The much anticipated Ayaneo Slide is finally upon us. Featuring a pop-up, angle-adjustable screen that reveals a physical keyboard beneath, this Windows gaming handheld comes complete with an 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 7840U, Radeon 780M graphics, Hall Effect joysticks and triggers, and up to 64GB of RAM and 4TB of storage. Prices start at $699 through IndieGoGo, and $799 after early bird, but if you prefer a keyboard on your handheld, this is a device you won’t want to miss.
Pricing
The Ayaneo Slide is currently available through IndieGoGo. Full details on the device and its different configurations are available on the campaign page:
Specifications
Ayaneo Slide - Design and Features
The Ayaneo Slide is a direct response to the GPD WIN 4, a handheld I reviewed for IGN last summer. It embraces compactness with a six-inch display but unfolds to reveal a full-size keyboard and one of the most comfortable designs of any handheld we’ve tried to date. That should come as no surprise if you’ve follow Ayaneo at all. Its handhelds have always embraced comfortable ergonomics, making them some of the easiest to play over extended periods of time. Because of this, in my estimation, the Slide is now the handheld to choose if you prefer having a physical keyboard with your Windows handheld.
The Slide learns plenty of lessons from its predecessors. One of the things we’ve really seen from Ayaneo is that it loves to iterate on its designs. It’s never very long between its releases, which means that there’s a lot of shared DNA between devices, and that’s certainly true here and works to the Slide’s benefit.
It even starts with the packaging. Virtually every Ayaneo device comes with impressive packaging that immediately makes you feel good about your purchase but the Slide takes it to another level. The box is styled like a giant VHS tape, complete with the outer sleeve. Pull out the inner box and it’s the actual VHS tape. It’s some of the most creative packaging I’ve ever seen and absolutely took me back to childhood for a few minutes there. Very cool stuff, indeed.
Beyond the packaging, you’re not lacking on features compared to most of the other Ayaneos this generation. It features the same Ryzen 7 7840u processor we’ve seen on other models, and we’ve seen that the performance on this chip is pretty close across the board. Its maximum TDP peaks at 28-watts, which is slightly less than the larger models, but having tested them side-by-side, the frame rate of the Slide is within a few FPS of the Ayaneo 2S and even the Kun. It outperforms the Steam Deck in virtually every way and goes toe to toe with the ROG Ally.
It might be more compact, but it performs virtually the same, so the company’s approach of “choose the features and form factor that works best for you” holds true here.
It also features the same layout. The controller portion is laid out like an Xbox controller with offset joysticks and crosswise D-pad and face buttons. On the bottom left of the screen are your start and select buttons while the bottom right houses a dedicated Aya button and the first of three user-customizable shortcut keys. Tapping the Aya button raises the AyaSpace 2.0 quick menu for fast access to a wide array of configuration settings while holding it brings up the full software with even more options. Tapping the opposite button minimizes everything to desktop.
Along the top edge of the handheld are your bumpers and triggers, as well as your second pair of programmable buttons, inset from the bumpers. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader to quickly login to Windows. There’s also a volume rocker for the system’s dual stereo speakers and the first of two USB4 ports, capable of eGPU support. There’s also a large vent to exhaust heat away from your hands. There’s a second large vent on the rear where you can see the system’s exhaust fan (though, you won’t find a kickstand, which is a tad disappointing).
The bottom of the unit is much simpler. It features a second USB4 port, also capable of delivering power to the device, so you can choose whether you’d like to plug into either port. There’s also a microSD slot to expand the system’s storage. You’ll also be able to see the ports for the system’s speakers, which are down-firing instead of front facing, which is disappointing, but since you’ll probably be holding this device with the speakers pointed at you, it’s less of a shortcoming than it first seems. They also get loud enough to overcome the muffled quality down-firing speakers sometimes face.
Another returning quality are the company’s excellent Hall Effect joysticks and triggers. Unlike mechanical potentiometers which drive most controllers today, the inputs here use magnetic sensors that eradicate the potential for stick drift and should be much more durable over time. I also find these to be some of the smoothest triggers and joysticks I’ve used on a handheld and are very well done.
The device is very well contoured and feels great in the hands. The grips give you a very stable hold and accommodate multiple use styles, from resting on a table or in your lap, to being held in front of your face laying down. It’s made of a mix of polycarbonate and fiberglass, which is slightly fingerprint prone, but feels robust.
Aesthetics were clearly important here. The handheld is available in Sunrise White or Bright Black, the former featuring orange accents on the inputs which look great. The case is also screwless, which is nice for the consistency of its appearance.
Moving onto the hallmark features of this release, the sliding screen and keyboard, we have a six inch display with good specs for the cost of entry. It features a native 1080p resolution, offers 400-nits of peak brightness, and covers 100% of the sRGB color space. In real world terms, it’s bright and vibrant, perfect for gaming. Unfortunately, this is another release which lacks 120Hz and variable refresh rate support, which could be a dealbreaker for some. AyaSpace allows you to lock the frame rate to 30-60Hz, which mitigates this somewhat, but it’s not a substitute for true VRR.
