We have information from AYN about their extremely anticipated Loki transportable gaming PC that has the neighborhood each excited and upset. Let’s discover out why.
Just when backers of the AYN Loki have been hoping to obtain the machine any day now, Ayn introduced that the machine could be seeing main design adjustments forward of its launch.
Yes, Ayn had beforehand promised a December cargo of the Loki handheld. But midway into the month we now know that they are going to be altering gears fully.
Ayn introduced official specs and costs for the complete line of Loki units on their Discord channel, additionally sharing new 3d renders of the “improved” Loki.
While it’s a reduction to lastly have specs and costs on these units, many have been shocked to see these new photographs with a totally totally different design.
(Also type of sucks for anyone who purchased one which isn’t on their Discord. What a shock that will likely be!)
The New Ayn Loki
The unique design of the Loki seemed fairly much like Ayn’s well-liked machine the AYN Odin.
We’ve talked rather a lot concerning the Odin right here at Retro Dodo and it’s nonetheless one in every of our absolute favourite consoles from 2022.
We cherished the feel and appear of the Odin, so a extra highly effective iteration within the Ayn lineup was one thing we have been fairly enthusiastic about.
But as we are able to see, the Loki could have a novel form and button format compared to the Odin and even the earlier renders of the Loki. Some will love these adjustments, some is not going to.
Admittedly, I don’t assume the brand new design has the identical spirit as the unique. So I can sympathize with anybody who’s upset by the adjustments.
Why Change The Loki?
Surely, Ayn’s intentions have been to offer us a brand new button format that offers our fingers more room and could possibly be rather more comfy to play on.
Knowing that many locally wished the analogue sticks on the Odin to have extra journey, you possibly can say that Ayn heard our issues and wished to make the Loki the very best machine upon supply.
We won’t ever have something to match it to since we are going to by no means get to carry that unique Loki design. We can solely evaluate it to the Odin.
The Ayn Loki can also be going to be a bit bigger than initially marketed.
Where the unique design got here in at 224mm x 95.2mm, the brand new design is ready at 248mm x 98mm.
Just doing a little fast maths; that might be a 14% measurement enhance for the Ayn Loki. And most likely a bit extra weight.
So why make these adjustments now?
Though the adjustments come on the final minute, you possibly can argue that these enhancements within the form and button format will make the Loki a way more comfy machine over time. Or so they’re hoping.
It’s protected to say that they haven’t but produced these new shells and buttons for the Loki.
Hopefully they didn’t have to begin fully from scratch and do new PCBs too.
These adjustments will push the supply again one other couple months no less than.
While some welcome the enhancements to the Loki’s design, others really feel bamboozled having the product they have been ready for modified on the eleventh hour.
Some Early Backers Will Be Upset
Some customers on Reddit and Discord have expressed each concern and disappointment within the redesign announcement.
One particular person saying “Baffles me that they took preorders over 6 months ago only to switch the design like this. This is nothing like the device that was promised in June.” (Reddit person FurtherBear)
It is a good concern to have. If you made a purchase order primarily based on the seems of a tool marketed they usually change that look to one thing you don’t actually like… what occurs?
Can you simply cancel your pre-order primarily based on that? Hopefully you possibly can. But you possibly can’t get again these six months of ready.
Kind of a bummer for many who aren’t into the brand new look.
On high of the change in design, many are simply upset it has taken this lengthy to obtain the product they backed six months in the past.
“Wow, so they did the whole switcheroo… Still nothing to show, physically for it, eh? Wasn’t it supposed to be shipping by now or something?” (Reddit person kyleruggles)
Delays and adjustments apart, we now know precisely what we’re getting. So what’s going to the brand new Ayn Loki units appear like underneath the (new) hood?
Ayn Loki Specs
The Ayn Loki will are available in a variety of iterations. If you want the brand new look, listed here are the configurations you possibly can select from:
AYN Loki Zero ($249)
- CPU: Athlon Silver 3050e
- GPU: AMD Radeon Graphics
- RAM: 4GB DDR4-2400
- Storage: 64GB eMMC On Board with M.2 2230 Slot and microSD
- Screen: Six-inch LCD IPS at 1280 x 720
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2
- Battery: 40.5Wh
AYN Loki Max ($775)
- CPU: AMD Zen 3+ 6800U
- GPU: AMD RDNA2 Radeon 680M
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5 6400Mhz
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD, microSD, and M.2 2230 slot
- Screen: Six-inch LCD IPS at 1920 x 1080
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
- Battery: 46.2Wh
AYN Loki Mini Intel ($239)
- CPU: Intel Alder Lake U Celeron 7305
- GPU: Integrated Graphics
- RAM: 8GB Dual-Channel LPDDR4x
- Storage: 128GB NVMe SSD, microSD, and M.2 2230 slot
- Screen: Six-inch LCD IPS at 1920 x 1080
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
- Battery: 26.5Wh
AYN Loki Mini AMD ($260)
- CPU: Mendocino Zen 2
- GPU: AMD RDNA 2
- RAM: 8GB Dual-Channel LPDDR4x
- Storage: 128GB NVMe SSD, microSD, and M.2 2230 slot
- Screen: Six-inch LCD IPS at 1920 x 1080
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
- Battery: 26.5Wh
AYN Loki Mini Pro Intel ($279)
- CPU: Intel Alder Lake U Pentium 8505
- GPU: Integrated Graphics
- RAM: 8GB Dual-Channel LPDDR4x
- Storage: 128GB NVMe SSD, microSD, and M.2 2230 slot
- Screen: Six-inch LCD IPS at 1920 x 1080
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
- Battery: 40.5Wh
AYN Loki Mini Pro AMD ($299)
- CPU: Mendocino Zen 2
- GPU: AMD RDNA 2
- RAM: 8GB Dual-Channel LPDDR5x
- Storage: 128GB NVMe SSD, microSD, and M.2 2230 slot
- Screen: Six-inch LCD IPS at 1920 x 1080
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
- Battery: 40.5Wh
Conclusions
It’s arduous to know if we should always take a look at this case as Ayn screwing over their fanbase or doing them a stable by delivering a greater product.
We wish to assume it’s a wise change to make, even when it comes so late.
Any time you delay one thing that persons are enthusiastic about, you’re gonna upset a number of them. But they nonetheless need the product you might be creating.
Time will inform if the neighborhood will see the wait as value it for what was truly improved.
Ayn has a fairly good observe report locally and their Odin console continues to be one in every of our favourite transportable gaming PCs.
If that console is any indication of what to anticipate, we all know that the Loki will likely be fairly superior.
So we nonetheless think about the Loki and fingers crossed for everybody concerned that it’s as nice because the Odin.
We will simply have to attend until Q1 2023 to seek out out.
Anthony has been a online game lover ever since he can keep in mind. He grew to become a fulltime nomad in 2018, residing all through most of Asia. He targeted his ardour in retro gaming and started making a recreation for the Game Boy Color whereas residing in Nara, Japan throughout the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the place he spends most of his time gaming, occurring lengthy walks and assembly as many stray canine as potential.
