Pocket Play: Ayaneo bets on Xperia Play-like slide-out controls for its first gaming phone

Ayaneo's first gaming phone was teased in late October 2025, and just a month later, the phone has been fully showcased. As shown in a two-minute-long teaser video, the device, called Pocket Play, comes with a design that's reminiscent of the Sony Xperia Play.

That is, the Ayaneo gaming phone has a slide-out controller, which seems to have all the essentials, including a regular D-pad and two touch-sensitive pads called "Smart Dual-Mode Touchpad." As it appears, these pads can work like a trackpad or virtual joystick.

The other aspects of the device aren't much different than a regular smartphone, but it seems that the Pocket won't have a full-screen display like the RedMagic 11 Pro series, as the cut-out for the earpiece speaker doesn't appear to be flush with the top.

Ayaneo didn't share any specs of the Pocket Play, but it did showcase the overall design philosophy of the gaming phone. The build seems to be of glass and aluminum, with the back featuring a dual-camera setup with an LED flash module. There also appears to be a stereo speaker setup.

Regarding the launch timeline, there's no official word about it either, but as the full teaser of the Pocket Play is out, it should be around the corner. Ayaneo has also put up a pre-launch Kickstarter page, which suggests that more details could be revealed in the coming days.