In news that could easily just have fluttered by unnoticed, Ayaneo, in a very understated press release, just announced the Next Lite. However, what sets this bad boy aside from the other Ayaneo handhelds, especially those in its Next range, is that the Next Life is the first non-Valve handheld to use SteamOS as the operating system.
We know Next Lite will have a 7-inch 800p screen and a 47Wh battery. Unfortunately, besides those specs and the whole SteamOS thing, very little else has yet been confirmed for the device.
It’s worth noting that the currently available Next Pro comes with the same size screen and battery but is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 5825U, which is already two years old, so hopefully, this is something that sees a significant refresh in the new model.
That said, Ayaneo wants the Next Lite to lower the barrier of entry of handheld PCs by reducing the price while still delivering flagship features.
Regardless of the chip included in the Next Lite, it’s exciting to see SteamOS being the default on a device that isn’t the Steam Deck. This may be the push needed for more handhelds to embrace the OS.
The Next Lite will once again be funded by crowdsourcing – something Ayaneo is known for at this point, and pledges are set to open today, although, as of writing, no page is available yet.
Are you excited about the potential of another handheld embracing SteamOS? Let me know in the comments.