Ayaneo has announced the Pocket Play, a new Android "gaming phone" that revives the long-forgotten slider design last popularised by the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. The upcoming phone features a horizontal slide-out mechanism that reveals a full physical controller, transforming the phone into a handheld console.
Ayaneo Pocket Play design shows a good-looking slider gaming phone
When closed, the Pocket Play looks like a regular smartphone. Slide the display up and it exposes a gaming deck with a D-pad, ABXY buttons, dual touchpads, shoulder triggers and additional function keys. This integrated layout sets it apart from modern gaming phones that depend on touchscreen inputs or attachable accessories.
Ayaneo hasn't revealed the Pocket Play specifications yet, though early hints suggest it may not use a top-tier flagship chipset like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. Instead, the focus appears to be on ergonomics, retro-gaming appeal and Ayaneo's custom Android gaming interface. It will use the same ecosystem that powers the brand's recent handhelds.
The Pocket Play is launching through Kickstarter, with a pre-launch page already live. The Ayaneo Pocket Play price and full specs will be disclosed when the campaign goes live. With slider phones having vanished from the market for over a decade, Ayaneo's Pocket Play stands out as one of the year's most unusual hardware experiments.
Its success will depend on whether there's enough demand for a smartphone that doubles as a dedicated gaming handheld and whether Ayaneo can deliver performance that matches the ambitious design. If it does, it could very well stand out as one of the best gaming phones in the market.
