The Ayaneo Next 2 costs up to $5,300, and that's not a typo

Handheld gaming PCs were supposed to be the affordable alternative to a full desktop build. The Ayaneo Next 2 makes a mockery of that idea. Its top configuration costs $5,300, and even the "entry" tier with 64GB of RAM and 1TB of storage runs $3,600.

For that money you get 128GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip that's already two years old. It's a capable CPU/GPU combo, but pairing ageing silicon with eye-watering RAM and storage figures feels like Ayaneo is charging for the spec sheet rather than the actual gaming experience you'll get.

Context: handhelds were meant to be the cheap seats

Compare that to the Xbox Ally X at $1,000, already considered expensive by the standards of the original Steam Deck, or the Legion Go and ROG Ally X, both under $900 at launch. The Next 2 isn't competing with any of those. It's chasing buyers who want desktop-replacement power in a handheld shell and are willing to pay desktop-replacement prices, plus a premium, to get it.

Rising memory costs are part of the story here too. AI data centre demand has tightened memory chip supply industry-wide this year, and handheld makers building in 64GB-128GB configurations are exposed to that in a way phone makers mostly aren't.

Should you care?

Unless you specifically need 2TB of local storage and 128GB of RAM in your pocket, no. The Xbox Ally X or Legion Go get you 90% of the real-world gaming experience for a third of the price. The Next 2 is a niche flex product, not a mainstream handheld, and Ayaneo's pricing makes that explicit.