AYANEO Pocket VERT Review: Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Luxury Gaming… But Is It Worth It?

Welcome to our comprehensive AYANEO Pocket VERT review, where we explore a device that attempts to marry luxury aesthetics with high-end mobile performance. This Android gaming handheld enters a competitive market, specifically targeting enthusiasts who appreciate the classic vertical form factor. Consequently, the first thing you notice is the striking CNC-machined aluminium body that feels significantly more premium than its plastic competitors.

Design and Build Quality of the AYANEO Pocket VERT

The AYANEO Pocket VERT measures approximately 3.4 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches  (8.64 x 14.3 x 2.05 cm) and weighs 318g (0.17 lbs), giving it a reassuring heft in the palm. Because the case is a full metal CNC body with an integrated front glass panel, the vertical gaming handheld feels like a „collectible“ piece of technology. You can choose from three elegant colours: Moon White, Lava Red, and Midnight Black.

A display optimised for upscaling classic handhelds

Notably, the top half of the AYANEO Pocket VERT features a stunning 3.5” LTPS LCD. This display boasts a 1600×1440 resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate, delivering an incredible 615 PPI. Therefore, fans of the 8-bit era will enjoy pixel-perfect 10x integer upscaling for original Game Boy games.

Optimised Controls and Innovation

Below the display, you will find a responsive D-Pad and a set of crystal-textured gaming buttons. These buttons are quite compact at 6.6mm, which is smaller than the 7.6mm buttons on the AYN Thor and 8.6mm buttons on the GPD WIN 5 in comparison. While the AYANEO Pocket VERT looks sleek, some users may find these buttons small and spread a little too far apart for comfortable long-term play.

Interestingly, the empty lower area hides a MagicTouch touchpad that functions as a virtual analogue stick. While this isn't a perfect physical replacement, it maintains the minimalist aesthetic of this gaming Android handheld. Along the bottom, the AYANEO Pocket VERT includes Select, Start, Home, and the dedicated AYA Overlay buttons for easy navigation.

On the bottom we have stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB 3.1 port for charging and data including video output.

The left side has two customisable shortcut buttons and AYANEOs MagicSwitch Scroll Wheel, first seen in the awesome AYANEO Pocket DMG handheld. You can use it to adjust the volume, brightness, performance, or even to quickly launch an app. Beyond use as a volume dial I found its uses mostly redundant.

The right side has two more customisable shortcut buttons, a power button with integrated fingerprint sensor and a covered micro SD card slot.  The back has diamond cut style shoulder buttons. I would have preferred a textured finish to help with grip, however they do visually look great.

AYANEO Pocket VERT Review: Technical Specifications

Next in our AYANEO Pocket VERT review we take a closer look at the tech specs. Powering this Android gaming device is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. This processor utilises the TSMC 4nm process and includes the powerful Cortex-X2 performance core. Additionally, the Adreno 730 GPU handles the graphical lifting, which makes it fascinating to compare against the newer G3 Gen 2 models.

CATEGORY	SPECIFICATIONS
Screen	3.5″ LTPS LCD
Screen Specs	1440 × 1600 resolution | 615 PPI | 450 nits | NTSC 100% sRGB | 60Hz Refresh Rate
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform
RAM	LPDDR5
Flash Storage	UFS 3.1
Storage Options	8GB + 128GB / 12GB + 256GB
Cooling	Active Air Cooling System
Colour	Midnight Black / Moon White / Lava Red
Controller	Master Controller
Shoulder Buttons	L1L2 / R1R2 | Membrane switch buttons
Vibration	X-Axis Linear Motor
Gyroscope	6-Axis Gyroscope
I/O	1 × Full-function USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C (10Gbps, DP 1.4) | 1 × MicroSD card slot (SD 3.0) | 3.5mm Headphone Jack
Special Features	SoundTAPMagic audio vibration | Xinput vibration | Key vibration | Custom Performance Modes | Device spoofing | Key mapping
Special Hardware	Dual-Mode Touchpad (Analog Dual/Single Joystick Simulation, Mouse, Haptic Feedback) | MagicSwitch Key (Volume control / customisable Shortcuts) | Home key (Emulator Shortcuts / XBOX & Steam streaming Menu) | MagicTouch Key (Quick setup for D-pad and touchpad functions) | =, LC, RC Keys (Custom function Keys)
Biometrics	Fingerprint Sensor Power Button
Battery	6000mAh
Size	3.4 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches  (8.64 x 14.3 x 2.05 cm)
Weight	Approx. 318g (0.17 lbs)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6E | Bluetooth 5.2
Software	AYASpace | AYAHome Launcher | AYASetting
OS	Android 14

Battery Life, Fan Noise & Temperature tests

The 6,000 mAh battery lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes in our extreme stress test. Under normal conditions, the AYANEO Pocket VERT should provide roughly 8 hours of continuous gameplay.

During our intensive fan noise and temperature tests, we pushed the active cooling system to its limit. We recorded a highest temperature of around 49°C while running high-end benchmarks. In terms of acoustics, the fan registered 62dB on MAX fan settings, 47dB on Gaming, and a barely audible 40dB on Balanced mode.

AYANEO Pocket VERT Benchmarks and Comparative Performance

We continue the AYANEO Pocket VERT review with some benchmarks. We will be comparing the AYANEO Pocket VERT with a few other devices using different Snapdragon processors. There is the have the AYANEO Pocket DMG with the G3 Gen 2 for form factor comparison and the AYANEO Pocket S2 with its flagship G3 Gen 3 processor. Finally, we included the Retroid Pocket 5 as an older processor comparison.

