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Ayaneo Pocket Play shown in hands-on video as reincarnation of Sony's Xperia Play

The Ayaneo Pocket Play was obviously inspired by the Sony Xperia Play.
ⓘ Ayaneo
The Ayaneo Pocket Play was obviously inspired by the Sony Xperia Play.
The Sony Xperia Play has an unofficial successor, as the Ayaneo Pocket Play is based on a similar sliding design and combines this with a powerful flagship smartphone processor. A hands-on video shows the combination of smartphone and gaming handheld in action.

Ayaneo has so far been known primarily for gaming handhelds, but with Pocket Play, the manufacturer will soon be launching a smartphone on the market that was obviously inspired by the Sony Xperia Play. The design has many similarities, first and foremost a sliding mechanism. This allows the display to be pushed upwards when the smartphone is held in landscape format.

Two touchpads, which replace analog sticks, as well as a D-pad and face buttons are hidden under the screen. In combination with four shoulder buttons, not only retro games can be played via emulators, but also modern Android titles and game streaming services. While Ayaneo Pocket Play has so far only been seen in videos from the manufacturer, PCWorld was able to try out the gaming smartphone at Computex and publish the hands-on video embedded below.
 


According to PCWorld, the round touchpads work surprisingly well as a replacement for analog sticks. The hinge looks high-quality, but the Ayaneo Pocket Play is a little bulky. On the one hand, the device is not particularly small with a 6.8-inch OLED display, and on the other hand, the Pocket Play is extremely thick due to the hinge and the dedicated buttons. Ayaneo also makes compromises when it comes to the cameras.

Ayaneo has not yet confirmed when or at what price the Pocket Play will be launched on the market. With a MediaTek Dimensity 9300 processor, the 165 Hz OLED display and the unusual design, the device could turn out to be as expensive as premium mid-range smartphones.
 

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2026 06 > Ayaneo Pocket Play shown in hands-on video as reincarnation of Sony's Xperia Play
Hannes Brecher, 2026-06- 9 (Update: 2026-06- 9)