The pocket micro lost when the Retroid pocket mini released. The micro's lower end chip and worse screen than the retroid makes the $200 price not worth it. Gotta love competition! I am still interested in someone other than the KTR1 guy try to make a powerful handheld with a 3:2 aspect ration screen.
The pocket mini is my favorite handheld since the psp and I didn't even plan to buy it, was going to get the rp5 until I decided to try out the mini on a whim. I've been loving the screen and using it as a multimedia device like how I used the psp. Downloaded a few 4:3 anime and been playing some ps2. Love the size, screen feels big enough imo and because it's so small I just am always finding myself picking it up. Have since decided to cancel my rp5 order and haven't even looked in the direction of the odin 2 portal. Extremely impressed with this device. I have also done the membrane trim mod to reduce the button noise, definitely improves the experience a lot.
This is why I ordered one. Mine was stuck in customs for 6 days. I think it'll be here by Saturday. I carry my RP2S everywhere, I think this will be a massive upgrade.
The problem isn't the buttons it's the membranes, there's no room to shave anything off of them but shortening the membranes pretty much fixed the issue. I did it and the mini is my go-to small handheld now.
Thanks @AishTalksTech , I actually had a section where I mentioned you talking about the mod but I wasn’t sure all the details and didn’t want to give bad advice so it ended up getting cut from the video.
The ayaneo already loses just by the Pocket Mini existing. The improved chipset, 4:3 OLED screen and more ergonomic body just wins over the Micro hands down for me. The buttons are a bit loud but hey there are louder ones on the market.
I liked the comparison. I can understand people wanting the Mini, but those buttons...i feel like face buttons are consistently something that have let me down on Retroid ever since my first from them which was the 2+. The dpad makes up for it a bit. Aside from that, the Mini looks great and has the value behind it. The Micro still looks like a fun buy for those with extra money to burn on smaller niche use cases.
I wish that devices like this would come with removable sticks and plugs - because on anything this small I'm going to be mostly playing SNES and GBA. The RP Mini won for me (and I'm loving it) and it basically came down to the screen and larger battery. Especially the larger battery. I like the clacky buttons. They kind of feel like they are bigger than they actually are. Wow, you sound great on the guitar!
ayaneo: great build quality and design BUT lots of software JANK your over dramatizing the mini’s buttons imo. i sense you have a bias towards the micro.
I mean, I like the device and I agree the buttons aren’t that bad, but I don’t think it would still be this much of a landslide in the Mini’s favor if it was him being biased towards the Micro. (I’ve also got both and yeah, the Micro has some insanely good face buttons. The other buttons aren’t as good as the Mini’s, but god those face buttons are great.)
I just got my Pocket Micro and I had no idea the Pocket Mini was a thing haha. I love the Micro but looking at the Mini has me really wanting one now, OLED display a lot is a big selling point plus proper triggers.
@retrohandhelds Yeah I mostly intend to use it for GBA emulation and for that it's perfect but I am rather tempted to pick up the Mini just for Doom 1&2 so I can have proper triggers haha
Thanks for the video bass, I still think the pocket mini is a more appealing device overall, but the difference in face button quality is something to keep in mind that I hadn't factored previously Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the RP5 and it's buttons
I still don't get why Ayaneo not including deadzone adjustment for sticks. Their default deadzone on Pocket S is huge. I usually turn off the deadzone if the game or the emulator I am running has deadzone adjustment, and many do btw. But the problem is when I use key mapping I have to use ayaneo's deadzone setting. I was very interested in Pocket Micro but the sticks were deal-breaker for me. I wish Ayaneo used the sticks XU Mini M uses and also recessed the sticks like the mini M does. I pre-ordered RP5 on day one; I'll probably buy the mini as well next year unless someone else makes a better small form-factor handheld.
