Ayaneo Windows handheld sales no longer sustainable
▼ Summary
– Ayaneo has suspended preorders for its $1,999 Next 2 gaming handheld because the cost to build it has nearly doubled.
– The company states this is due to unexpectedly rapid and sustained increases in digital storage prices.
– All existing preorders placed since February 10th will still be fulfilled by the company.
– The handheld features a 9.06-inch OLED display, a Ryzen AI Max 385 processor, and 32GB of memory with 1TB SSD storage.
– Preorders are only temporarily suspended and may resume if future storage prices become more reasonable.
The business model for high-end Windows gaming handhelds is facing a serious challenge, as demonstrated by Ayaneo’s recent decision. The company has been forced to temporarily halt preorders for its premium Next 2 device, citing unsustainable production costs driven by a dramatic and ongoing surge in digital storage prices. According to Ayaneo, the overall build cost has nearly doubled from its original projections, making the planned $1,999 price point impossible to maintain without significant losses.
In a statement, the company explained that storage price increases had been a concern for months prior to the Next 2’s launch. Hoping the market had peaked, Ayaneo proceeded with the launch on February 10th, willing to accept minimal profit or even a slight loss. The situation has since worsened beyond their forecasts. “What we did not expect was that storage prices would not only continue to rise but would increase even more rapidly,” the company stated.
Ayaneo will honor all existing preorders for the device. The Next 2 is a flagship product featuring a 9.06-inch OLED display, a base configuration with an AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 processor, integrated Radeon 8050S graphics, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. The suspension is described as temporary, with the company indicating that sales could resume if component costs stabilize at more reasonable levels in the future. This move highlights the fragile economics of the competitive handheld PC market, where razor-thin margins can be erased overnight by volatile supply chain pricing.
(Source: The Verge)
