AYANEO's palm-sized homage to Game Boy Micro is coming back for round two

There is an abundance of Android or Linux-powered gaming handhelds that replicate the same design as icons from the past. However, one that absolutely nails the retro vibe without a hitch is the AYANEO Pocket Micro, one of the best pieces of hardware for Game Boy Advance emulation. It also has a special “Classic” edition that looks like a screen stacked between buttons on a classic NES controller (just like the Game Boy Micro). But with more than two years under its belt, the AYANEO Micro is due for a refresh. Thankfully, the company is now working to deliver it.

AYANEO recently announced on X that it will soon launch a successor to the Micro. In the teaser, AYANEO calls the upcoming Pocket Micro 2 “Retro’s New Icon,” suggesting another take at a classic console. However, the brand reveals little about the device itself or whether we’ll continue to see the same NES-inspired aesthetics and GBA emulation, especially since the previous version had too much power for GBA alone, even with 4X upscaling.

We’re unsure about the other concerns, but we definitely hope for an upgrade to the battery, which was far from impressive on the Pocket Micro Classic.

Back in April, the Pocket Micro and Micro Classic successfully skirted around AYANEO’s recent price hikes in response to increasing RAM prices. Not much later, however, the duo was discontinued. Now, while the Pocket Micro and Micro Classic were both positioned under $200, we might very well see an increase, and that is perhaps the least exciting aspect of the handhelds.