The AYANEO is cool; but, it's utterly pointless at its price point. If I'm dropping around $200 on a handheld then I'm expecting it to be reasonably close to endgame in performance and features. No headphone jack, no analog triggers, and a screen with a shape that requires compromises for every system except GBA does not exactly scream, "I'm worth two hundred bucks, Jack!" I'm also very disappointed that it has no way to consolize it. Being able to turn a small handheld or cellphone into a big TV console is one of life's great pleasures, somewhere between eating ice cream and petting a happy cat. Okay, maybe not that great, but it's a pretty useful feature and the omission thereof is unforgivable at this price point. The Pocket Mini is sweet. I guess it looks a bit more toy-like than the Micro; but, at least in black or black + red it looks like a grown up's toy to my eyes. It has all the features I want, enough power to run all the systems I care about - I didn't care about the Switch long before it was cool to not care about Switch, and the screen shape isn't as compromised. I'd much rather play 3:2 GBA on a 4:3 screen with bezel art than try to play PlayStation or Dreamcast on a 3:2 screen. I'm not actually sure at what price the Micro makes sense. I have a couple of phones with the Dimensity version of the Helio G99 and I'm actually very satisfied with the performance of the chip. I do like smaller-but-not-too-small handhelds; and is that a fingerprint reader I spy at the top of the device? Those face buttons and d-pad apparently are really good too. The Micro has value despite the dumb decisions of AYA. If it were free I'd probably really like it and could overlook its deficiencies. This is why I could never be a reviewer - I'm too much like Forrest Gump. If it were $20 at a pawn shop I'd probably really like it too. At $50 or above an Anbernic RG35XX-SP starts looking like the better ersatz GBA. It may not have the "premium materials" of the Micro; but, they're good enough and it actually has good I/O. It doesn't have nearly as much power; but, it's got more than enough power for GBA + shaders. This comment is getting way too long. TL;DR - The Mini makes sense at $200 while the Micro only makes sense to me if it's free. Thanks Derek for this comparison test. It was enlightening. I feel bad putting down something you paid actual money for; but, I praised the other thing you spent money on, so I hope it's a wash.
It does have a fingerprint reader, yes. I think it’s still better than any something like the 35xxSP, even if it was $100. At $200 it’s a hard sell with the competition.
RP Mini is amazing but i chose AYANEO Micro. Retroid Pocket and AYN wont ship to mexico so that automatically means i cant have em at launch. So i ended up ordering my Micro a week ago and it shipped today so the process was extremely fast. I wish i had the power/screen of the mini on the micro but for being extremely honest, i think im gonna be really happy with my decision because of the games i want to play on it i dont think ill even need the power, for the more powerfull stuff i can rely on my Ayaneo Pocket or GPD win 4. If i could order AYN ODIN Mini 2 tho, damn wish it shipped here.
hate to say but the RPmini won, i ordered the micro first and then RPmini came out and it won in terms of performance, screen , ergonomics (although i don't really care much about that ), customization (you can order different colors of buttons and triggers ), but most important is the availability ( i ordered the black model and it arrived a week after i placed the order).
Once again, I think Ayaneo way overprices their devices, the Micro is a MAX 150$ device, to me even less, maybe 100 as a "premium gba" device. The way Ayn just blew their Evo completely out of the water with the Portal 2 is insane.
If the Micro were closer to $100 and didn't have analog sticks then I would actually buy it. I just don't ever see myself using that thing for playing anything beyond GBA and other 2D systems that don't use analog sticks, so that $200+ price tag just doesn't make sense to me. It's an over-spec'd and thus needlessly expensive device in my opinion. I foresee the Pocket DMG having a similar problem. It's going to have high end specs and cost a lot of money, but the control scheme is going to hold it back with systems where that extra horsepower would make sense. So why spend all that money when you could just pick up an RG 40XXV for a fraction of the cost?
DMG will have more power but I guess mostly it comes down to vertical or horizontal and price. The DMG will probably have nicer face buttons but it’s significantly more expensive and will probably be less ergonomic. Comes down to personal preference and budget.