With that said, with so many games supporting FSR or alternatively offering options to manually push games to stable, playable frame rates, it’s entirely possible to avoid stuttery gameplay by tweaking settings. Hopefully, future releases offer high, adaptable refresh.
The sliding mechanism is fantastic. The screen hovers millimeters above the keyboard on a hidden track, so the slide action is smooth every time. It also seems to be spring supported because about halfway through the press, it snaps itself into place both up and down. It’s quite satisfying, honestly, though I’m hesitant to play with it to help it last as long as possible.
What really makes the experience, however, is the screen’s ability to tilt upwards thirty degrees. This single feature makes the entire device more comfortable to use. Flat embedded screens force you to hold handhelds up or at an angle that can cause arm strain. Here, you can use it in your lap or down on a desk, resting your arms and still have a perfect view of the screen. It’s simply excellent and makes the Slide the most comfortable device that Ayaneo has produced to date.
The keyboard hides beneath the screen and is fairly large at 5.4 x 1.6 inches. It features a full 60%, including arrow keys, and a function row accessible with the Fn button. If you prefer to type out your messages on actual keys, you’ll find this keyboard more accurate than the GPD WIN 4 due to its larger buttons. The fact that it’s backlit is also a pleasant surprise, allowing you to accurately type in the dark. If you prefer to use Windows’ Touch keyboard, that’s also an option that can be raised simply by tapping a text field in the game.
The battery in this device is 46.2wHr. This is more than either the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, GPD WIN 4, and only 3wHr less than the Lenovo Legion Go, which is significantly larger. You’ll be able to count on 1.5 to 2 hours of battery life playing demanding games and five hours or so on indie and retro titles. Actual battery life depends highly on your TDP and what you’re playing, but unlike the Kun with its monstrous, laptop-like battery, the Slide falls in line with its compatriots in total uptime.
The final thing to discuss here is how configurable the device is. Managing its different settings is all done within AyaSpace 2.0. As mentioned earlier, tapping the Aya button brings up a quick menu that’s broken into different tabs. The main tab is the first, which allows you to set your TDP and fan profile manually or through preset profiles, as well as a frame rate limiter. You also have tabs for the screen (controlling brightness and other parameters, such as downloading with the screen off).
Another key tab you’ll find here is Master Controller. This tab allows you to dial in the joysticks and triggers similar to the best custom gamepads you can find. You can adjust deadzone and sensitivities, as well as the default mappings for the ABXY buttons, if you’d care to flip them. You can also adjust gyroscopic aiming and the key you use to enable it in-game.
Bringing up the full AyaSpace software gives you even more options, like enabling CPU Turbo. As of this writing, there’s no option to manually adjust the amount of VRAM the system devotes from its memory, but I expect that to come with time since the Slide is still so new. The software also allows you to remap the programmable buttons, enable hot-keys tied to the D-pad (enable when the right bumper and trigger are held together), manage screenshots, check for updates, manage your game library and act as a launcher, and much more.
AyaSpace 2.0 isn’t quite as in-depth as the original AyaSpace, and some existing Aya fans may take issue with that, but for newcomers I think it’s a wholesale improvement. It feels much more polished and is easier to navigate and adjust. AyaSpace 1 had its strong points too but it never felt as competitive with the built-in softwares and quick menus of the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. This does, which decreases the learning curve.
Ayaneo Slide - Impressions and Performance
The Ayaneo Slide is far from the first Ayaneo handheld I’ve tested — it’s actually the ninth. As such, I know the ins and outs of the system well and don’t have the same learning curve to climb as a newcomer. If you’re considering this for your first handheld, be prepared that, while it’s not very steep, there’s a learning curve to being able to navigate Windows and use the Slide as a PC without a mouse and keyboard.
The three programmable buttons and AyaSpace’s mouse emulation are critical here, and the default key mappings are both smart and helpful. You’ll have quick access to the on-screen keyboard by tapping the left custom shoulder and the Task Manager by holding it. Tapping the right shoulder button sends Escape and holding it brings up Task View to quickly switch windows. You can hold the right bumper and trigger to map some of these functions to the D-pad, as well as adding a Screenshot button to the right directional. With the exception of the D-pad shortcuts, all of these can be customized with different functions.
You can also add custom shortcuts to the AyaSpace quick menu. By default, you have virtual buttons for the Windows key, force closing a game, raising the on-screen keyboard, and muting the volume. You can add more shortcuts for enabling or disabling wi-fi or Bluetooth, swapping from mouse mode (the emulated mouse cursor) or joystick mode, forcing FSR even in games the don’t support it, or turning on airplane mode.
The virtual mouse cursor is very important. Though the Slide has a multipoint touchscreen and comes with resolution scaling for larger icons and menus, tapping through some menus and websites can still be difficult. Here, you can use the left joystick to move a mouse cursor and the face buttons to control clicks. It’s very usable, if less precise than an actual mouse.
The keyboard is very useful, but I like that Ayaneo has allowed the Windows Touch Keyboard to still work like normal for when you prefer to keep the screen closed. On the GPD WIN 4, simply tapping a text field wouldn’t work. You had to press a shortcut key or hen-peck the icon in the system tray. Here, it works as intended, or you can use the physical keyboard.
The keyboard itself feels pretty good to use. Each button has good tactility. Humorously, my prototype has two letter V keys instead of B where it belongs. This should impact retail units but you’ll see it in the picture above. The sliding screen aspect reminds me of the early years of cell phones when texting was still novel. Salute the classic, indeed, Ayaneo! There are times, however, when having a physical keyboard can really save you skin — such as when you’re playing a fullscreen game and launching the OSK throws the whole game into disarray. This isn’t consistent, but some games absolutely perform better in fullscreen mode, and here, having a dedicated keyboard is more than a little helpful.
The inputs all feel expectedly great. There’s good tactility on the face buttons, and I’m pleased to see a high-quality D-pad, perfect for fighting games built-in. The joysticks are super smooth and being able to dial in their sensitivity and other Master Controller settings is genuinely great. Their programmability of the controller makes it more exceptionally versatile for different kinds of games and emulation.
Gyroscopic aiming has also seen an improvement. I’m not sure exactly what’s changed here, but the motion controls feel tighter and more responsive than past models, while still falling slightly short of something like the Switch and Tears of the Kingdom’s motion aiming. But it’s close. AyaSpace 2.0 also has the ability to emulate a PlayStation controller natively now, which is great for allowing games to leverage the gyroscope as if you had a DualSense plugged in.
Which brings us to performance. With a TDP of 28 watts, the Slide performs right alongside other Ryzen 7 7840u handhelds, including the Ayaneo Kun, ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Pro. With these handhelds, TDP often translates to better performance but above 28 watts, there are big diminishing returns. While the Ally, Legion, and Kun will perform 5-10 FPS better in some scenarios, the results are close — which is the case for virtually every 7840u handheld.
What this means for actual gaming performance is that you’ll be able to run most games (if they support controllers or you hook up a mouse and keyboard) but will need to adjust settings to achieve the resolution, frame rate, and visuals you’re after. If you plan on running demanding games at 1080p, you’ll need to use low to medium settings or take advantage of FidelityFX Super Resolution or Radeon Super Resolution in games that don’t support FSR. Less demanding games can be set to high and still achieve 60 FPS or higher.
It also means adjusting the TDP to match what you’re actually playing. This balanced out power draw, thermals, and noise, determining how long you’ll be able to play using the battery before plugging in and how pleasant that experience will be. The fan can get noisy when fully ramped up but is one of the quieter handheld fans below that level. Sometimes, it will be unavoidable if you’re trying to eek every last bit of performance from the system, but other for less demanding games, the Slide won’t become a nuisance to those around you like many gaming laptops and competing handhelds.
Running games at 1080p really isn’t necessary, however. 720p resolution still looks great on this six-inch screen and that smaller size masks some of the fuzziness that’s more apparent on larger screens. 1080p does still look clearer and is a good target to shoot for, but I found that running games at 720p could still deliver excellent visuals while also being much easier to run, allowing me to turn up other graphics settings.
Here at MMORPG, I’ve tested the Ayaneo Air 1S. To give you some perspective on how the Ryzen 7 7840u and its Radeon 780M graphics chips fare, here’s how they stack up.
If you’re anything like me, these numbers will surprise you. It wasn’t long ago that handheld gaming PCs essentially demanded turning all of your settings to Low to achieve playable frame rates, but with these new CPUs, that’s just not the case any more. I love beautiful graphics and, depending on the game, find playing below 60 FPS perfectly acceptable (while higher than 60 FPS is certainly preferred). As you can see, with by tweaking settings, you can pull excellent performance from this machine.
You’ll also see that there is very little difference between the Air 1S and the Slide in terms of what you can expect. This will vary by game, and the Slide offered better thermals in more demanding games, but as I mentioned previously, if Ayaneo’s ethos is to provide gamers options without major sacrifices, the Slide aligns perfectly with that.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Ayaneo Slide may just be my favorite Windows gaming handheld to date. It doesn’t have to do with performance, which is very good. It’s the screen. I wish it had 120Hz and VRR support, but its ability to slide and angle really is a game changer for how comfortable and convenient it is to use. Having a physical keyboard is also a major convenience, especially when playing games that don’t support FSR, allowing you to easily hit the RSR hotkey and get an instant performance boost. This console is a winner.
If you’re considering picking one up for yourself, head to the IndieGoGo campaign to find out more. As of publication, there are still many slots left for Early Bird, ~$699 pricing.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
