We now have the first look at the Ayaneo Pocket Vert, a vertical “Game Boy-style” handheld capable of emulating retro consoles from the Dreamcast, GameCube, and PS2 era. What a time to be alive.
But first, the hardware—it looks pretty solid. Eagle-eyed gadget nerds will already know that the Pocket Vert is not Ayaneo’s first handheld shaped like a Game Boy. The handheld maker released the Pocket DMG last year. While capable, the Pocket DMG was quite pricey, starting at $450. Ayaneo hasn’t announced official global pricing for the Pocket Vert yet, but based on its 1,699 Chinese yuan starting price (about $241), it’s speculated that the handheld could cost around $250. This would make the Pocket Vert just slightly more expensive than the $220 Analogue Pocket.
Speaking of the Analogue Pocket, the Pocket Vert shares many similarities. It’s got what appears to be the same 3.5-inch LTPS LCD touchscreen with an identical 1,600 x 1,400 resolution at 615 pixels per inch (ppi). The Pocket Vert even has the same 60Hz refresh rate and 450 nits of brightness.
Compared to the Pocket DMG and the Analogue Pocket, the Pocket Vert has some major differences. It’s still an Android 14-based handheld, so you’re gonna be running software emulators to play retro games. Unlike the Analogue Pocket, the Pocket Vert doesn’t have a cartridge slot for Game Boy games. The Pocket Vert is also made of more premium materials—metal instead of the plastic on the Pocket DMG and Analogue Pocket.
From YouTuber ETA Prime’s thorough first impressions video above, you can see that the Pocket Vert is basically a hybrid between the Pocket DMG and Analogue Pocket. All of the buttons seem to be tactile and satisfying. The specs—Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip with 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and a 6,000mAh battery—seem more than capable enough for emulation. And even the “Magic Touch” touchpad below the D-pad and face buttons, which lets you control games that require a joystick or dual joysticks, seems functional enough for 3D games. As a cherry on top, the Pocket Vert has a fingerprint sensor embedded in its power button.
On the front of games emulation, the Pocket Vert appears to be able to handle beefy retro consoles like the Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, and Sony PlayStation 2 pretty well. Using the default AYASpace launcher, ETA Prime says they were able to get a consistent 60 fps in GameCube games such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, and Resident Evil 4 at 3x the original resolution. Same thing for PS2 games such as Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Okami, and Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando. Dreamcast games are less demanding, but they also run with very playable frame rates.
As a Game Boy guy, the Pocket Vert appeals to me in a way that horizontal-shaped retro handhelds do not. No word on when exactly Ayaneo will release the Pocket Vert—sometime in early 2026—but it’s one device I’m very much looking forward to. That is assuming the current RAM and flash storage shortage doesn’t completely wreck launch plans.