Retroid kills me because they have the most amazing sticks and d pads but those face buttons are ALWAYS so bad on every device they make. The Micro not having a headphone jack is just stupid. Who makes a premium handheld and makes it to where you can only use the front speakers lol. Also, I appreciated the little sd card case being under the micro so that the scale doesn’t get messed. 👌🏼
I freakin' love the Ayaneo Pocket Micro. I was actually considering selling my Retroid Pocket 4 pro since i also own a steam deck.... I had a question with something, and Ayaneo responded super quickly, and even followed up to make sure i was happy a couple days later.
Oh, yeah. It's for a specific type of person, that is for sure. I was so disappointed in the RGB30 because I like nice things, lol. It felt like a low quality toy with a nice screen. I just like the full package. I think a lot of folks treat these things like restaurants: some people like a place where you get a lot of food for cheap, some people like a hole-in-the-wall with great quality food, and some people like a nice restaurant with nice food. And I think you can like all of these things, but to say that one is wrong....😜
865 vs G99, 865 more better and powerful enough can use turnip driver, but i bought the micro first before ayn release the mini…i already have the odin pro 2, i hope someone will make a compatible list for switch/ps vita games for the G99 (micro)
I believe micro is made to last longer (excluding those freaking joysticks ), while Rp mini propably has hardware cheaper parts. Gba may be superior on Rpmini, but i believe micro may be a better exclusive niche gba handheld on the longer run.
RP Mini, better Specs, Buttons, Ergonomics, Screen, and OS. Is it Retro no, but neither is Aya Neo's shitty brick with buttons slapped on it. There's no competition.
Which one wins for you? What would you like to see tested next?
The pocket micro lost when the Retroid pocket mini released. The micro's lower end chip and worse screen than the retroid makes the $200 price not worth it. Gotta love competition! I am still interested in someone other than the KTR1 guy try to make a powerful handheld with a 3:2 aspect ration screen.
I'm sorry but I have to ask. Are you the son of a ninja? Or is your name Jason? Or both? 😅 love the username
It’s definitely a case of a cool product but bad timing.
Yeah the Aya Neo Micro is crap.
The pocket mini is my favorite handheld since the psp and I didn't even plan to buy it, was going to get the rp5 until I decided to try out the mini on a whim. I've been loving the screen and using it as a multimedia device like how I used the psp. Downloaded a few 4:3 anime and been playing some ps2. Love the size, screen feels big enough imo and because it's so small I just am always finding myself picking it up. Have since decided to cancel my rp5 order and haven't even looked in the direction of the odin 2 portal. Extremely impressed with this device. I have also done the membrane trim mod to reduce the button noise, definitely improves the experience a lot.
Is there like a step by step process for the membrane trim mod?
This is why I ordered one. Mine was stuck in customs for 6 days. I think it'll be here by Saturday. I carry my RP2S everywhere, I think this will be a massive upgrade.
How do you do the membrane trim?
The screen is certainly great!
The problem isn't the buttons it's the membranes, there's no room to shave anything off of them but shortening the membranes pretty much fixed the issue.
I did it and the mini is my go-to small handheld now.
Hi Aish, if the RP5 shares the same problem, would love to see a video from you on how to do the mod for it 🫡
Hey Aish, Got a video on that mod?
@@nickentros not yet but I'm just going to show what I did on a video, I'll have it up tomorrow.
@@AishTalksTech Thanks. Looking forward to it.
Thanks @AishTalksTech , I actually had a section where I mentioned you talking about the mod but I wasn’t sure all the details and didn’t want to give bad advice so it ended up getting cut from the video.
The ayaneo already loses just by the Pocket Mini existing. The improved chipset, 4:3 OLED screen and more ergonomic body just wins over the Micro hands down for me. The buttons are a bit loud but hey there are louder ones on the market.
RP Mini and it ain't even close
I'll say that Retroid, with their 5/Mini announcer, made me cancel my Micro and EVO orders. I had ninety left over to apply toward the Portal.
I don’t think you’re the only one, unfortunately for Ayaneo.
@@Veddy74 PlayStation portal or is there a new handheld coming out called the portal??
No competition. Mini takes.
I really dislike the red buttons on the micro. Should have just been all blacked out and the sticks should have been recessed
I don’t mind them but all black would be slick!
Ayaneo looks better but man them sharp corners, OUCH. I hope the RP 5s ship soon so I can get mine. Bought it within the first hour of it going live.
They’re not like. Super sharp. And it’s light enough to not bother too much. But yeah it could be more comfortable for sure.
@@retrohandhelds My hand has been going numb recently playing handhelds, and I know those corners would definitely do it.
I liked the comparison. I can understand people wanting the Mini, but those buttons...i feel like face buttons are consistently something that have let me down on Retroid ever since my first from them which was the 2+. The dpad makes up for it a bit. Aside from that, the Mini looks great and has the value behind it. The Micro still looks like a fun buy for those with extra money to burn on smaller niche use cases.
Thanks! Retroid needs to hire some UA-camrs to help them test buttons haha, I'll sign up.
I wish that devices like this would come with removable sticks and plugs - because on anything this small I'm going to be mostly playing SNES and GBA.
The RP Mini won for me (and I'm loving it) and it basically came down to the screen and larger battery. Especially the larger battery. I like the clacky buttons. They kind of feel like they are bigger than they actually are.
Wow, you sound great on the guitar!
Thanks! An option to easily cover the sticks would be interesting.
I ended up with the RP Mini, the Micro was close due to the metal Casing but that OLED and the chip had me sold
ayaneo: great build quality and design BUT lots of software JANK
your over dramatizing the mini’s buttons imo. i sense you have a bias towards the micro.
@@RetroWolf13 lol okay mr old eyes mr sensitive
I mean, I like the device and I agree the buttons aren’t that bad, but I don’t think it would still be this much of a landslide in the Mini’s favor if it was him being biased towards the Micro.
(I’ve also got both and yeah, the Micro has some insanely good face buttons. The other buttons aren’t as good as the Mini’s, but god those face buttons are great.)
I plan to sell the micro and keep the mini right now, so I don’t think I’m biased to the micro haha just really like the buttons on it.
I just got my Pocket Micro and I had no idea the Pocket Mini was a thing haha.
I love the Micro but looking at the Mini has me really wanting one now, OLED display a lot is a big selling point plus proper triggers.
It’s still a fun device, just some bad timing with the launch of the mini…
@retrohandhelds Yeah I mostly intend to use it for GBA emulation and for that it's perfect but I am rather tempted to pick up the Mini just for Doom 1&2 so I can have proper triggers haha
If the micro would have recessed the sticks, it'd have made a big deal on the pocketability. It's a major selling point it loses as a result
Yes I wish they had been more recessed like the RP Mini. It would be much sleeker that way.
Thanks for the video bass, I still think the pocket mini is a more appealing device overall, but the difference in face button quality is something to keep in mind that I hadn't factored previously
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the RP5 and it's buttons
Fingers crossed the RP5 buttons are better. I’m usually not even that picky but the mini buttons are just so meh to me.
Controls are super important to me. Wish more high end handhelds used rubber membrane for D-pads and face buttons. 🍻
I still don't get why Ayaneo not including deadzone adjustment for sticks. Their default deadzone on Pocket S is huge. I usually turn off the deadzone if the game or the emulator I am running has deadzone adjustment, and many do btw. But the problem is when I use key mapping I have to use ayaneo's deadzone setting. I was very interested in Pocket Micro but the sticks were deal-breaker for me. I wish Ayaneo used the sticks XU Mini M uses and also recessed the sticks like the mini M does. I pre-ordered RP5 on day one; I'll probably buy the mini as well next year unless someone else makes a better small form-factor handheld.
Agreed there needs to at least be a simple percentage slider for where the deadzone starts.
