Hot on the heels of the Pocket Air and the Air Plus, AYANEO has revealed the AYANEO Air 1S; a lightweight 7840U high-end handheld. Below is everything we know so far and what you need to know before you make any decisions.
At a Glance
- For the processor, the AYANEO Air 1S comes equipped with the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U.
- The AMD Ryzen 7 7840U is almost identical to the processor found in the ASUS ROG Ally.
- In terms of the operating system, AYANEO has gone with Windows 11.
- Overall weight comes in at 398g / 450g.
- The AMOLED screen housed in the AYANEO Air 1S comes in at 5.5 inches and is capable of up to 1080p.
- The AYANEO Air 1S is available to order now on IndieGoGo.
AYANEO Air 1S Power Explained
Given the power available in this handheld space, AYANEO is currently leading the arms race with high-end tech.
A popular choice at the moment, the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U found in the AYANEO Air 1S is a smart choice. It’s a fast and snappy processor that can handle a lot. ASUS uses a modified version, the Z1 Extreme, in the ROG Ally and it’s a capable chip that keeps things moving at a solid pace.
For the graphics, the AYANEO Air 1S makes use of a 12 compute units RDNA 3 chip at 2.7 GHz.
What does all this look like in action? The power offered in the AYANEO Air 1S is very, very similar to that of the ASUS ROG Ally. The processor is near enough the same and the RDNA 3 chip is identical. Of course there are several factors that go into performance, including how well the company at the helm optimizes everything, but on paper, both devices should offer up similar performance.
Screen
For the screen, AYANEO has chosen a 5.5-inch wide color gamut AMOLED that’s capable of up to 1080p.
AMOLED is another smart choice, especially as a lot of the more recent AAA titles will need to run at 720p. That extra layer of clarity and color will help to make 720p feel closer to 1080p in action.
Although it’s worth remembering 720p on a smaller screen doesn’t look anywhere near as blurry as it would on a 50-inch TV screen. That 5.5-inch screen is actually going to help keep the image from feeling stretched.
In theory, the AYANEO Air 1S has a chance to really shine thanks to the clever choices made by AYANEO. I’ll have to wait until I’ve gone hands-on, but so far none of the hardware specs are setting off alarm bells.
Check out the full color coverage below.
- 109% NTSC (color gamut volume)
- 185% sRGB (color gamut volume)
- 100% sRGB (color gamut coverage)
- 96% ADOBE RGB (color gamut coverage)
- 99% DCI P3 (color gamut coverage)
Battery Life
One area of concern is the 38-watt-hour battery capacity. For comparison, the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally both make use of a slightly larger 40-watt-hour battery.
AYSNEO has said the 1S has a TDP limit of 20 when on battery and 25 when plugged in. That means untethered the maximum amount of playtime is going to be one hour 53 minutes, and that’s only assuming the operating system doesn’t use any extra juice.
Is that a deal-breaker? Yes and no. A lot of the modern PC gaming handhelds are awful when it comes to battery life. If you own one, chances are you’re going to be near a power socket and be plugged in for most of the time.
It’s a common problem that isn’t specific to AYANEO. Anbernic, OneXPlayer, Valve, ASUS – all of the handheld PC manufacturers are struggling to balance high-end tech with a battery that’s capable of keeping it alive.
So, not a deal-breaker, but definitely something I recommend factoring into any purchasing decisions.
Cooling
With any handheld, especially thinner ones, cooling is one of the most important components. If it can’t keep the internal heat under control, you’re going to see a plethora of problems very quickly.
AYANEO hasn’t explicitly specified what cooling system it’ll be using but from the company’s own testing, temperatures remain consistent with what I’ve seen in other handhelds.
Check them out below.
| AYANEO Air 1S Cooling Comparison | ||
| Power Mode | Fan Speed | Temperature |
| 5 Watts | 30%
50% 80% |
49.4
43.5 39.1 |
| 8 Watts | 30%
50% 80% |
52.4
44.8 41.8 |
| 12 Watts | 30%
50% 70% 80% |
64.4
53.3 49.5 46.9 |
| 15 Watts | 50%
70% 80% 100% |
59.9
55.0 54.0 49.9 |
| 20 Watts | 50%
70% 80% 100% |
69.9
65.3 61.9 59.6 |
| 25 Watts | 50%
70% 80% 100% |
82
73.6 70.6 68.1 |
Specs Worth Knowing
- Screen Size: 5.5 inches
- Resolution: Up to 1920 x 1080
- Display Type: AMOLED
- CPU: AMD RYzen 7 7840U
- GPU: RDNA 3
- RAM: LPDDR5
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home (64-bit)
- Software: AYASpace and Windows 11
- Joysticks: Hall Effect
- Expansion Slot: microSD card
Price
The cheapest model of the AYANEO Air 1S comes in at $899 (or $799 if you order early enough). The big differences between the options available all come down to two things: RAM and storage.
Obviously, more RAM is always going to be better, but we’re still not quite at the point where 32GB of RAM is standard. 16GB, for most people, will be more than enough.
I would, however, recommend going with 1TB of storage over 512GB. I’ve got an ASUS ROG Ally with 512GB of storage and while that’s manageable, games are getting larger and larger, so investing a bit extra in more space is advised.
The Last of Us on PC, for example, is a whopping 90GB. That’s nearly a fifth of the 512GB’s space! So definitely have a think about how much space you’ll need prior to making any decisions.
- AIR 1S 7840U with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage – $899 ($799 early bird offer).
- AIR 1S 7840U with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage – $1099 ($955 early bird offer).
- AIR 1S 7840U with 32GB RAM and 2TB storage – $1129 ($999 early bird offer).
- AIR 1S Thin 7840U with 32GB RAM and 2TB storage – $1129 ($999 early bird offer).
- AIR 1S 7840U with 32GB RAM and 2TB storage (retro model) – $1179 ($1179 early bird offer).
- AIR 1S 7840U with 32GB RAM and 4TB storage (retro model) – $1259 ($1099 early bird offer).
Conclusion
The thinnest part of the AYANEO Air 1S is just 21.6mm thick. Taking PC gaming and making it small is no easy feat, but in AYANEO’s defense, this company has put out a lot of Windows handhelds. If anyone can do it and do it well, it’s AYANEO.
I’m intrigued by the AYANEO Air 1S, and the price, for what’s on offer, is a strong selling point. It is, in theory, more powerful than the ASUS ROG Ally depending on the RAM selection, and yet the price is still in a similar ballpark.
How it will handle in-hand, of course, we don’t know. But, as always, I’ll be sure to keep you posted once I hear more.
This article does not use affiliate links. All advice is impartial.