You can read our in-depth AYANEO Pocket DMG review here, AYANEO Pocket S2 review here and Retroid Pocket 5 review here respectively.

Geekbench 6

Regarding the Geekbench 6 single and multi-core benchmarks, we saw respectable scores for the AYANEO Pocket VERT of 1,849 and 4,139 respectively. This multi-core result is particularly impressive because it is faster than the Pocket DMG's 4,043, even if it sits behind the flagship Pocket S2 score of 6,266. Furthermore, the AYANEO Pocket VERT easily outpaces the Retroid Pocket 5, which only managed a multi-core score of 2,980.

Antutu

Antutu performs a range of tests for overall system performance where the AYANEO Pocket VERT achieved a result of 1,361,910. This score places it in third place behind the Pocket DMG at 1.5 million and the powerful AYANEO Pocket S2 at 2.1 million. Nevertheless, the AYANEO Pocket VERT offers a healthy lead over the Retroid Pocket 5, which trailed significantly with a score of 831,297.

3DMARK

3DMARK tests the performance of the CPU and GPU working together, and here the AYANEO Pocket VERT landed a respectable 2,741 points. While this is lower than the 3,279 reached by the Pocket DMG, it is still a solid performance for its class. Most notably, the AYANEO Pocket VERT shows a huge increase over the 1,283 score found on older Snapdragon 865 devices.

Benchmark Summary

A brief summary of the results for our AYANEO Pocket VERT review. Overall, the AYANEO Pocket VERT vs DMG sits on the lower end of the current high-performance Snapdragon scale but remains competitive. It successfully occupies a middle ground between entry-level and flagship vertical devices. Consequently, it delivers exactly the kind of power needed for high-end mobile gaming.

Software Experience on the Pocket VERT

As part of our AYANEO Pocket VERT review we take a brief look at the OS and the software that comes with it. This vertical gaming handheld runs on Android 14, integrated deeply with the AYANEO ecosystem. You can fully customise the home screen layout and icon sizes to your preference. Moreover, the AYA Space launcher acts as a functional hub for your ROM collection and native apps.

Within AYA Settings, you can instantly adjust performance tweaks or controller configurations. The AYA Overlay is also incredibly helpful for making quick changes mid-game without exiting to the menu. Consequently, the user experience feels much more like a dedicated console than a standard mobile phone.

Android Gaming Performance

The processor is more than powerful enough to play Android games just fine. We were able to play our usual range of games including Prince of Persia, Dungeon Hunter, and Vampire Survivors. However, games that do rely on analogue sticks, such as Call of Duty, are where you will run into problems. You could use the touchpad or stick with the onscreen controls though.

And for games that do not support game controls, you can use the built-in software to remap onscreen controls to game buttons. It’s very easy to set up and use and works great.

AYANEO Pocket VERT Review: Emulation Performance

No AYANEO Pocket VERT review would be useful without some emulation performance texts. The Snapdragon processor series are great performers and this extends to the 8+ Gen 1 processor. Let’s see what systems it can emulate up to and its performance.

RetroArch (Game Boy)

We could not miss the opportunity to first show off the Game Boy as the display supports ten times the original resolution. For systems up to the PS2 era, it's where the square aspect ratio works great. We will show some more retro handhelds and consoles later in the review.

DuckStation

Moving up a few generations to the PlayStation 1 and DuckStation. You can crank up all the graphics tweaks and rendering resolutions without any issues at all. The vast majority of games are playable without an analogue stick.

ARMSX2

We got some good performance from this PlayStation 2 emulator and Turnip drivers. The emulator is not perfect for compatibility, but the games that do run, run very well. Remember to change the aspect ratio to 4:3 as by default it is 16:9.

PPSSPP

With PPSSPP, we were able to max out the graphics settings and everything ran smoothly. However, it's a widescreen aspect ratio so you do lose a bit of the display. You can use the touchpad or remap the analogue stick to the D-Pad for many games, but some require both D-Pad and analogue inputs.

Azahar

Overall, we see good performance on Azahar. With a bit of tweaking, you can place the second screen smaller at the bottom instead of the side to optimise the space. You may get a few shader cache lags but nothing game-breaking.

Vita3K and Eden

For the Vita3K and Eden emulators, many games do rely on analogue sticks, so good luck with the touchpad. However, there are many games that are playable without them and run perfectly fine. Vita3K runs great for compatible games, but with Eden, you will see some slowdowns for the more demanding games.

Final Verdict on the AYANEO Pocket VERT

Ultimately as we sum up our AYANEO Pocket VERT review, it is a luxury piece of hardware for the discerning retro fan. It offers a full metal CNC body and a screen that is arguably the best in its class. While the Pocket DMG offers more „functional“ controls with its analogue stick and slightly larger display, the VERT wins on pure aesthetics.

Considering the prices for both are fairly similar. If you are looking for the most premium Android gaming console in a vertical form factor, this is it. It provides a level of craftsmanship that few other manufacturers can match in 2026. If you prefer a more functional handheld then the AYANEO Pocket DMG should be a strong consideration.

We hope this AYANEO Pocket VERT review helped you decide if this is the right handheld for your collection! If you do have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments.