Ayaneo finally reveals what powers its Xperia Play-inspired Pocket Play

Ayaneo announced the Pocket Play as a new addition to its Remake series, and as the company previously showcased, it's a Xperia Play-inspired gaming phone. However, during the initial unveiling, the company didn't share much about the device.

In late December 2025, Ayaneo revealed the display specs of the gaming phone, and now, the SoC has been officially revealed. The Pocket Play packs the Dimensity 9300, a flagship MediaTek offering from 2023. This choice of SoC might raise some eyebrows, but the state of Mali emulation and gaming has improved in the last few months.

However, it would have been much better to see the Pocket Play being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 instead, which is the Qualcomm flagship SoC from the same year. With better GPU driver support, the device would be a better performer in emulation.

Nonetheless, in the teaser announcement, Ayaneo highlights the slide-out controls of the gaming phone. The ABXY and D-pad buttons aim to offer tactile feedback, and the smart touchpad can also act like a virtual joystick, which is said to be tuned for precision. Of course, physical joysticks would still offer a better experience in comparison (such as the ones found on the 8bitDo Ultimate mobile controller that's curr. $39.99 on Amazon).

There's still no official launch date for the Pocket Play, but Ayaneo recently announced that the crowdfunding phase for the gaming phone is delayed. It's because the company wants to restructure its operation, with a major emphasis on customer support. But as most of the core specs have been revealed through the past two teasers, it's likely that Ayaneo will launch the gaming phone within the first half of 2026.