Handheld gaming PC makers are in an arms race to see which company can offer the lowest-priced model still capable of playing at least some PC games. But the latest entry is the most affordable yet.
The AYN Loki Zero features a 6 inch, 720p LCD display, an AMD Athlon 3050e processor with Radeon Vega 3 graphics, and a starting price of $249, or $199 during pre-orders. Like other members of the AYN Loki family, the Loki Zero is expected to ship in the fourth quarter of 2022.
That starting price gets you just 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage, but there’s also a SODIMM slot for additional memory and an M.2 2230 PCIe slot with support for PCIe NVMe solid state storage.
Customers who pre-order during July will get a 4GB stick of RAM (for a total of 8GB of memory) plus a 32GB microSD card for no additional charge. You can also add a 128GB NVMe SSD for an extra $22.
BY comparison, AYN’s most affordable other handheld is the AYN Loki Mini with an AMD Mendocino processor, which sells for $260. And the cheapest model with an x86 processor from another company is the AYA Neo Air Plus with a Pentium 8505 processor, which is expected to sell for $249.
At the heart of the AYN Loki Zero is an AMD Athlon Silver processor featuring 2 CPU cores, 4 threads, support for CPU frequencies up to 2.8 GHz and AMD Radeon Vega 3 graphics with support for frequencies up to 1 GHz. It’s not exactly a speed demon, but it’s the same processor that Anbernic is using for higher-end versions of the Win600 handheld gaming PC, which seems to offer decent performance for at least some PC games as well as for emulating classic consoles including the Nintendo Wii.
But it’s not just the processor that makes the AYN Loki Zero cheaper than other members of the Loki series. It has a lower-resolution display, slower memory (and less of it if you opt for the entry-level configuration), and the base model has slower storage. WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB specs are also less impressive.
In terms of size, shape, and battery capacity, the Loki Zero appears to be similar to the Loki Mini Pro.
Here’s an overview of all of the upcoming AYN Loki devices:
| Loki Zero | Loki Mini | 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 | AMD Mendocino (Zen 2) | Intel Pentium 8505 (Alder Lake U w/5 cores, 6 threads) or Intel Core i3-1215U (Alder Lake U (6 cores, 8 threads) or AMD Mendocino (Zen 2) | AMD Ryzen 5 6600U Zen 3+ architecture 6 cores / 12 threads | AMD Ryzen 7 6800U Zen 3+ architecture 8 cores / 16 threads |
| Graphics | Radeon Vega 3 | 12th-gen Intel UHD @ 1.1 GHz w/48 eu (7305 / 8505) 12th-gen Intel UHD @ 1.1 GHz w/64eu (1215) or AMD RDNA 2 | AMD Radeon 660M 6 GPU compute cores | AMD Radeon 680M 12 GPU compute cores | |
| RAM | 4GB or 8GB DDR4-2400 | 8GB LPDDR4x-4266 (Intel) LPDDR5-6400 (AMD) | 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 | 26.5 Wh | 40.5 Wh (Pentium 8505) 46.2 Wh battery (Core i3-1215U) | 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 ? | 15mm thick 362 grams | 20mm thick ? | ? ? | ? ? |
| Colors | black | transparent black (AMD), white (Intel) | black, white | black, white | black, white |
| Price | $199 (pre-order) $249 (retail) | $260 | $279 (Intel) $299 (AMD) | $489 (8GB / 128GB) $579 (16GB / 256GB) $649 (16GB / 512GB ) | $775 |
And if you’re wondering how the AYN Loki Zero (and other models) stack up against current and upcoming handhelds from rivals including Anbernic, AYA, GPD, and One Netbook, we’ve got you covered with our handheld gaming PC comparison table:
Is version only linux?
i no need findows
What OS is this?
This looks like a pointless Loki variant.
They better work on their production capacity.
I ordered my Odin Pro 2-3 months back and nothing!
“Feels” like a scam.
Why even bother with this. I’m sure the vast majority are getting the Loki Max or 256 GB Loki anyway.
This SKU was not needed at all. Waste of limited resources.
They should’ve stuck with 3 SKUs, at $249, $499, $749. Or $299, $499, $699. Maybe a premium high end model at $999 if enough demand.
So I have owned two handhelds like this. The GPD Win 2, which at the time before this market exploded was the most power you could get at that size, but I hated the clamshell. The market seems to agree, as most all of these new releases are Switch-style bodies. I now have one of the original Aya Neo’s, and I like it with one MASSIVE caveat. The GPD Win 2 had a hardware switch on the device that switched you between xbox gamepad mode and mouse mode. The Neo does not have this and it is INFURIATING. Software solutions simply do not cut it, I’ve tried all the mapping software out there, its all terrible, leads to double inputs, incorrect inputs, its intolerable. Of all of these new competitors, the new Aya devices, Ayn, Anbernic, etc. do you know if any of them have the hardware switch feature like GPD? Or do I need to wait for a hypothetical WIN 4?
The image says it’ll be available via Amazon. Will the other models be available via Amazon too? If so, that’d be a big deal for me.
Much easier to deal with issues/returns/replacements within the Amazon return window especially with the lower risk of being able to ship to a local address.
Articles like this make me feel like I’m the least tech-savvy person on Earth who wants a retro gaming console…
Ayn now has a half-dozen devices and combinations of processors. But I have no idea what retro systems they actually support, meaning I have absolutely no idea what device would be worth ordering. A listing or chart would be helpful… X processor will go up to PS1/Gamecube, Y processor will go up to PSP/Wii, etc.
