{"id":838,"date":"2025-12-15T00:52:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T16:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/15\/ayaneos-first-smartphone-is-a-major-callback-to-the-xperia-play\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T00:52:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T16:52:06","slug":"ayaneos-first-smartphone-is-a-major-callback-to-the-xperia-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/15\/ayaneos-first-smartphone-is-a-major-callback-to-the-xperia-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Ayaneo&#8217;s first smartphone is a major callback to the Xperia Play"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Close enough, welcome back <a data-i13n=\"elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:1;pos:1\" class=\"no-affiliate-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/2011-03-28-sony-ericsson-xperia-play-review.html\">Xperia Play<\/a>. After releasing a <a data-i13n=\"elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:2;pos:1\" class=\"no-affiliate-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/mobile\/smartphones\/ayaneos-first-smartphone-could-have-physical-shoulder-buttons-182033773.html\">teaser video<\/a> in early November, Ayaneo fully revealed its first smartphone called the <a data-i13n=\"elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:3;pos:1\" class=\"no-affiliate-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XVDNGMIlzmI\">Pocket Play<\/a>. As suspected, the Ayaneo Pocket Play features a sliding mechanism that transforms it from a chunky smartphone into a gaming handheld.<\/p>\n\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In its gaming configuration, the Pocket Play features a controller setup with a D-pad, ABXY buttons and four shoulder buttons. However, Ayaneo has modernized the Xperia Play design by incorporating two touchpads, which will also be seen in the handheld maker&#8217;s next flagship device called the <a data-i13n=\"elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:4;pos:1\" class=\"no-affiliate-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/gaming\/the-ayaneo-next-ii-is-a-hulking-gaming-handheld-with-a-9-inch-display-175018940.html\">Next II<\/a>. According to Ayaneo, you can map these touchpads as virtual joysticks or customizable inputs. Ayaneo hasn&#8217;t revealed the specs of the Pocket Play yet, but the device appears to have slots that could hint at expandable storage options.<\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Pocket Play will be Ayaneo&#8217;s first foray into the smartphone world, albeit with mobile gaming in mind. It&#8217;ll have to compete against the likes of other gaming-specific smartphones like the Redmagic 10 Pro or the Asus <a data-i13n=\"elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:5;pos:1\" class=\"no-affiliate-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/the-new-rog-phone-8-from-asus-finally-puts-a-good-camera-in-a-gaming-phone-002618805.html\">ROG Phone series<\/a>, as well as the latest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy smartphones that can also handle demanding mobile games. Ayaneo will launch the Pocket Play on <a data-i13n=\"elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:6;pos:1\" class=\"no-affiliate-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/ayaneo-offical\/ayaneo-pocket-play-mobile-phone-and-gaming-handheld-in-one\">Kickstarter<\/a> soon, but hasn&#8217;t revealed any pricing details yet.<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/mobile\/smartphones\/ayaneos-first-smartphone-is-a-major-callback-to-the-xperia-play-165206332.html?src=rss<\/p><p>Please credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/obagg.com\">OBA Blog<\/a> &raquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/15\/ayaneos-first-smartphone-is-a-major-callback-to-the-xperia-play\/\">Ayaneo&#8217;s first smartphone is a major callback to the Xperia Play<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Close enough, welcome back Xperia Play. After releasing a teaser video in early November, Ayaneo fully revealed its first smartphone called the Pocket Play. As suspected, the Ayaneo Pocket Play features a sliding mechanism that transforms it from a chunky smartphone into a gaming handheld. In its gaming configuration, the Pocket Play features a controller setup with a D-pad, ABXY buttons and four shoulder buttons. However, Ayaneo has modernized the Xperia Play design by incorporating two touchpads, which will also be seen in the handheld maker&#8217;s next flagship device called the Next II. According to Ayaneo, you can map these touchpads as virtual joysticks or customizable inputs. Ayaneo hasn&#8217;t revealed the specs of the Pocket Play yet, but the device appears to have slots that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-share"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obagg.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}