The AYANEO is cool; but, it's utterly pointless at its price point. If I'm dropping around $200 on a handheld then I'm expecting it to be reasonably close to endgame in performance and features. No headphone jack, no analog triggers, and a screen with a shape that requires compromises for every system except GBA does not exactly scream, "I'm worth two hundred bucks, Jack!"
I'm also very disappointed that it has no way to consolize it. Being able to turn a small handheld or cellphone into a big TV console is one of life's great pleasures, somewhere between eating ice cream and petting a happy cat. Okay, maybe not that great, but it's a pretty useful feature and the omission thereof is unforgivable at this price point.
The Pocket Mini is sweet. I guess it looks a bit more toy-like than the Micro; but, at least in black or black + red it looks like a grown up's toy to my eyes. It has all the features I want, enough power to run all the systems I care about - I didn't care about the Switch long before it was cool to not care about Switch, and the screen shape isn't as compromised. I'd much rather play 3:2 GBA on a 4:3 screen with bezel art than try to play PlayStation or Dreamcast on a 3:2 screen.
I'm not actually sure at what price the Micro makes sense. I have a couple of phones with the Dimensity version of the Helio G99 and I'm actually very satisfied with the performance of the chip. I do like smaller-but-not-too-small handhelds; and is that a fingerprint reader I spy at the top of the device? Those face buttons and d-pad apparently are really good too. The Micro has value despite the dumb decisions of AYA. If it were free I'd probably really like it and could overlook its deficiencies. This is why I could never be a reviewer - I'm too much like Forrest Gump.
If it were $20 at a pawn shop I'd probably really like it too. At $50 or above an Anbernic RG35XX-SP starts looking like the better ersatz GBA. It may not have the "premium materials" of the Micro; but, they're good enough and it actually has good I/O. It doesn't have nearly as much power; but, it's got more than enough power for GBA + shaders.
This comment is getting way too long. TL;DR - The Mini makes sense at $200 while the Micro only makes sense to me if it's free. Thanks Derek for this comparison test. It was enlightening. I feel bad putting down something you paid actual money for; but, I praised the other thing you spent money on, so I hope it's a wash.
It does have a fingerprint reader, yes. I think it’s still better than any something like the 35xxSP, even if it was $100. At $200 it’s a hard sell with the competition.
The SP has hdmi and headphone jack that this one lacks...
Thanks Derek, love the detail in your reviews! Hope to see RP5 and maybe a Portal review in the future! 🍻🤘🏼🔥
They’re on the list!
RP Mini is amazing but i chose AYANEO Micro. Retroid Pocket and AYN wont ship to mexico so that automatically means i cant have em at launch. So i ended up ordering my Micro a week ago and it shipped today so the process was extremely fast.
I wish i had the power/screen of the mini on the micro but for being extremely honest, i think im gonna be really happy with my decision because of the games i want to play on it i dont think ill even need the power, for the more powerfull stuff i can rely on my Ayaneo Pocket or GPD win 4. If i could order AYN ODIN Mini 2 tho, damn wish it shipped here.
Ah bummer you aren’t able to get the mini there. The micro is still a fun handheld!
hate to say but the RPmini won, i ordered the micro first and then RPmini came out and it won in terms of performance, screen , ergonomics (although i don't really care much about that ), customization (you can order different colors of buttons and triggers ), but most important is the availability ( i ordered the black model and it arrived a week after i placed the order).
Ah yeah I didn’t even mention that. I ordered the micro long before the mini as well and got the mini first..
Once again, I think Ayaneo way overprices their devices, the Micro is a MAX 150$ device, to me even less, maybe 100 as a "premium gba" device. The way Ayn just blew their Evo completely out of the water with the Portal 2 is insane.
The Pocket Micro looks great much nicer than the RP mini imo.
The design language is definitely better for appearance at least!
