seems to have ditched all the AI marketing that haunted its unveiling back in May.
In an announcement post marking the launch, Ayaneo describes the Konkr Pocket Block as "a premium vertical pocket Android handheld for gamers." (shock, horror). It also adds a nod to its "retro cyber design," a reference I can only assume to the fact that it looks like a Game Boy Pocket with a much larger screen-to-body ratio and some two-tone panelling.
Yes, we're all familiar with Game Boy clones; they have been occupying the best retro handheld battlefield since the Bittboy in 2019, after all. What I reckon makes the Konkr Pocket Block stand out is what it's offering for $79 compared to the Anbernic RG35XX Plus (arguably its closest rival at $59.97), as its Helio G85 CPU should cover a lot of retro console emulation ground in a 113.2 x 77.4mm.
The base model pairs the MediaTek chip with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage, but you can soup things up to 3GB and 64GB for $99. I'd argue that probably isn't necessary if you're sticking to emulating the OG Game Boy, GBA, and even some PS1 games. That's already something some of the absolute cheapest handhelds, like the Anbernic RG28XX, can pull off using a Dual-core Mali-G31, but I suspect you'll be doing more on this device's 960 x 720 3.33-inch display.
I'd prefer to test the Pocket Block myself before speculating about performance bars, but Ayaneo CEO Arthur Zhang claims it can play PSP games in his usual launch livestream. Sony's 2000s handheld isn't that hard to emulate, and the Block's MediaTek chipset should be able to handle games at native resolution. But, mentioning the portable is still pretty ambitious, and if it can pull off most of the library at full speed, we could be looking at a new budget champion.
Ayaneo originally unveiled the Konkr Pocket Block in May, with a heavy emphasis on it being "the world’s first AI-powered handheld." I personally found this tagline extremely off-putting, as a chunk of the retro community is currently fighting back against tech seeping into decomp projects, not to mention I'm consistently seeing fake AI-generated CRT setups on social media (real retro gaming setups are my whole jam).
That's exactly why I was delighted to see no mention of AI in the Pocket Block's latest marketing materials, but sadly, Zhang says there will be a "live broadcast" specifically for that this October. I'm really not sure how the tech could really enhance the experience of a sub-$100 handheld, and while I'm pretty down with everything else this newcomer stands for, associating itself with the tech could harm its reputation from the get-go.
It's already been a pretty busy year for affordable handhelds, with all the main portable players launching specific use-case models. The Ayaneo's Konkr Pocket Advance is targeting GBA fans, while Anbernic has Nintendo DS players in its crosshairs with its revamped RG DS Plus. Retroid is also fighting in that ring with its dual-screen Pocket Duo, so if you'd rather not pick up something that claims to use the very tech that's driving up the prices of said handhelds, you've got more than a few options.
Swing by the best retro controllers if you want authentic console buttons with modern tricks.
