There’s good news and bad news for folks who’ve been waiting for AYN’s Loki handheld gaming PCs to arrive. First unveiled nearly a year ago, the good news is that the company has made significant process and is nearly ready to begin shipping some configurations and to begin testing some others in preparation to begin shipping.
The less good news is that AYN is scrapping some configurations due to limited demand. Customers who pre-ordered those models will receive refunds or they can request to have their money put toward the purchase of one of the four remaining models.
Up until recently AYN had been planning to ship some models with Intel Pentium 8505 or Core i3-1215U processors based on Intel’s 12th-gen “Alder Lake” architecture. But now the company says that not enough people placed orders for those configurations to meet the minimum order quantity (MOQ) to actually have a manufacturer build those models.
The company also canceled plans for an AMD Mendocino-powered Loki Mini which would have had a rather anemic 26.5 Wh battery. The Loki Mini Pro is still a thing though, even though its name makes no sense anymore.
Anyway, that leaves four models, all of which are powered by AMD processor and all of which have 40.5 Wh or larger batteries. Pre-order pricing ranges from $249 for an AYN Loki Zero with an AMD Athlon Silver 3050e processor and a 720p display to $775 for a Loki Max with a Ryzen 7 6800U processor, 1080p display, a bigger battery, and more memory and storage.
Here’s the lineup as it now stands:
| Loki Zero | Loki Mini Pro | Loki | Loki Max | |
| Display | 6 inches 1280 x 720 pixels IPS LCD | 6 inches 1920 x 1080 pixels IPS LCD | ||
| Processor | AMD Athlon Silver 3050e 2 CPU cores / 4 threads 1.4 GHz base / 2.8 GHz boost 6W TDP | AMD Ryzen 7320U 4 Zen 2 CPU cores / 8 threads 2.4 GHz base / 4.1 GHz boost 15W TDP | AMD Ryzen 5 6600U 6 Zen 3+ cores / 12 threads 2.9 GHz base / 4.5 GHz boost 15-28W TDP | AMD Ryzen 7 6800U 8 Zen 3+ CPU cores / 16 threads 2.7 GHz base / 4.7 GHz boost 15-28W TDP |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon Vega 3 1 GHz | AMD Radeon 610M 2 x RDNA 2 CUs 1.9 GHz | AMD Radeon 660M 6 x RDNA 2 CUs 1.9 GHz | AMD Radeon 680M 12 x RDNA 2 CUs 2.2 GHz |
| RAM | 4GB or 8GB DDR4-2400 | 8GB LPDDR5-6400 | 8GB / 16GB LPDDR5-6400 MHz | 16GB LPDDR5-6400 MHz |
| Storage | 64GB eMMC 128GB M.2 2230 PCIe NVMe SSD (optional) | 128GB M.2 2230 PCIe NVMe SSD microSD card reader | 128GB / 256GB / 512GB M.2 2230 PCIe NVMe microSD card reader | 512GB M.2 2230 PCIe NVMe microSD card reader |
| Wireless | WiFi 5 BT 4.2 | WiFi 6E Bluetooth 5.2 | ||
| Battery | 40.5 Wh | 46.2 Wh | ||
| Ports | USB 3.2 Type-C 3.5mm audio microSD card reader | USB 4.0 (Intel) or USB 3.2 (AMD) 3.5mm audio microSD card reader | USB 4 3.5mm audio microSD card reader | |
| Controllers | Full controller w/Xbox-style layout Hall Sensor Analog Triggers Gyroscope Rumble support | |||
| Size & weight | 20mm thick ? | 20mm thick ? | ? ? | ? ? |
| Colors | black | black, white | ||
| Price | $249 | $299 | $489 (8GB / 128GB) $579 (16GB / 256GB) $649 (16GB / 512GB ) | $775 |
AYN says its received 100 Loki and Loki Max boards in its office recently, and the DVT (Design Validation Testing) version of the Loki Mini Pro with an AMD Mendocino Processor is ready for testing. The case mold will be ready for testing next Friday.
Of course AYN is just one of many companies playing in the handheld gaming PC space these days. When the company first unveiled its Loki lineup it seemed like the goal was to compete directly with AYA, which also announced a dizzying array of models around the same time.
But now both companies are also facing increased competition with established PC makers like Asus preparing to launch their own handhelds.
via AYN discord (invite)
Question… Can it run a DAW? (Digital audio workspace)
Good decision, but honestly I don’t see any appeal to ANY of their Loki models now that we’re about to see a bunch of 7040U powered handhelds.
I can’t think of a single reason I would send money to China for a pre-order/crowdfund, and sit around for 6+ months like a chump waiting for them to send me something. I’d rather buy an ROG Ally from a local retailer, who will offer me warranty and a return policy.
Bummer. It is a good thing that they’re cleaning up their lineup, but the Intel Loki Mini Pro looked like the most interesting option, especially at the original $270 price.
The expensive ones, should have shipped last year to be competitive. I think they’re going to be DOA at this point.
I think there’s still potential for the <$300 ones to be winners as long as they ship them sometime soon, but I’m not going to hold my breath.
True, They could create niche market with sub $200 handheld. Something like pentium 8505 or i3 1215u make sense, they are cheaper and faster in both cpu and gpu than those mendocino. Some people just want these handheld for retro gaming especially those emulators which are not available in Android ecosystem.
Ah….they’re screwed. It’s good that they’re cutting down on so many wasteful SKUs considering they’re such a small company, but they’re at the point where they are FAR TOO LATE with their current best model. No one who is sane will buy the Loki Max at that price when the ROG Ally is better and likely cheaper and when their Chinese competitors are already moving onto 7040 series APUs. Then there’s also the Steam Deck for the regions that can buy it which is cheaper and better supported.
Very true, I pre-ordered a Loki Max in July 2022!! and still waiting for it. I was quite happy with the Odin Pro, and I also like the form factor and size, 6″ screen. I also had a OneXPlayer with the 8.4″ screen and although I liked it, it was just too bulky and too heavy, so eventually I sold it. I use it just for emulation and wanted to emulate some higher end stuff where the Odin Pro fails. But you’re right by saying it’s overdue now, every handheld coming out this year has higher specs already, they’re way to late, wonder if I can get a refund via PayPal and just get the ROG Ally instead.