ETA Prime made 2 videos on this 3050e CPU performance.
Anything retro will run fine.
https://youtu. be/05jouP8mYME
Yet another model from AYN, and nothing is actually available.. it is all pre-order. It doesn’t seem right.
Exactly!
Instead of announcing various new products, work at your production capacity first! I have yet to receive my Odin Pro and they expect us to have confidence in ordering more?
There are massive supply chain issues limiting much larger companies, but this small one has access to lots of hard to get boards? It feels more like they are adding as many models as possible to get any possible orders. I expect serious issues.
I wonder how the Mendocino compares with this APU. The Mendocino handhelds aren’t much more expensive.
Wiating to see Apple try their hand, will it happen though?
Also will it force Nvidia and Nintendo’s hand ?
Yes, this needs to happen badly.
Okay, sure, Apple does have a processor with a very good performance per watt. The thing is…playing games on an M1 or M2 isn’t totally straightforward. I think the go to method is still to just run Windows in an x64 virtual machine or the x64 version of Wine or Parallels. There’s a relatively small proportion of games actually compiled to run on MacOS. iOS does have a lot of games I am told but they already make iPhones and third parties make controllers for them.
Besides, they’re making an VR/AR headset, supposedly with an M2. If that’s what it really runs on, I suspect they might push that as the solution first, but that’s pretty iffy. In general, I’m not sure handheld computers that run desktop software fit with Apple’s grand vision about how people are supposed to be using computers.
I’m not familiar with this processor. How bad is it? Is 60 fps in Fallout 3, Fallout:NV, Skyrim and Bioshock Remastered out of the question? What level of performance can a person expect? At the price of a switch, runs linux, maybe even SteamOS. What downside am I missing?
Also…if we purchase through the link in the article does Brad get a percentage? I’d prefer a link where Brad gets paid. I wish you had one of these to review…although, it’s not all bad. Your spreadsheet is top notch.
Best,
Steven B.(Liquid Cool)
Nope, no affiliate links in this article, but I appreciate the sentiment. In terms of performance, the only similar device with this processor in the wild would be the Anbernic Win600, and some hands-on videos should give you a rough idea of what to expect in terms of performance: https://twitter.com/liliputingnews/status/1541882870859431936
Brad…
I’ve been with you since the very beginning of Liliputing…of course I’m biased. I think an affiliate link is a great “passive” way to support the site.
I watched the video and I also went to yt and watched a couple more. I’d prefer it was just about 20-25% faster(perhaps in the 2nd Gen?), but I can live with what I’m seeing here. I’m in…I’ve decided to order one. Although, I will be ordering the AYN Loki Zero instead of the Win600. Anbernic lost my support after their pricing scheme on the RG552 model. It just seem way to far out of line for what they were selling. The price was higher than the Loki Zero? Really? Not to mention…the styling is/was quite stale looking.
Frankly speaking…I think Valve should follow up the Steam Deck with a Steam Deck LITE. Now THAT would sell very well from my perspective. Why? Because the Steam Deck, while I love mine…I paid so much it makes me nervous to take it out of the house for fear of dropping it or tossing my bag on a bench and forgetting it’s inside….or putting it in the panniers on my eBike. Plus…the battery sucks some serious juice on AAA titles.
Something like this that is efficient in playing Cuphead etc…is perfect for me. Doesn’t cost too much that I feel compelled to treat it like fine china either.
Now that I’m thinking about…my eBike company(Lectric XP) just started selling a LITE version of their eBike…it’s literally flying off the shelves.
I’m not the gambling type, but I’d be willing to bet a $1 Valve would have the same experience…
Take Care,
Steven B.(Liquid Cool)
One of the graphics claims Steam OS compatibility. Can’t wait to find out how legit that is. I received my steamdeck, and although it is great -I will echo the sentiment that I feel like I can’t take it anywhere, or let my kid touch it. I would enjoy a cheaper alternative for some situations
Lol put a fan (active cooling) on fan-less (passive cooling) CPU processor 🙂
Hope AMD makes a successor to “Dali” (3015e 3020e 3050e), now that until quit the Atom line with Tremont and ARM still has not stepped in – why it takes so long ?
Better than the DOA Creoqode Lyra+ and it’s cheaper.
I guess this replaces the cancelled Intel Loki Mini that hardly anyone pre-ordered. They really want to kill off Anbernic’s Win600.
Although I doubt many will buy these but they might not mind low sales for the low end models since most tend to get the “best” one (ie. Loki Max) especially if it undermines their competition.
I wonder if Anbernic is going to lower the $300 USD (low end model?) price for the Win600.
With every model AYN and AYA reveal the stronger I feel premonitions of this ending in a disaster. Like the kind where a bunch of angry people are kicked off of their discord channels for one reason or another, possibly bringing politics into it for no good reason, until people give up on trying to complain, yet the source of the problem just lingers and lingers and ultimately gets away with it.
Because that’s how everything is now.
Since when in the past decade has ANY upstart entity been able to EVER fulfill this many promises at once? I mean, I’ve seen so many things I wanted to succeed collapse horribly in a flurry of drama and making their supporters look like morons (even though they HAD good ideas) that I just can’t trust either of these things.
I don’t really have a horse in this race since I don’t even want a handheld. So don’t take this as a partisan endorsement for Valve, that’s ridiculous. I’m not even going to be happy if either falls apart. What I really mean is…this is all just way too good to be true for 2022.