If the Micro were closer to $100 and didn't have analog sticks then I would actually buy it. I just don't ever see myself using that thing for playing anything beyond GBA and other 2D systems that don't use analog sticks, so that $200+ price tag just doesn't make sense to me. It's an over-spec'd and thus needlessly expensive device in my opinion.
I foresee the Pocket DMG having a similar problem. It's going to have high end specs and cost a lot of money, but the control scheme is going to hold it back with systems where that extra horsepower would make sense. So why spend all that money when you could just pick up an RG 40XXV for a fraction of the cost?
I’ve ordered the ayaneo pocket dmg should I have waited for the rp mini?
DMG will have more power but I guess mostly it comes down to vertical or horizontal and price. The DMG will probably have nicer face buttons but it’s significantly more expensive and will probably be less ergonomic. Comes down to personal preference and budget.
@@retrohandhelds thanx
Retroid kills me because they have the most amazing sticks and d pads but those face buttons are ALWAYS so bad on every device they make. The Micro not having a headphone jack is just stupid. Who makes a premium handheld and makes it to where you can only use the front speakers lol. Also, I appreciated the little sd card case being under the micro so that the scale doesn’t get messed. 👌🏼
Even cheapies from powkiddy and anbernic often have better face buttons, it's a bit baffling.
Neither rival the MSI Claw for sound!
I swear size blindness is a real condition. “Why get a RP Mini when you can get a Steam Deck? It’s so much more powerful!”
They don’t rival my Sony boombox from the 90s either! 🤣
Today i saw a micro for 700 on ebay. I had a good laugh.
And i love the micro.
Lol 700$ that's the price of a rog ally x
eBay is a silly place.
Odin 2 + RPMini is the endgame combo
Odin 2 Portal!!! Let’s go!
The RP5 is the sweet spot of both worlds.
everyone can see the title and know the mini wins lol
能告诉我这2台机器ESED前端各自用的主题名称吗？ 我觉的布局很不错，但是我不清楚这个主题的名称，谢谢！
The theme on the RP Mini is called Escape. I think the Micro just has stock theme - what you are seeing mostly is the Ayaneo home screen/launcher.
I freakin' love the Ayaneo Pocket Micro. I was actually considering selling my Retroid Pocket 4 pro since i also own a steam deck....
I had a question with something, and Ayaneo responded super quickly, and even followed up to make sure i was happy a couple days later.
Glad to hear, I think the micro is great for a specific type of person. It’s just not a great first/only handheld for most.
Oh, yeah. It's for a specific type of person, that is for sure.
I was so disappointed in the RGB30 because I like nice things, lol. It felt like a low quality toy with a nice screen. I just like the full package.
I think a lot of folks treat these things like restaurants: some people like a place where you get a lot of food for cheap, some people like a hole-in-the-wall with great quality food, and some people like a nice restaurant with nice food. And I think you can like all of these things, but to say that one is wrong....😜
The Mini obliterates the Aya in every single aspect.
865 vs G99, 865 more better and powerful enough can use turnip driver, but i bought the micro first before ayn release the mini…i already have the odin pro 2, i hope someone will make a compatible list for switch/ps vita games for the G99 (micro)
You could try searching for a KTR1 compatibility list since it uses the same chip!
DOA
I believe micro is made to last longer (excluding those freaking joysticks ), while Rp mini propably has hardware cheaper parts.
Gba may be superior on Rpmini, but i believe micro may be a better exclusive niche gba handheld on the longer run.
RP Mini all the way. t
The micro is overpriced for what it does and the software doesnt look as polished as what retroid releases
RP Mini, better Specs, Buttons, Ergonomics, Screen, and OS. Is it Retro no, but neither is Aya Neo's shitty brick with buttons slapped on it. There's no competition.
I'm on team pocket micro I got to check the micro out in person and it's super nice indeed.
Same, I ordered a micro because it brings me back to the gba micro days.
It is so pretty!
Hillbillies
Who, me??
Thise retroid buttons sound like a batch 1 rg35xxsp
It’s interesting because they are membrane so in theory should be quieter.